Shaded area on map shows approximate freeway location. 9th and 10th streets between D and I would have been long merge lanes. Overpasses at E, G, H, I, M, and Myrtle across to R & 4th. As you walk along this route, in addition to looking at the individual houses listed, consider:
7th between L and P
8th between J and L
9th between E and J
10th between E and J
Washington between C and Broadway
All houses in these areas would need to be either demolished or moved, or would be sitting right next to the freeway or an on-off ramp.
Several freeway bypass designs were considered over the course of several years. There was a proposed route through the back of the town, and others. When I called CalTrans to request a copy of the map, I was asked "which one do you want?" and apparently, as is similar to FOIA requests, I had to know exactly what I wanted and ask for it specifically.
Could I have them all?
No, we have rooms full of maps, we don't know which you want.
What about one of each proposal?
You have to ask for it by proposal name. What's the name of the proposals you want?
I don't know. Can you tell me the list of names?
We don't have that information.
Finally I asked for the last, most recent, which was an acceptable request. I went down to Wabash and Union, and waited in a small foyer under the watchful eyes of a large security guard, and when my name was called, was handed the rolled-up map through a tiny service window. I had to sign a release promising not to sue them before they would let me have the map. The map is a long narrow strip showing the freeway route, with on and off ramps, from past Broadway across town to the 101 Bridge over Eureka Slough.
Ultimately the freeway bypass idea was shot down. The Eureka City Council decided not to authorize it. It's said that several notable local businesses along Broadway were concerned they might lose business. So, while we gained a traffic bottleneck that will cause headaches and road rage for many years, we did not lose our hundreds of family sized, working class and middle class Victorians, many built of leftover old growth redwood lumber. These homes now exist as one of Eureka's most valuable, and most underappreciated assets.
