California State Route 173
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State Route 173 (SR 173) is a
state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
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 sover ...
of
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
that runs entirely in
San Bernardino County San Bernardino County (), officially the County of San Bernardino, is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, and is located within the Inland Empire area. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 2,181, ...
, mostly in the
San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...
. Its west end is at State Route 138 near the west end of
Silverwood Lake Silverwood Lake is a large reservoir in San Bernardino County, California, United States, located on the West Fork Mojave River, a tributary of the Mojave River in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was created in 1971 as part of the State Water P ...
in the Summit Valley south of Hesperia. Its east end is at State Route 18 south of Lake Arrowhead. The route starts at the Mojave River Forks, skims the easterly and southerly sides of Lake Arrowhead and meets State Route 189, Lake's Edge Road, at the south entrance to the Lake Arrowhead Village. It is the only California state highway with an
unpaved A road surface (British English), or pavement (American English), is the durable surface material laid down on an area intended to sustain vehicular or foot traffic, such as a road or walkway. In the past, gravel road surfaces, hoggin, cobble ...
segment, which is a one-lane jeep trail on the northwestern face of the San Bernardino Mountains directly east of Summit Valley and northwest of
Blue Jay The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are a ...
. Since March 2011, this one-lane unpaved segment of SR 173 has been closed. Through traffic should use SR 138 and SR 18. An alternate route from Hesperia to Lake Arrowhead would involve heading south on
I-15 I15 may refer to: * Interstate 15, a north–south Interstate Highway in the United States of America * Polikarpov I-15, a Soviet fighter aircraft * I15 (band) "Soulja Girl" is the second single from American rapper Soulja Boy's studio album '' ...
, then south on
I-215 Interstate 215 is the designation for several Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to Interstate 15 (I-15): * Interstate 215 (California), a regional Interstate bypass for I-15 and a connection to I-10 that serves the ...
, then east on SR 210 in
San Bernardino San Bernardino (; Spanish language, Spanish for Bernardino of Siena, "Saint Bernardino") is a city and county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States. Located in the Inland Empire region of Southern California, the city had a ...
to reach the southern terminus of SR 18 at Waterman Road.


Route description

SR 173 begins at SR 138 just inside the Hesperia city limits and travels east along the shore of
Silverwood Lake Silverwood Lake is a large reservoir in San Bernardino County, California, United States, located on the West Fork Mojave River, a tributary of the Mojave River in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was created in 1971 as part of the State Water P ...
, passing near Cedar Springs Dam. The road briefly turns north further into the Hesperia city limits, leaving the
San Bernardino National Forest The San Bernardino National Forest is a United States National Forest in Southern California encompassing of which are federal. The forest is made up of two main divisions, the eastern portion of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Bernard ...
. SR 173 leaves the city and enters Mojave River Forks Regional Park, where it turns east and intersects Arrowhead Lake Road, which leads to the urban center of Hesperia. Once SR 173 intersects the
Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), officially designated as the Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail, is a long-distance hiking and equestrian trail closely aligned with the highest portion of the Cascade and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges, which lie ...
, it turns into a one-lane dirt road rising along the north face of the San Bernardino Mountains, first heading east to its apex before turning south to the Lake Arrowhead area. A few miles from Lake Arrowhead, SR 173 becomes paved and enters the community of Cedar Glen, where it parallels the Lake Arrowhead shoreline and encounters Papoose Lake. The highway enters the community of Lake Arrowhead, where SR 173 intersects SR 189 and turns south to terminate at SR 18. SR 173 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 a ...
. SR 173 is eligible for inclusion in the State Scenic Highway System, but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the
California Department of Transportation The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
.


History

Before 1964, Route 173 was part of California Legislative Route 59; however, like a small number of other California State highways, it was not signed. From 1934 to the mid-1950s the part of Route 59 that is now Route 173 was designated by the California Division of Highways to be a segment of California sign route 2; however, signing did not occur. From the mid-1950s through July 1964, the Division of Highways changed the routing of future sign route 2 from the subject segment of Route 59 to Legislative Route 188, the segment of present California 138 between the junction of Routes 138 and 173 and Mount Anderson Junction, the junction of Routes 18 and 138 south of Crestline. The highway has faced repeated problems since the 2003 Willow Fire that has made the one-lane unpaved trail portion (between Postmile 7 and Postmile 11) unsafe for passage from erosion and storm damage. As of March 2011, the one-lane trail portion of SR 173 is permanently closed to through traffic. While roadway preservation maintenance (basic grading, debris clearance) is still done, this decision effectively ends all further interest to upgrade the segment to a 2-lane passable highway through state-funded projects.


Major intersections


See also

*


References


External links

{{commonscat
California @ AARoads - State Route 173Caltrans: Route 173 highway conditions
173 State Route 173 San Bernardino Mountains Hesperia, California