California State Route 174

Route description

State Route 174 begins at exit 135 of I-80 in Colfax. Immediately after crossing I-80, the route turns right on Auburn Street and right again on Central Street, which bypasses downtown; a business route follows Auburn Street, Grass Valley Street, and Main Street through downtown.

SR 174 is not part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. SR 174 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.

History

The Capital Construction Company began improving the county road between Colfax (on Route 37, signed as US 40) and Grass Valley (on Route 17) under contract on September 29, 1931, and completed the work by mid-September 1932. The state legislature placed it on the state highway system in 1933 as an extension of the existing Nevada City-Downieville Route 25. In the 1964 renumbering, the highway received a signed designation, State Route 174.

Local residents created the Colfax Highway Association in 1967 at the Peardale firehouse, about halfway between the two ends, in order to preserve the rural nature of the road. When the 21-foot (6.5 m) wide 1924 concrete arch bridge that took SR 174 across the Bear River on the county line was set for replacement in the late 1980s, the group successfully lobbied to preserve it for non-motorized traffic. The association also pushed for Nevada County's Gold Country Stage bus service to add a route along the highway to Colfax, which was agreed to in late 1998 and still runs as Route 12, connecting downtown Grass Valley with Colfax's Amtrak station. After a request by Nevada County in 1988, the state legislature designated the part of SR 174 in unincorporated Nevada County (between the county line and the Grass Valley city limits) as eligible for the State Scenic Highway System in 1991. In 1999, the Colfax Highway Association attempted to get the route officially declared a State Scenic Highway. They argued that the designation would "protect the scenic character and rural flavor of the highway". A newly formed group, Concerned Citizens for 174, opposed the designation because it would restrict the property rights of residents along the highway, for instance requiring them to use "natural colors". The opposition was successful, and SR 174 remains eligible for State Scenic Highway status but is not a State Scenic Highway.

Major intersections

10.22

Colfax business loop

State Route 174 Business (SR 174 Bus.) is a short, unsigned business route of California State Route 174 in Colfax. It provides access to downtown Colfax as Auburn Street, Grass Valley Street, and Main Street. The business route follows the original routing of US 40.

;Major intersections

References

References

1. [[Sacramento Bee]], Scenic Highway Concept Spurs Alarm, March 25, 1999, p. N1
2. SR 174 follows the old [[Lincoln Highway]] ([[US 40 (CA). US 40]]) north out of downtown to Rollins Lake Road, where the present state highway turns northwest along the '''Colfax Highway'''. It then crosses the [[Bear River (Feather River). Bear River]] from [[Placer County, California. Placer County]] into [[Nevada County, California. Grass Valley]]. Turning west on Colfax Avenue, the state highway passes under the [[California State Route 20. SR 20]]/[[California State Route 49
3. {{FHWA NHS map
4. {{FHWA NHS
5. {{CA scenic
6. {{Caltrans scenic
7. ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', Construction Started on Colfax Highway, September 30, 1931
8. [[Oakland Tribune]], Automotive Section, September 18, 1932
9. {{cite CAstat. (1933)
10. {{cite CAstat. (1935)
11. {{cite CAstat. (1963)
12. ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', Highway Boosters Stay Ahead of Curve, August 17, 1997, p. N1
13. ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', Slated for Razing, Span Gets Reprieve, January 14, 1987, p. B1
14. ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', Bus Route to Penetrate Foothills' Last Transitless Corridor, December 10, 1998, p. N1
15. [[Gold Country Stage]], [https://docs.co.nevada.ca.us/dsweb/Get/Document-191080/ System Map]{{Dead link. (November 2018)
16. {{cite CAstat. (1991)
17. ''[[Sacramento Bee]]'', Scenic Highway Concept Spurs Alarm, March 25, 1999, p. N1
18. (July 2007)
19. [[California Department of Transportation]], [http://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/2006all.htm All Traffic Volumes on CSHS] {{webarchive. link. (July 21, 2011 , 2006)