State Route 177 (SR 177) is a state highway in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

Riverside County Riverside County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most populous county in California and the 10th-most populous in the Uni ...

. The route runs along Rice Road, linking Interstate 10 (I-10) midway between the Coachella Valley and

Blythe The name Blythe ( or ) derives from Old English ''bliþe'' ("joyous, kind, cheerful, pleasant"; modern ''blithe''), and further back from Proto-Germanic ''*blithiz'' ("gentle, kind"). People * Blythe (given name), including a list of people named ...

on the

–

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

border, to SR 62 near

Rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

. SR 177 travels along the eastern portion of the

Joshua Tree National Park Joshua Tree National Park is an American national park in southeastern California, east of San Bernardino and Los Angeles and north of Palm Springs. It is named after the Joshua trees (''Yucca brevifolia'') native to the Mojave Desert. Origin ...

; like the eastern of SR 62, it passes through some of the most desolate areas of the

Mojave Desert The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...

Route description

SR 177 begins at I-10 near Desert Center and briefly travels north, intersecting with CR R2. At this intersection, SR 177 turns northeast and travels across the

, through the

Chuckwalla Valley The Chuckwalla Valley is a large valley in eastern Riverside County, California, named for a large lizard, the chuckwalla found in the arid Southwestern United States deserts. The region of the valley in southeast California, is the low elevat ...

. It passes near the

Desert Center Airport Desert Center Airport is a private-use airport located five nautical miles (6 mi, 9 km) northeast of the central business district of Desert Center, in Riverside County, California, United States. The airport located at the ...

and comes near Palen Lake, a dry lake. The highway passes along the southeastern boundary of

before turning due north and crossing the desert for several miles. SR 177 briefly turns northeast again before intersecting with SR 62 and defaulting onto SR 62 eastbound. The route is two lanes wide for its entire length. SR 177 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 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

. In 2013, SR 177 had an

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...

(AADT) of 1,200 at the northern terminus with SR 62, and 3,700 at the southern terminus with I-10, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.

History

The

Metropolitan Water District The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California is a regional wholesaler and the largest supplier of treated water in the United States. The name is usually shortened to "Met," "Metropolitan," or "MWD." It is a cooperative of fourteen cit ...

built a road from Desert Center that ran north before turning east to Earp along with portions of the

Colorado River Aqueduct The Colorado River Aqueduct, or CRA, is a water conveyance in Southern California in the United States, operated by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD). The aqueduct impounds water from the Colorado River at Lake Hav ...

from February 20 to August 4 in 1933. This was part of a road system that was built in order to support the construction of the aqueduct by connecting the camps that construction workers resided in during the project. This road cost $389,600 (about $ in dollars) to construct; the roads in the system were paved. SR 177 was added to the state highway system in 1972 by the California State Legislature. As of 1998, Caltrans had no plans to expand the highway, considering it to be "maintain only" through 2015.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{commonscat
California @ AARoads.com - State Route 177Caltrans: Route 177 highway conditions

177 Year 177 ( CLXXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Commodus and Plautius (or, less frequently, year 930 ''Ab urbe co ...

State Route 177

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links