State Route 86 (SR 86) is a north–south

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 Route number, numbered or maintained by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered ...

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 so ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

that connects the Imperial and

Coachella Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...

valleys in the southeastern desert region of the state. It runs from State Route 111 near the

Mexican border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the sou ...

crossing at

Calexico Calexico () is a city in southern Imperial County, California. Situated on the Mexican border, it is linked economically with the much larger city of Mexicali, the capital of the Mexican state of Baja California. It is about east of San Dieg ...

north through the Imperial Valley via

El Centro El Centro ( Spanish for "The Center") is a city and county seat of Imperial County, California, United States. El Centro is the most populous city in the Imperial Valley, the east anchor of the Southern California Border Region, and the co ...

and Brawley, and around the west side of the

Salton Sea The Salton Sea is a shallow, landlocked, highly salinity, saline endorheic lake in Riverside County, California, Riverside and Imperial County, California, Imperial counties in Southern California. It lies on the San Andreas Fault within the S ...

into the Coachella Valley. It then goes through

before terminating at

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

Indio Indio may refer to: Places * Indio, Bovey Tracey, an historic estate in Devon, England * Indio, California, a city in Riverside County, California, United States People with the name * Indio (musician), Canadian musician Gordon Peterson * Índi ...

Route description

SR 86 begins at an intersection with SR 111, just east of the town of Heber, as Heber Road. After traveling west through Heber, and intersecting CR S31, SR 86 heads north and enters the city of

(as 4th Street), having an interchange with I-8. Passing through downtown El Centro, SR 86 intersects Main Street ( CR S80) before curving to the west (as Adams Avenue). The highway continues north on Imperial Avenue before it enters the city of Imperial and passes Imperial County Airport, continuing north as it leaves the city limits. North of Imperial, SR 86 intersects CR S27 before making a turn to the northeast, entering the city of Brawley. It passes to the west of downtown (as Western Avenue) before turning west onto Main Street, running concurrently with SR 78. Both SR 78 and 86 turn northwest before passing through the city of Westmoreland and intersecting CR S30. After briefly turning west, SR 78 and 86 turn northwest again and pass through Elmore and Kane Spring; SR 78 turns west (towards

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its border with Mexico. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634; it is the second-most populous ...

), while SR 86 continues northwest along the western edge of the

(just east of

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, AN-zə bə-RAY-goh'') is a California State Park located within the Colorado Desert of Southern California, United States. Created in 1932, the park takes its name from 18th ...

), before it intersects CR S22. SR 86 passes through the Torres-Martinez Indian Reservation and Coolidge Spring before entering

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

. Just north of the county line in

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentSR 111, and turns northwest, running parallel to that highway. As it nears

, the expressway turns into a freeway. SR 86 ends at an interchange with

I-10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the originall ...

. SR 86 is part of the

California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both state highways and federal highways in California. It was defined by Article 2 (comme ...

, and north of the southern SR 78 junction is 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 ...

History

In the late 20th century, SR 86 had a rather notorious reputation for frequent and often fatal collisions. For much of its length, especially between the southern tip of the Coachella Valley to the

Imperial County Imperial County is a county located on the southeast border of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 179,702, ranking as the least populous county in Southern California. The county seat and largest city is ...

line, SR 86 was a two-lane road with easy access from rural side roads. A driver trying to pass might find himself headed straight for the side of another vehicle pulling out from one of the side roads. This reputation earned SR 86 the nickname "Blood Alley". Originally a part of

U.S. Route 99 U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the Mexican border to Blaine, Washington, on the Canadian border. It w ...

until the 1960s, the northern end of SR 86 was widened and rerouted through the new and rather unusually designation State Route 86S (SR 86S) (for "supplemental") soon after the signing of the

North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...

(NAFTA), making SR 86 a four- or six-lane highway for most of its length. Since it is easier to enter California from the Imperial Valley than through

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, SR 86 sees a great deal of truck traffic to and from Mexico, earning it still another nickname, "The NAFTA Highway". The new highway has proven to be at least as dangerous as the old alignment owing to much the same problems of poorly marked and uncontrolled side roads. A rash of fatal crashes in early 2005 prompted the city of Coachella to push

Caltrans The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...

for the installation of at least two more traffic signals on SR 86S. In December 2012, the SR 86 designation was transferred to the routing of SR 86S, and SR 86S ceased to exist. State Route 195 was removed from the state highway system as a result. SR 86 was originally truncated to Avenue 46, but the State Route 86S expressway, which replaced SR 86 around the east side of Coachella and Indio, did reach I-10. Despite SR 86's rerouting, the Airport Boulevard interchange remains numbered as exit 16, reflecting the former SR 86S's distance.

Major intersections

References

External links

{{CASR external links, SR, 86
California @ AARoads.com - State Route 86
086 State Route 086 State Route 086 Imperial Valley Brawley, California Coachella, California El Centro, California El Centro metropolitan area Indio, California Salton Sea California State Route 086

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links