State Route 44 (SR 44) 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 travels in an east–west direction from State Routes

273 __NOTOC__ Year 273 ( CCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tacitus and Placidianus (or, less frequently, year 1026 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomin ...

and

299 __NOTOC__ Year 299 ( CCXCIX) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1052 ''Ab urbe condita''). The de ...

in Redding to

Lassen Volcanic National Park Lassen Volcanic National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in northeastern California. The dominant feature of the park is Lassen Peak, the largest lava dome, plug dome volcano in the wo ...

before ending at State Route 36 west of Susanville. This final portion, between the park and its terminus, is part of the

Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway The Volcanic Legacy Scenic Byway is a scenic byway and All-American Road in the U.S. states of California and Oregon. It is roughly long and travels north–south along the Cascade Range past numerous volcanoes. It is composed of two separate ...

, a

National Scenic Byway A National Scenic Byway is a road recognized by the United States Department of Transportation for one or more of six "intrinsic qualities": archeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational, and scenic. The program was established by Co ...

Route description

Route 44 starts in Redding, at the junction of Route 273 (Market Street) and Route 299. This is because in 1998, Route 299's definition was changed. It previously ran on Tehama Street to I-5, but this portion was transferred to Route 44 in 1998 (SR 44 had ended at I-5 at that time). Existing postmile markers do not normally change, so the Route 44/I-5 interchange is still marked as 0.00, and instead the western extension of Route 44 to Route 299 has postmiles with an "L" prefix to signify an overlap due to a correction or change (). After running through

one-way pair A one-way pair, one-way couple, or couplet refers to that portion of a bi-directional traffic facilitysuch as a road, bus, streetcar, or light rail linewhere its opposing flows exist as two independent and roughly parallel facilities. Descriptio ...

s through Downtown Redding, SR 44 departs SR 273 onto Tehama Street. After a few blocks, it becomes a

freeway A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms ...

as it crosses I-5 and changes back to a two-lane highway at the Redding city limits. Heading eastward, Route 44 passes through a number of small, rural communities ( Palo Cedro, Millville, Shingletown, to name a few) before it reaches the north-west entrance to Lassen National Park and the southern Cascades. After this, the only community it passes through is Old Station, which is also the only location for travel services until Susanville. From the Park entrance, Route 44 joins the

. Route 44 is part of a circular portion of the Scenic Byway, so at the junction with Route 89, the Byway continues along both 89 to the north and on 44 to the east. When Route 44 reaches its terminus at Route 36, the byway heads southwest to continue its circular path. Between the Route 89 intersection and Route 36 is only one rest area, called Bogard. SR 44 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 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 44 is eligible to be included 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 (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 ...

History

The former version of SR 44 briefly existed in 1934 before it became U.S. Route 299, now SR 299, one year later when the present-day SR 44 was established in 1935.

Major intersections

Notes

:1.Assuming Route 44 ends at SR 299, rather than at SR 273

References

External links