SR_253_(CA)
California State Route 253
Highway in Mendocino County, California
State Route 253 (SR 253), also known as the Ukiah–Boonville Road, is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs between the Anderson and Ukiah valleys in Mendocino County. It crosses the mountains of the Mendocino Range from State Route 128 near Boonville to U.S. Route 101 near Ukiah.
Map of Mendocino County in northwestern California with SR 253 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
| Length | 17.180 mi[1] (27.649 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  SR 128 at Boonville | |||
| East end |  US 101 in Ukiah | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Counties | Mendocino | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
The road begins in Boonville at an at-grade intersection with SR 128. The road heads eastward through a forested and mountainous area for approximately fifteen miles before entering the Russian River Basin, where numerous farms exist. The road ends with an interchange with U.S. Route 101 in southern Ukiah.[2]
SR 253 is not part of the National Highway System,[3] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[4]
This route, under the name of the Ukiah-Boonville Road, has been in use as a road since at least 1897, when it was the scene of the robbery of a stage coach carrying the payrolls for a coastal lumber mill.[5] However, it was not a state highway until 1963, when it was added to the state highway system. It was given its present number in the 1964 state highway renumbering.
Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Mendocino County.
| Location | Postmile [1][6][7] | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boonville | 0.00 | SR 128 – Boonville, Cloverdale | West end of SR 253 | ||
| Ukiah | 17.18 | US 101 – Santa Rosa, Eureka | Interchange; east end of SR 253; US 101 exit 546 | ||
| 17.18 | State Street – Ukiah | Continuation beyond US 101 | |||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | |||||
- California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- Microsoft; Nokia (2011-01-12). "California State Route 253" (Map). Bing Maps. Microsoft. Retrieved 2011-01-12.
- Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (North) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
- Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
- Palmer, Lyman L. (1967), History of Mendocino County, California, comprising its geography, geology, topography, climatography, springs and timber, Mendocino County Historical Society, p. 738.
- California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
- California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, 2006
