California Roads - Kearny Villa Rd./old US 395/old I-15

Kearny Villa Road (former US 395, former I-15)



Kearny Villa Rd. SB turns off of itself and follows alongside CA 163 for a few more miles.


A few NB signs, starting at H Ave. north of CA 52.


SB signs in the same area. While plenty of surface streets have overhead signs, it's rare for them to have overhead advance signs like the first photo, and even rarer to have an overpass on which to mount it. Short story is yes, something's up.


I'm next to a Marine Corps Airr Station and I see a plane overhead. First reaction is, ooh, that looks funny, I'll take a photo. Second reaction is, I've just blown our next covert mission. So if you see this photo, please vow that you've never seen it before and that it's not on my website next to this caption. (All kidding aside, if they want secrecy, they won't fly over public land, so whatever it is, it's not extraordinary.)


Back to some more NB signs. It would appear there are two exits in a row, and the sign styles are consistent with a freeway as opposed to a surface street. Yes, Virginia, there is a freeway here, carrying two lanes of Kearny Villa Rd. in each direction. That of course raises the question as to why there would be one here, which ought to have been answered by the page title - it was constructed as part of the US 395 freeway in 1950, and became I-15 with the advent of Interstate numbering. The freeway to the north (still part of I-15) flowed into this section instead of the wider highway to the east, and turned again to follow the remainder of CA 163 (which is therefore also former US 395 and former I-15). Kearny Villa Rd. was bypassed at the same time as I-5 was built to the current I-8 junction.


Miramar Way WB (at the MCAS exit). The right arrow points to Kearny Villa Rd. NB, which should be the primary message for that direction (or the only one if there is a limit).


A few views of the SB striping on the old freeway section. Between the left and right shoulders, there's probably enough room for four lanes each way, but certainly at least three. Well, Kearny Villa Rd. doesn't need that many lanes, but I-15 certainly did. What's interesting is that into the 1970s, the original US 395 freeway that became I-15 only had two lanes each way. It was widened in this manner very shortly before it ended up being bypassed in 1982, a clear waste of energy and lack of coordination.


The SB Kearny Villa Rd. bike route ends at Miramar Rd., which makes sense because that is the northern end of the freeway. It's also listed as a NB exit if you scroll up, but with the down arrow obscured. The original I-15 Miramar Rd. interchange has been obliterated, so the arrow was obscured to reflect that there's no longer an exit here; Miramar Rd. is now just a cross street. It's interesting that the word "Exit" remains on the sign, let alone still having the sign up at all.


Cheating a little bit, these photos are Gold Coast Dr. EB and turning onto Black Mountain Rd. SB. Black Mountain turns off of itself, much as Kearny Villa Rd. did in the first photo on this page, and the through road becomes none other than Kearny Villa - just north of Miramar Rd., no less.

Continue south on old US 395/old I-15 to CA 163
To current I-15
Current US 395

Onto CA 52
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