Highway 395 is one of our favorite roads. You are rewarded with fantastic views almost the entire drive, from California and Nevada’s eastern Sierra mountains to the beauty of Oregon and Washington’s forest. The highway also pretty much avoids big cities, only hitting two along its 1,305-mile journey. That wasn’t always the case, though, as the road once began in the second biggest city in California.
Where does Highway 395 currently begin and end?
Currently, Highway 395 (or US Route 395) has its southern origin/terminus in Hesperia, CA, at a junction with Interstate 15 and ends at the US-Canada border where it becomes British Columbia Highway 395. While the northern endpoint has stayed constant at the international border over the last 90 plus years, the origin point has shifted a number of times.
Pre-1930s Highway 395
When the Federal Highway System came into effect in 1926, WA 3 from Spokane to the Canadian border became Highway 395. The highway did not officially exist south of Spokane until 1934.
The southern origin/terminus point for Highway 395 was originally Monroe Street and 3rd in Spokane. In 1931 that was changed to Monroe and Sprague. That’s where it would stay until 1934.
Highway 395 in 1934 – San Diego to Canada
The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials extended Highway 395 south from Spokane, WA, all the way to San Diego, CA, in 1934. The new origin/terminus point for Highway 395 became downtown San Diego.
With the extension to the south, Highway 395 was routed along what was WA 2. WA 11, portions of OH 2 (US 730), OH 36, OH 67, OH 28, OH 5 (US Route 28), OH 48, OH 7 (OR 54), OH 49, OH #19 (OR 31), CA LRN 79, CA LRN 29, NV 9, NV 3, CA LRN 95 (CA 7), CA LRN 23, CA LRN 145 (CA 95), CA LRN 31 (US Route 66), CA LRN 43 (CA 18), CA LRN 19 (US Route 60), CA LRN 78, (CA 740/CA 74) and CA LRN 77 (CA 71) to San Diego. The highway would not be fully signed as 395 until 1939, however.
When it was extended to San Diego in 1934, Highway 395 met up with US Route 80 at the intersection of Fairmount and El Cajon, and then the two highways overlapped as they headed into downtown San Diego, ending at Horton Plaza.
The Changing Highway 395
The origin/terminus of Highway 395 didn’t stay in the same place much in the early years. Just three years after it was extended to San Diego, the terminus was moved in 1937. The new terminus was at Park and Market Streets.
Construction began on the Cabrillo Freeway in the 1940s, and once completed, Highway 395 would be rerouted to the new road, ending its overlap with Route 80 down El Cajon Blvd into downtown San Diego.
By the 1960s, some maps showed Highway 395 ending where the Cabrillo Freeway (now the 163) hits downtown San Diego at 11th and Ash Streets, and others continued to show Highway 395 still continuing through downtown San Diego to Seaport Village.
Highway 395 was legislatively decommissioned in 1964 and in 1979, Highway 395 south of its junction with Interstate 15 was eliminated, giving the highway its current origin and terminus points.
