California State Route 177

State Route 177 marker
State Route 177
Rice Road
SR 177 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length27.024 mi[1] (43.491 km)
Major junctions
South end I-10 near Desert Center
North end SR 62 near Rice
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesRiverside
Highway system
← SR 175→ SR 178

State Route 177 (SR 177) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in Riverside County. The route runs along Rice Road,[2] linking Interstate 10 (I-10) midway between the Coachella Valley and Blythe on the California–Arizona border, to SR 62 near Rice. SR 177 travels along the eastern portion of the Joshua Tree National Park; like the eastern 100 miles (160 km) of SR 62, it passes through some of the most desolate areas of the Mojave Desert.

Route description

SR 177 near Desert Center

SR 177 begins at I-10 near Desert Center and briefly travels north, intersecting with CR R2. At this intersection, SR 177 turns northeast and travels across the Mojave Desert, through the Chuckwalla Valley. It passes near the Desert Center Airport and comes near Palen Lake, a dry lake. The highway passes along the southeastern boundary of Joshua Tree National Park before turning due north and crossing the desert for several miles. SR 177 briefly turns northeast again before intersecting with SR 62 and defaulting onto SR 62 eastbound.[3]

The route is two lanes wide for its entire length.[4] SR 177 is not part of the National Highway System,[5] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[6] In 2013, SR 177 had an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 1,200 at the northern terminus with SR 62, and 3,700 at the southern terminus with I-10, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.[7]

History

The Metropolitan Water District built a road from Desert Center that ran north before turning east to Earp along with portions of the Colorado River Aqueduct from February 20 to August 4 in 1933. This was part of a road system that was built in order to support the construction of the aqueduct by connecting the camps that construction workers resided in during the project. This road cost $389,600 (about $7 million in 2023 dollars)[8] to construct; the roads in the system were paved.[9] SR 177 was added to the state highway system in 1972 by the California State Legislature.[10] As of 1998, Caltrans had no plans to expand the highway, considering it to be "maintain only" through 2015.[4]

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was when the route was established, 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 (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Riverside County.

LocationPostmile
[11][7][1]		DestinationsNotes
​0.00 I-10 – Blythe, IndioInterchange; south end of SR 177; I-10 exit 192
​0.26Kaiser Road (CR R2) – Kaiser Mine
​27.02 SR 62 (Twentynine Palms Highway, Rice Road) – Rice, Twentynine PalmsNorth end of SR 177
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c 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.
  2. ^ "Interstate 10 Freeway Interchanges" (PDF). California Numbered Exit Uniform System. California Department of Transportation. August 8, 2018. Retrieved May 29, 2019. Exit 192: SR-177 North / Desert Center / Rice Road
  3. ^ Riverside County Road Atlas (Map). Thomas Brothers. 2008.
  4. ^ a b Staff (1998). "SR 177 Transportation Concept Report" (PDF). California Department of Transportation. pp. 3, 5. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
  5. ^ Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (South) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved May 25, 2015.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ a b California Department of Transportation (2013). "All Traffic Volumes on CSHS". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  8. ^ Johnston, Louis; Williamson, Samuel H. (2023). "What Was the U.S. GDP Then?". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved November 30, 2023. United States Gross Domestic Product deflator figures follow the MeasuringWorth series.
  9. ^ Staff (1939). History & First Annual Report, Commemorative Edition (PDF). Metropolitan Water District. pp. 141–145. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2013.
  10. ^ California State Assembly. "An act to amend Sections 263.3, 263.8, and 415 of, and to add Section 486 to, the Streets and Highways Code, relating to state highways". 1972 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 1216 p. 2351.
  11. ^ California Department of Transportation (October 2018). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
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