SCR 147, as introduced, Anderson. Historic Highway Route 79.
This measure would designate a specified portion of Highway Route 79 in the Counties of San Diego and Riverside as Historic Highway Route 79 and request the Department of Transportation to determine the cost of appropriate signs showing this special designation and, upon receiving donations from nonstate sources covering that cost, to erect those signs.
Fiscal committee: yes.
P1 1WHEREAS, Highway Route 79 is among the County of San
2Diego’s last three unsullied rural highways; and
3WHEREAS, Highway Route 79 begins in the community of
4Descanso and then climbs and winds through some of southern
5California’s most historically significant natural and manmade
6sites; and
7WHEREAS, Highway Route 79 then travels through Cuyamaca
8Rancho State Park, surrounding travelers with geological and
9geographical landmarks; and
10WHEREAS, Highway Route 79 next winds past gold mines,
11communities, and tiny towns that dot the primeval Cleveland
12National Forest; and
P2 1WHEREAS, In 1600, those already old and overlapping trails
2that would later become Highway Route 79 marked the way for
3Spanish explorer Pedro Fages and those riding horses with him;
4and
5WHEREAS, A portion of Highway Route 79 served as a
6segment of the 2,812 mile Butterfield Overland Mail Route, which
7was the first transcontinental postal delivery service in the country;
8and
9WHEREAS, In other states, several portions of the Butterfield
10Overland Mail Route have been officially registered as historic
11places, reminding today’s travelers of the bravery, determination,
12and adventurism of those who built and travelled this famous route
13in the 19th century; and
14WHEREAS, Highway Route 79 further winds through Julian,
15a community that a handful of people founded and in which gold
16was discovered in 1870; and
17WHEREAS, By 1908, when the state began paving Highway
18Route 79, the route had already been used by army surveyors, pre-
19and post-Civil War gold miners, American and European settlers,
20Chinese workers, immigrants from the British Isles, and European
21immigrants tired of the Austro-Hungarian wars; and
22WHEREAS, Highway Route 79 has outstanding natural, cultural,
23historic, and scenic qualities; and
24WHEREAS, It is therefore appropriate to recognize a portion
25of Highway Route 79 for its historical significance and importance
26in the development of California and to designate that portion as
27Historic Highway Route 79; now, therefore, be it
28Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
29thereof concurring, That the Legislature hereby designates the
30portion of Highway Route 79 from where it intersects with
31Interstate 8 at Japatul Valley Road in the County of San Diego to
32its intersection with Interstate 15 in the County of Riverside as
33Historic Highway Route 79; and be it further
34Resolved, That the Department of Transportation is requested
35to determine the cost of appropriate signs consistent with signing
36requirements for the state highway system showing the special
37Historic Highway Route 79 designation, and, upon receiving
38donations from nonstate sources for that cost, to facilitate the
39erection of those signs at appropriate locations on Highway Route
4079; and be it further
P3 1Resolved, That the designation of Historic Highway Route 79
2pursuant to this resolution shall have no impact upon the future
3planning or development of adjacent private and public properties;
4and be it further
5Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of
6this resolution to the Director of Transportation and to the author
7for appropriate distribution.
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