State Route 44 (SR 44) is a state highway in the U.S. State of California that travels in an east–west direction from State Routes 273 and 299 in Redding to Lassen Volcanic National Park before ending at State Route 36 west of Susanville. This final portion, between the park and its terminus, is part of the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.
 State Route 44 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 44 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
| Length | 107.02 miα (172.23 km) | |||
| Existed | 1935[1]–present | |||
| Tourist routes |  Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |   SR 273 / SR 299 in Redding | |||
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| East end |  SR 36 near Susanville | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Counties | Shasta, Lassen | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
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Route 44 starts in Redding, at the junction of Route 273 (Market Street) and Route 299. This is because in 1998, Route 299's definition was changed. It previously ran on Tehama Street to I-5, but this portion was transferred to Route 44 in 1998 (SR 44 had ended at I-5 at that time). Existing postmile markers do not normally change, so the Route 44/I-5 interchange is still marked as 0.00, and instead the western extension of Route 44 to Route 299 has postmiles with an "L" prefix to signify an overlap due to a correction or change ().
After running through one-way pairs through Downtown Redding, SR 44 departs SR 273 onto Tehama Street. After a few blocks, it becomes a freeway as it crosses I-5 and changes back to a two-lane highway at the Redding city limits. Heading eastward, Route 44 passes through a number of small, rural communities (Palo Cedro, Millville, Shingletown, to name a few) before it reaches the north-west entrance to Lassen National Park and the southern Cascades. After this, the only community it passes through is Old Station, which is also the only location for travel services until Susanville.
From the Park entrance, Route 44 joins the Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway. Route 44 is part of a circular portion of the Scenic Byway, so at the junction with Route 89, the Byway continues along both 89 to the north and on 44 to the east. When Route 44 reaches its terminus at Route 36, the byway heads southwest to continue its circular path.[2]
Between the Route 89 intersection and Route 36 is only one rest area, called Bogard.
SR 44 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[3] and is part of the National Highway System,[4] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[5] SR 44 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System,[6] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.[7]
Major intersections
editExcept where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ().[8] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
| County | Location | Postmile [8][9][10] | Exit [11] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shasta SHA L0.00-71.39 | Redding | L0.00 |   SR 273 north / SR 299 east (Market Street north / Historic US 99) | Western terminus of SR 44; west end of SR 273 / Historic US 99 overlap; west end of one-way pair where SR 44 east / SR 273 south traffic heads onto Market Street south and SR 44 west / SR 273 north traffic joins from Eureka Way east | |
 SR 299 west (Eureka Way west) – Weaverville, Eureka | |||||
| L0.16L | SR 273 (Pine Street) | One-way street, inbound access only; SR 44 west traffic joins SR 273 north traffic along Pine Street north | |||
| L0.17R |  SR 273 south (Tehama Street west / Historic US 99) | East end of SR 273 / Historic US 99 overlap; SR 44 east traffic splits onto Tehama Street east | |||
| L0.31L– L0.38R | Liberty Street | At-grade intersection; west end of freeway; no westbound access to Liberty Street south; east end of one-way pair where westbound traffic splits onto Shasta Street and eastbound traffic joins from Tehama Street | |||
| L0.85 | 1 | Park Marina Drive / Sundial Bridge Drive | |||
| L1.81 R0.00 | 2 |  I-5 – Sacramento, Portland | Signed as exits 2A (south) and 2B (north); I-5 exits 678A-B | ||
| R0.13– R0.38 | 3A | Hilltop Drive / Dana Drive | Signed as exit 2C eastbound; Dana Drive not signed eastbound | ||
| R1.24 | 3B | Victor Avenue | Signed as exit 3 eastbound | ||
| R2.13 | 4 | Shasta View Drive | |||
| R3.63 | 5 | Old Oregon Trail / Airport Road | |||
| East end of freeway | |||||
| | R4.99 | Stillwater Road | Interchange | ||
| Palo Cedro | R7.00 | Deschutes Road | Interchange | ||
| | 34.70 | Shingletown Rest Area | |||
| | R49.35 |  SR 89 south – Lassen Volcanic National Park | West end of SR 89 overlap | ||
| Old Station | 62.69 | SR 89 north – Burney Falls, Mount Shasta | East end of SR 89 overlap | ||
| Lassen LAS 0.00-37.25 | | 14.50 | Bogard Rest Area | ||
| | 37.25 | SR 36 – Susanville, Red Bluff | Eastern terminus of SR 44 | ||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
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See also
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Notes
editReferences
edit- ^ California Highways: State Route 44
- ^ "Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway web site". Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^ "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (North) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
- ^ "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
- ^ a b California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (April 2018). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
- ^ Staff (2005–2006). "All Traffic Volumes on CSHS". California Department of Transportation.
- ^ Staff. "State Route 44 Freeway Interchanges" (PDF). California Numbered Exit Uniform System. California Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 15, 2021.
External links
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