www.cahighways.org	California Highways Numbered County Highways

The California State Highway Code confers upon the County Boards of Supervisors the authority to establish county highways. These highways remain county highways until abandoned by the order of the board of supervisors. There are standards defined for county highways in terms of construction (i.e., at least 40 feet wide), unless the route was established before January 1, 1945. The code also allows county highways to be freeways or expressways. Counties are also permitted to designated expressway systems, and counties may work together to coordinate county highways. All county highways which for a period of five consecutive years are impassable for vehicular travel, and on which during such period of time no public money is expended for maintenance, are considered to be unnecessary highways, and may be redesignated as stock trails.

In 1958, the County Supervisors Association of California (CSAC, now the California State Association of Counties) established the California County Route Marker Program, which was incorporated into the National Uniform County Route Marker Program adopted by the National Association of Counties (NACO) in 1967. This 13-point program designates the more important county routes by designating them as "County Sign Routes" and assigning route numbers to them. The program directs county Boards of Supervisors and road commissioners to select routes that adhere to the established criteria for route selection and that are (a) constructed to a reasonable standard, (b) are provided with adequate warning signs.

The basic County Route Marker Program is defined by NACO as follows:

A County Route Marker Program should not be confused with "Standard County Road Signs" or "Standard County Route Signing Programs." The County Route Marker Program should be clearly defined as a program to mark County routes of major importance that are of general public interest; that are constructed to sufficient standards to guarantee safe passage to the motorist; that are properly signed in conformace with the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices to further ensure safe travel; and that have a logical beginning and logical terminus without reference to City, County, or State Boundaries.

This program had the bulk of its routes added between 1958 through 1970. There have been no new county sign routes added since 1983. Counties also maintain internal road numbers. Sometimes these numbers are reflected on the county roads, for example, in Tulare County, County Road SR140 is signed Road 140. In other counties, the numbers appear to be sequential (for example, Hall Road in Tehama County is County Road 53). Some counties don't seem to number their roads (such as Los Angeles county). Lastly, some counties use more complicated numbers (Oroville Dam Blvd East in Oroville is County Road 25473, and Greet Street in Tuolumne county is A54230).

Note that routes shown as ?nn have not yet had their numbers or signage confirmed.

County Routes by County

County Routes by Letter

For each route, information is given in the following categories:

	Routing. The route of the county highway, as best can be determined.
	Highway History. General historial information about the route number and its use (or previous uses).
	Current Status. Current status of the route. This gives information about construction, signage, and specific routing notes. It also provides meta-information; i.e., information about the routing information.
	HOV (High Occupancy Vehicle) Lane Information. Information about any commuter lanes constructed, or whose construction is planned, along this route.

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©1997-2004 Daniel P. Faigin.
Maintained by: Daniel P. Faigin <webmaster@cahighways.org>.
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