California State Route 86
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| Route information | ||||
| Defined by S&HC § 386 | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
| Length: | 90.67 mi[2] (145.92 km) | |||
| Existed: | 1964 renumbering (from US 99)[1] – present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end: |  SR 111 near Calexico |
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 I-8 in El Centro SR 78 in Brawley |
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| North end: |  SR 111 / I-10 Bus. in Indio |
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| Highway system | ||||
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State highways in California(list • pre-1964)
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State Route 86 (SR 86) is a north–south state highway in the southeastern desert region of Southern California, United States. It runs from State Route 111, near the Mexican border crossing at Calexico, north through the Imperial Valley via El Centro and Brawley, and around the west side of the Salton Sea into the Coachella Valley. It joins State Route 111 at Coachella and heads into Indio, ending at the intersection of Indio Boulevard and Avenue 46, where SR 111 turns west onto Avenue 46. (The locally-maintained Interstate 10 Business continues northwest on Indio Boulevard, as did SR 86 before that road was removed from the state highway system.)
The legal definition of SR 86 takes it to Interstate 10 in Indio. The route has not done this since it was truncated to Avenue 46, but the State Route 86S expressway, which will replace SR 86 around the east side of Coachella and Indio, does reach I-10.
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[edit] Route description
SR 86 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System.[3]
SR 86 begins at an intersection with SR 111 just east of the town of Heber as Heber Road. After traveling west through Heber and intersecting CR S31, SR 86 turns north and enters the city of El Centro as 4th Street, having an interchange with I-8. Passing through downtown El Centro, SR 86 intersects Main Street (CR S80) before curving to the west as Adams Avenue. The highway continues north on Imperial Avenue before entering the city of Imperial and passing by Imperial County Airport. SR 86 continues north through Imperial before leaving the city limits.[4]
North of Imperial, SR 86 intersects CR S27 before making a turn to the northeast and entering the city of Brawley. It passes to the west of downtown as Western Avenue before turning west onto Main Street and running concurrently with SR 78. SR 78 and 86 turn northwest before passing through the city of Westmoreland and intersecting CR S30. After briefly turning west, SR 78 and 86 turn northwest again and pass through Elmore and Kane Spring before SR 78 turns west towards San Diego County and SR 86 continues northwest along the western edge of the Salton Sea, intersecting CR S22. SR 86 passes through Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation and Coolidge Spring before entering Riverside County.[4]
Just north of the county line in Oasis, SR 86S continues north on an expressway, bypassing Indio and Palm Desert and connecting directly to I-10. SR 86 leaves the expressway and continues west on 81st Street and then northwest on Harrison Street. SR 86 continues northwest to the southern terminus of SR 195 before passing through One Hundred Palms and Sandy Korner, near the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport. SR 86 then enters Coachella, passing through downtown before running concurrently with SR 111 as Grapefruit Boulevard.[5] SR 86 and 111 have been decommissioned in the city of Indio, but the routing continues as Indio Boulevard all the way to I-10.[6]
[edit] History
In the late 20th century, 86 had a rather notorious reputation for frequent and often fatal collisions. For much of its length, especially between the southern tip of the Coachella Valley to the Imperial County line, 86 was a two-lane road with easy access from rural side roads. A driver trying to pass might find himself headed straight for the side of another vehicle pulling out from one of the side roads. This reputation earned 86 the nickname "Blood Alley".
Originally a part of U.S. Route 99 until the 1960s, the northern end of 86 was widened and rerouted through the new and rather unusually numbered "86S Expressway" (for "supplemental"[citation needed]) soon after the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), making Highway 86 a four- or six-lane highway for most of its length. Since it is easier to enter California from the Imperial Valley rather than through San Diego, 86 sees a great deal of truck traffic to and from Mexico, earning it still another nickname, "The NAFTA Highway". Unfortunately, the new highway has proven to be at least as dangerous as the old alignment owing to much the same problems of poorly marked and uncontrolled side roads. A rash of fatal crashes in early 2005 has prompted the city of Coachella to push Caltrans for the installation of at least two more traffic signals on 86S.
[edit] Major intersections
- Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
| County | Location | Postmile [7][8][9] |
Destinations | Notes |
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| Imperial IMP R0.00-67.82 |
R0.00 | Heber Road | Continuation beyond SR 111 | |
| R0.00 | SR 111 – Calexico, Brawley |
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| Heber | 2.08 |  CR S31 (Dogwood Road) – El Centro, Brawley, Indio |
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| El Centro | 6.01 | I-8 – Yuma, San Diego |
Interchange; south end of I-8 Bus. overlap | |
| L7.31 |  CR S80 east (Main Street) – Holtville |
South end of CR S80 overlap | ||
| L8.53 7.31 |
 I-8 Bus. west (Imperial Avenue) / CR S80 west (Adams Avenue) to I-8 – San Diego |
North end of CR S80 / I-8 Bus. overlap | ||
| Imperial | 10.82 |  CR S28 (Barioni Boulevard) |
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| 15.32 |  CR S27 (Keystone Road) |
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| Brawley | 20.63 | SR 78 east (Main Street) / 1st Street – Blythe |
South end of SR 78 overlap | |
| Westmorland |  CR S26 (Boarts Road) |
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| 27.51 |  CR S30 (Center Street) |
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| 43.56 | SR 78 west – Julian, Oceanside |
North end of SR 78 overlap | ||
| Salton City | 56.12 |  CR S22 (Borrego-Salton Seaway) / South Marina Drive – Borrego Springs, Anza-Borrego, Park Headquarters |
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| 63.63 | Brawley Avenue – Salton Sea Beach | |||
| Desert Shores | 66.14 | Desert Shores Drive | ||
| Riverside RIV 0.00-G22.85 |
R3.48 |  SR 86S north (Expressway) / 81st Avenue – Indio |
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| 5.75 |  SR 195 – Mecca |
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| 12.28 | 66th Avenue | Former SR 231 | ||
| Coachella | 20.52 | SR 111 south – Brawley |
South end of SR 111 overlap | |
 Dillon Road (I-10 Bus. east), Avenue 48 to I-10 – Desert Center, Blythe |
South end of I-10 Bus. overlap | |||
| Indio | ||||
| G22.85 | SR 111 north – Indian Wells, Palm Desert, Palm Springs |
North end of SR 111 overlap | ||
| G22.85 | I-10 Bus. west (Indio Boulevard) |
Continuation beyond SR 111; former SR 86 north | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi Concurrency terminus • Closed/former • Incomplete access • Unopened |
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[edit] References
- ^ California Highways: State Route 86
- ^ January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
- ^ CA Codes (shc:250-257)
- ^ a b Thomas Brothers (2009). San Diego County Street Atlas (Map).
- ^ Google, Inc. Google Maps – SR 86 (Map). Cartography by Google, Inc. http://maps.google.com/?ll=33.523079,-115.973053&spn=0.514039,1.234589&z=10&vpsrc. Retrieved 2011-08-24.
- ^ Thomas Brothers (2008). Riverside County Street Atlas (Map).
- ^ California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
- ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
- ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
