State Route 3 (SR 3) 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 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 serves

Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...

and Siskiyou counties. It runs from SR 36 north along the shore of Trinity Lake, Fort Jones and Etna. The route then approaches

Yreka Yreka ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Siskiyou County, California, United States, near the Shasta River; the city has an area of about , most of it land. As of the 2020 census, the population was 7,807, reflecting an increase from 7,7 ...

, intersecting with

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway System, Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels thro ...

(I-5), and turns east to Montague. The road was numbered SR 3 in 1964, and most of it has been part of the state highway system since 1933.

Route description

SR 3 begins at the junction with SR 36 south of the town of

Peanut The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...

in Trinity County. SR 3 is also known as Bramlot Road from its southern terminus to Hayfork. This stretch of road through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest parallels the

Hayfork River Hayfork may refer to: *Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such ma ...

. Once SR 3 reaches the town of Hayfork, it travels along Hyampom Road east and snakes through the mountains to Douglas City and the junction with SR 299. From there, SR 3 runs concurrently with SR 299 north to the town of Weaverville. SR 3 then separates from SR 299, providing access to the Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area and

Trinity Dam Trinity Dam is an earthfill dam on the Trinity River (California), Trinity River located about northeast of Weaverville, California, Weaverville, California in the United States. The dam was completed in the early 1960s as part of the federal Cen ...

along Lewiston Lake. SR 3 passes through the towns of Covington Mill, Trinity Center, and

Wyntoon Wyntoon is a private estate in rural Siskiyou County, California, owned by the Hearst Corporation. Architects Willis Polk, Bernard Maybeck and Julia Morgan all designed structures for Wyntoon, beginning in 1899. The land, sited at two sharp ...

before paralleling the Trinity River and Trinity Mountains as Weaverville-Scott Mountain Road and crossing the Scott Mountains and the

Pacific Crest 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 ...

into Siskiyou County. In Siskiyou County, SR 3 passes through Callahan, Etna, Greenview, and Fort Jones as it turns northeast to intersect with

. At this point, SR 263 continues in the northerly direction towards SR 96; SR 3 turns east to its northern terminus in the incorporated city of Montague. SR 3 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 a portion near the northern terminus 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 ...

. SR 3 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System, and is officially designated as a scenic highway by the

California Department of Transportation 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 its entire length, meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. The segment of SR 3 from Weaverville to Gazelle Callahan Road forms part of the Trinity Heritage Scenic Byway, a

National Forest Scenic Byway The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987. List The following roadways were listed by the Fede ...

. In 2014, SR 3 had an

annual average daily traffic Annual average daily traffic (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 year divided ...

(AADT) of 135 at U.S. Forest Service Road, and 10,000 at Moonlit Oaks Avenue, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.

History

The former version of SR 3 briefly existed in the

Los Angeles area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

in 1934, running between

San Juan Capistrano San Juan Capistrano (also known colloquially as San Juan or SJC) is a city in southern Orange County, California, United States. The population was 35,253 at the 2020 Census. Named for Saint John of Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano was founded ...

and

Oxnard Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California, United States. On California's Central Coast (California), Central Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the List of largest California cities by populati ...

before it became US 101 Alt., and later a part of SR–1 The short piece from SR 36 north to

was added to the state highway system in 1907 as part of the Peanut Road, which became

Route 35 The following highways are numbered 35: The Karakoram Highway (Urdu: شاہراہ قراقرم, ''Śāhirāh-i Qarāquram''), also known as the KKH, National Highway 35 (Urdu: قومی شاہراہ ۳۵), N-35, and the China–Pakistan Friendsh ...

in 1917. Route 35 was extended north from Peanut to Route 20 ( SR 299) near Douglas City in 1933, and simultaneously a new Route 82 was created, running from Route 3 ( I-5) in the

area southwest to Etna and east to Montague. The gap between Douglas City and Etna was filled in 1959 with an extension of Route 82 south to Route 20 near Weaverville; at the same time, the portion between Weaverville and Yreka was added to the

, which identifies the main routes of transportation in the state of California. The State Route 3 designation was applied to the Peanut-Montague roadway in the 1964 renumbering. The

overlap Overlap may refer to: * In set theory, an overlap of elements shared between sets is called an intersection, as in a Venn diagram. * In music theory, overlap is a synonym for reinterpretation of a chord at the boundary of two musical phrases * Ove ...

with temporary I-5 (along the portion where SR 3 runs concurrently with Interstate 5 today) near Yreka was removed when the new I-5 bypass was built; the legislative definition was updated to reflect this in 1974, soon after the building of the bypass.: "Route 3 is from: ...(b) Route 299 near Weaverville to Montague via Main Street in Yreka."

Major intersections

References

External links

California @ AARoads.com – State Route 3

{{good article

003 003, O03, 0O3, OO3 may refer to: * 003, former emergency telephone number for the Norwegian ambulance service (until 1986) * 1990 OO3, the asteroid 6131 Towen * OO3 gauge model railway * ''O03 (O2)'' and other related blood type alleles in the AB ...

State Route 003 State Route 003 Klamath Mountains Trinity Mountains (California) Weaverville, California Yreka, California

Route description

History

Major intersections

See also

References

External links