Existed: 1926 – 1931 North end: US 99 in French Camp Constructed 1926 | South end: US 101 in San Jose Length 140.5 km | |
U.S. Route 48 (US 48) was a route in Central California near the San Francisco Bay Area. Assigned in 1926, it ran from San Jose to French Camp. It was the first US highway to be deleted in California and was one of the first few US highways being deleted in the US.
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Route description
US 48 was a highway connecting the San Francisco Bay area with the San Joaquin Valley, traveling from San Jose to near Modesto, largely following the future routing of US 50, which replaced US 48. Its western terminus was located at former State Route 82 (SR 82), which was a former routing of US 101. From there, it head northeast on Downtown San Jose surface streets, roughly following the roads of Oakland Rd, Main St, and SR 238, eventually reaching the present day Interstate 580 (I-580), then east through the cities Pleasanton and Livermore on Castro Valley Rd, Dublin Canyon Rd, and Altamont Pass Rd. to the present-day separation between I-580 and I-205. From here, US 48 continued east on 11th St. (now I-205 Business (I-205 BUS)) through Tracy to former US 99W, now roughly I-5. It then followed US 99W northeast to Yosemite Ave, an old alignment of SR 120, where US 48 followed Yosemite Ave. to Main St, former US 99E, the location of its eastern terminus.
History
A 1925 article published in California Highways, the publication of the California Division of Highways, stated that the western terminus of US 48 was in San Jose. At some point between then and 1930, the terminus may have been set back to Hayward. The route was renumbered to an extension of US 50, which was extended along US 48 east of present-day SR 238. The remainder of US 48 became US 101E, later SR 17, then I-880.
Major intersections
This table refers to the route as it was in 1926.