Right out of the gate, starting off with photos on the left and right of the same gantry.


Onto the Exit 3B C-D road for the last four photos. (That's not a bunch of letters - check my glossary!) The reason for the budding arrows on the 163 North sign is that there's a slip ramp back onto the freeway on that point for traffic that's just come off of I-8, but staying on the C-D road will also eventually lead back onto the mainline. Note that Friars Rd. is Exit 4 SB, but because of the link with I-5, it's part of Exit 3B in this direction. That's the wrong answer, but it's Caltrans' answer.


Following the I-8 West branch instead of the Friars Road branch of the Exit 3B ramp leads to this button copy assembly. Trying to find every old sign in California is like trying to find every state-numbered road in Virginia. (In other words, almost all of them, and some in obscure places.)


The last two photos are on the Exit 6 ramp. If the Mesa College Drive signs look somewhat different (or tacked on), it's because the old name was Artillery Drive. In fact, you can see the 'y' in Artillery poking out of the exit sign below the first 'e' in College.


The last two photos are on the left and right of the Exit 7A gantry.


The button copy at Balboa Ave. is all well and good, even on the cross street, but the problem is that this hasn't been CA 274 for a dozen years now. If only that would stop Caltrans from posting old routes. Actually, I take that back. Keep posting old routes - but only by failing to patch or repatch old signs.


The last photo is on the Exit 8 ramp. When US 395 and later I-15 followed CA 163, they left the current 163 alignment right about here and curved onto a straightaway just west of modern I-15, which is now a short freeway section of Kearny Villa Rd. There are two lanes each way on an eight-lane alignment, since what had been built as a four-lane US 395 freeway was widened to carry high volumes of I-15 traffic just before the new alignment was built to the east in 1982, which now carries I-15 down to I-8 and into CA 15 (even more newly built).


What is a Mi? Is it short for Michael? Where's the other ¼ of him?

Over to the southbound lanes
Continue north on old US 395/old I-15 to Kearny Villa Rd.
Back to CA 163 main page
Onto current I-15
Current US 395

Onto I-8
Onto I-805
Onto Kearny Villa Rd.
Onto CA 52
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