California State Route 162
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| Route 162 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 175 mi (292 km) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Formed: | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Major cities: | Willows Butte City Oroville |
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| Direction: | West-East | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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State Route 162 runs roughly west-east from U.S. Route 101 near Longvale, in Mendocino County, to Oroville, in Butte County. For most of its length, it's a two lane, undivided highway. But the highway is broken into two pieces. The state's sponsorship of the road ends where it enters the Mendocino National Forest in Mendocino County. Here it becomes an unimproved dirt road maintained by the U.S. Forest Service. It picks up again at the eastern boundery of the National Forest in Glenn County, some 30 miles west of Willows.
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[edit] Route description
[edit] Longvale to Covelo
State Route 162 (SR-162) begins in Mendocino County at Longvale, 10 miles south of the city of Laytonville along U.S. Route 101. It goes east through Long Valley next to the Middle Fork of the Eel River. On the opposite bank of the river is the right of way of the disused Northwestern Pacific Railroad. It is 30 miles from Longvale to Covelo. This portion of SR-162 is called Covelo Road. Covelo is in Round Valley, home of the Round Valley Indian Reservation [1]. SR-162 is called Commercial Street as it goes north through the center of town. Beyond Covelo, there are 11 miles of paved road between Covelo and the Mendocino National Forest. This is called Mendocino Pass Road.
[edit] Crossing the Mendocino National Forest
When entering the national forest, the road becomes Forest Highway 7, (FH7). Here, the pavement ends. FH7 continues across the Mendocino National Forest some 50 miles over Mendocino Pass, (5420ft.). It is roughly 35 miles along the unpaved road to Alder Springs, which is inside the Mendocino National Forest in Glenn County. Alder Springs is the location of the Alder Springs GASB site, which is part of the Consolidated Reporting of EarthquakeS and Tsunamis, (CREST), network run by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, (NOAA), the United States Geological Survey, (USGS), & the Federal Emergency Management Agency, (FEMA). The pavement resumes here and it is 41 miles from here to Willows. Along the way, SR-162 crosses Stoney Creek and runs east paralleling Nye Creek. Seven miles west of Willows is Thunderhill Raceway Park. At Willows, SR-162 passes the Willows-Glenn County Airport [2], (FAA Identifier: WLW), and crosses Interstate 5.
[edit] Across the Central Valley
From Willows and the intersection of Interstate 5, SR-162 runs east for 9 miles to the town of Glenn. Here, the track of SR-162 turns right and follows State Route 45 south for 4 miles along the bank of the Sacramento River to Codora. Here, the highway turns left going east, crosses the Sacramento River and enters the town of Butte City. The highway jogs north as it passes through Butte City, then east again going 20 miles due east to meet State Route 99 (formerly U.S. Route 99). This is called the Butte City Highway. SR-162 turns north along SR-99 then east again along Oroville Dam Boulevard.
[edit] Oroville
Travelling east, SR-162 passes the Thermalito Afterbay and the Oroville Municipal Airport [3], (FAA Identifier: OVE) before crossing the Feather River on the Randy Jennings Memorial Bridge. As the highway enters Oroville, it crosses under State Route 70. Here it is called Oroville Dam Blvd or "Oro-Dam". SR-162 goes 2 miles through the center of Oroville then turns right onto Olive Highway. Olive Highway goes east 7¼ miles to Kelly Ridge Road where it turns north and crosses Lake Oroville over the Bidwell Bar Bridge. SR-162 ends along the Oroville-Quincy Highway at Foreman Creek Road along the eastern edge of the Lake Oroville National Recreation Area.
[edit] Oroville-Quincy Highway
In 1915, the Oroville-Quincy Highway was designated as Legislative Route Number 30. [4] This route was abandoned by the state in 1924. In the late 1930s, there was a temporary routing of Alternate US 40 that ran from Davis through Yuba City to Oroville thence to Quincy along Oroville-Quincy Highway, and Bucks Lake Road. The Oroville-Quincy Highway begins in Oroville at Oro-Dam Blvd E just past Olive Highway and runs east. It continues east roughly paralleling Olive Highway until it merges with SR-162 just before Oakvale Ave. It breaks off from SR-162 at Wally B Lane running parallel to the highway for a mile or so before reconnecting at Kelly Ridge Road. The highway runs roughly north and crosses Lake Oroville over the Bidwell Bar Bridge. SR-162 ends near here at Foreman Creek Road, but the Oroville-Quincy Highway continues toward Berry Creek and Madrone Lake. Here it turns east again and runs 6½ miles to Brush Creek. From Brush Creek, the highway turns north for 12½ miles to Palmetto. Here the highway turns ENE 11 miles to Buck's Lodge and Buck's Lake. It then goes 16¼ east along Buck's Lake Road past Meadow Valley and Spanish Ranch before arriving at Quincy, a total distance of 62¾ miles.
[edit] Summary
In all, State Route 162 runs some 175 miles across the state of California, of which roughly 50 miles are within the Mendocino National Forest and designated as FH7. In addition, there are 51 miles of road coterminous with SR-162 known as the Oroville-Quincy Highway. In short, SR-162 traverses nearly the entire state from the Pacific Ocean to the Nevada border. It is approximately 60 miles from Quincy to the Nevada border along State Route 70 and U.S. Highway 395. It is 37¼ miles from Longvale to Westport on the Pacific Ocean via U.S. Route 101 and State Route 1.
[edit] State law
Legal Definition of Route 162: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 462
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Route 162 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.1 of the California State Highway Code. |
