End of US highway 48[I]
View a map showing this route.
Photo credits: Chris Elbert
| Approx. time period | East terminus | West terminus |
|---|---|---|
| 1926-1931 | French Camp, CA | San Jose, CA |
There was a US 48 among the original 1926 routes; it ran between US 99 at French Camp CA (outside Stockton) and US 101 at San Jose, and lasted only until 1931 (when it was mostly replaced with an extended US 50). The photo below is looking at the historic east end of US 48 at French Camp:
Elbert, Mar.
2005
That's from northbound El Dorado St. US 99 came in from the right on French Camp Road and continued ahead via El Dorado. Below we're looking northwest on French Camp:
Elbert,
Mar. 2005
That's from the perspective of old northbound US 99, which veered to the right here on El Dorado. The cars at far left are at the historic east end of US 48. Below is a view from southbound El Dorado:
Elbert,
Mar. 2005
Southbound US 99 traffic was directed to turn to the left here, and straight ahead was the east beginning of US 48. That designation continued all the way to the location shown below:
Elbert, Mar.
2005
That's in San Jose, looking west on Santa Clara Boulevard at First Avenue. US 48 ended there; ahead was northbound US 101, and southbound 101 was to the left.
I'm told that later on, US 101 split into 101E and 101W at that intersection. US 101E went north to Hayward via what had been US 48, so US 48's south end was truncated to that point briefly (before it was completely decommissioned). Below we're looking south on CA hwy. 238 at Castro Valley Boulevard:
Elbert, Mar. 2005
That was once southbound US 101E, and US 48 would've begun to the left. US 48 was decomissioned in 1931, when it was swallowed up by a westward extension of US 50. So for the next four years or so, it was US 50 that began to the left (more info on that page).
In 1973 the second US 48 was commissioned. Originally it ran from Morgantown WV to the Willowbrook Road interchange (now exit 44) in Cumberland MD, but sometime in the 1980s it was extended eastward to Hancock. That route was decommissioned in 1991 and replaced with the I-68 designation; you can read more about it on this page. The current US 48 wasn't commissioned until 2002; you can read more on this page.