U.S. Route 48 (1926)

U.S. Route 48
Route information
Length:	87 mi[1] (140 km)
Existed:	1926 – 1931
Major junctions
South end:	US 101 in San Jose
North end:	US 99 in French Camp
Highway system
United States Numbered Highway System List Bannered Divided Replaced State highways in California Interstate U.S. State Pre-1964 History Unconstructed Deleted Freeway Scenic ← SR 47 SR 49 →

U.S. Route 48 (US 48) was a route in Central California near the San Francisco Bay Area. Assigned in 1926, it ran from San Jose to French Camp. It was the first US highway to be deleted in California and was one of the first few US highways being deleted in the US.

Route description

An old alignment of US 48, now SR 238

US 48 was a highway connecting the San Francisco Bay area with the San Joaquin Valley, traveling from San Jose to near Modesto, largely following the future routing of US 50, which replaced US 48. Its western terminus was located at former State Route 82 (SR 82), which was a former routing of US 101. From there, it head northeast on Downtown San Jose surface streets, roughly following the roads of Oakland Rd, Main St, and SR 238, eventually reaching the present day Interstate 580 (I-580), then east through the cities Pleasanton and Livermore on Castro Valley Rd, Dublin Canyon Rd, and Altamont Pass Rd. to the present-day separation between I-580 and I-205. From here, US 48 continued east on 11th St. (now I-205 Business (I-205 BUS)) through Tracy to former US 99W, now roughly I-5. It then followed US 99W northeast to Yosemite Ave, an old alignment of SR 120, where US 48 followed Yosemite Ave. to Main St, former US 99E, the location of its eastern terminus.^[2][3]

History

A 1925 article published in California Highways, the publication of the California Division of Highways, stated that the western terminus of US 48 was in San Jose. At some point between then and 1930, the terminus may have been set back to Hayward.^[4] The route was renumbered to an extension of US 50, which was extended along US 48 east of present-day SR 238. The remainder of US 48 became US 101E, later SR 17, then I-880.^[5]

Major intersections

This table refers to the route as it was in 1926.

County	Location	mi[6][7]	km	Destinations	Notes
Santa Clara	San Jose	0	0.0	US 101	Now former SR 82
	Milpitas	7.4	11.9	SR 237
Alameda	Fremont	15.8	25.4	SR 21	Now I-680
	Hayward	30.0	48.3	MacArthur Boulevard	Now I-580 and former US 50 and I-5W
	Pleasanton	40.6	65.3	SR 21	Now I-680
San Joaquin	​	77.7	125.0	US 99W	Now I-5
	Lathrop	80.7	129.9	SR 120
	French Camp	87.3	140.5	US 99E	Now SR 99
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

1. U.S. Highways From US 1 to US 830
2. California (Map). Rand McNally. 1933. Archived from the original on December 2, 2011.
3. United States Road Atlas (Map). Rand McNally. 2012. ISBN 978-0-528-00336-3.
4. "California Highways and Public Works, June 1925". CalTrans. Retrieved 27 June 2016.
5. Faigin, Daniel. "Routes 41-48". CAHighways. California Highways. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
6. California Division of Highways (1926). Road Map of the State of California (Map). [1:1,341,120]. Sacramento: California Division of Highways.
7. Mileposts are rounded to the nearest tenth mile using various sources including Google Maps.