Current and historic endpoints of US highway 97 in Weed, CA

View a map showing this route.

Photo credits: Chris Elbert; Alex Nitzman; Mark Roberts; Michael Summa

It seems likely that traffic in 1934 would've been routed through downtown via Main Street; if so, the photo below shows where US 97 originally ended:

Elbert, July 2004

There we're looking south on Main at Weed Boulevard (old US 99). Below is a shot from the opposite direction:

Elbert, July 2004

Old US 99 runs across the bottom of the photo; it's possible the south beginning of US 97 was straight ahead. At any rate, today's US 97 skirts the west edge of town; where that meets old US 99 is likely a former terminus as well:

Elbert, July 2004

Today, since US 99 is gone, the US 97 designation continues left to I-5's interchange 747. But it may have ended here back when US 99 was still around.

Below we're looking north on old 99:

Elbert, July 2004

US 97 may have begun to the right; the signage is shown close-up below:

Elbert, July 2004

The photo below was looking the opposite direction (southbound on old US 99); to the left was the old south beginning of US 97:

Summa, 1983

By the time Chris was there, that sign had been changed:

Elbert, July 2004

That's Mount Shasta in the background. Today US 97 also goes straight ahead along old 99, ending at the I-5 interchange. Here's a photo from there:

Elbert, July 2004

That's looking south on US 97 (old US 99) at I-5; the assembly at far right is shown close-up below:

Nitzman, Mar. 2005

The northbound onramp is to the right; southbound traffic goes under and then makes a left turn:

Elbert, July 2004

That would mark the current south end of US 97. Here's a view approaching the south beginning as seen from I-5:

Nitzman, Mar. 2005

Note the exit number: that's a long way from San Diego. (There are only two interstates that are long enough through a single state to have exit numbers that high: this one (I-5 in CA) goes up to exit 796, and I-10 in Texas goes up to exit 880.) Anyway, signage at the exit itself is shown below:

Roberts, Sep. 2004

It's likely that sign won't be with us much longer, as CalTrans is replacing its older signs along the interstates, and of course they no longer use button reflector signage. At the stop sign at the end of the offramp, this assembly is posted:

Nitzman, Mar. 2005

To view photos and get info about US 97's current north end and historic south end, please see my main US 97 page.