Looking for Abandoned Route 163 in San Diego's Balboa Park

The Cabrillo Freeway, which was once part of Highway 395 and is now California State Route 163, was built through San Diego's Balboa Park in the 1940s. When it was constructed it was considered one of the most beautiful freeways in the United States. Even JFK called it the most beautiful freeway in America. By the 1960s there was talk of expanding the number of lanes on the freeway however. In the early 1960s construction began on additional lanes, but after outrage by citizen's group, the expansion was abandoned. Left over was a small piece of freeway that was built, but leads to nowhere and sits there abandoned and unused. In this video we go on a search to find that abandoned road.
This abandoned section of road can be found at 32.727463, -117.156402
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[@michaelsimonds2632]

As a native of San Diego born in 1950, I can tell you that this video presents exactly why additional construction along Highway 395 (163) was NOT wanted by the local population. Balboa park is one of the greatest assets of the entire county (over 4,500 square miles)! Bulldozing parts of it for additional freeway was never in the interests of residents. Thank you for another excellent video, and yes, your new camera was worth the investment.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Yes, I'm not sure why people always want to change it and add roads and parking garages and whatever else.

[@AbandonedMines11]

As some other people have said in their comments, I also have driven by that unused portion of freeway many times but never gave it a second thought or wondered why it was there. Now I know! Great video! I’m kind of glad they never built that freeway through there. Would’ve taken out all those trees and stuff like that.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

It seems like every so often someone gets the idea to build more stuff down there for some reason. Recently there was (is?) a plan to build an ugly bypass for the Cabrillo Bridge.

[@SharingtheRoad]

A road to nowhere... reminds me of a Talking Heads song! 🎵 It's always so fun looking for little pieces of history. Thanks for sharing! 😊

[@SidetrackAdventures]

haha I actually really like that song! Thank you for watching.

[@videomaniac108]

I used to drive on the 163 to go from my home in Clairemont to my job at City College in the 1990s and always enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

[@davidvandyken5762]

The new camera works great! Iwasn't aware of this abandoned Freeway segment. I know of others, like unbuilt Hwy 252. It would have connected I-5 and I-805. The only part that was built is now that really long ramp and ridiculously elaborate interchange at I-805 and 43rd Street.

[@chrisj.6251]

Grew up in San Diego and always find this area to be so mystical with the defunct on-ramps and extra cement. Thanks for this video, makes me want to visit in person next time I’m in SoCal.

[@johnnyfreedom3437]

The stabilization was perfect as you were walking down those stairs, the video Never bumped at all. And the coloring seemed appropriate, it all looks very professional! Thanks for your effort Steve!

[@ldd7525]

Padre colors? I miss San Diego, so much! The freeways in late 80s early 90s were something Id never fathomed as a Ventura county native. We have 1 two lane hwy 33. Camera works well! Your personality and dedicated are a BIG 👍! Thank you.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@ExitThrutheGiftShop]

Balboa park is incredible - so much to see and do all in one location. Incredible asset for the city :)

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Couldn't agree more! You could spend weeks exploring it and not see it all.

[@beiderbecke1927]

Both Quince Street and Richmond Street functioned as both on and off ramps back in the day, but now only the off ramps are active. You can see how they used to function on Google Maps. The Quince and Richmond on ramps were very close together and created problems when traffic sped up in later years.

[@kevmichael2064]

I was on that freeway 163...in the 70s....I remember that bridge!!!....it went to the 71...what is now the 15.....I can not believe how it is changed!!!

[@chuniquepaceno470]

Steve, you've done it again! Another trip down memory lane. When I ran cross country at Mission Bay High School in the mid-70s, one of the courses we frequented was at Balboa Park and we'd run down that very path under the bridge that you stood on. Never knew about the old abandoned freeway, so that was interesting. I agree, that particular part of the old 395 should stay as it is.

[@chuniquepaceno470]

Again hit the memory lane strings for me with this video. When I was on the Mission Bay High School crosscountry team in the mid-70s we ran under the Cabrillo Bridge at a few of our meets, never had a clue about this little bit of history. Thanks again, Steve, wonderful work...you're inspiring me to do something like this down in Baja, where I also spent part of my youth. I grew up appreciating old roads, so your videos are all special for me and now that I've retired and looking for things to do I'll make good use of them as I've always liked traveling.

[@BaseballBrewCrew]

New camera footage looks great. Very informative video. Cheers!!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you.

[@wpmulligan]

How many times have I gotten off 163 South at the exit, seen that segment of pavement, and not given it a second thought? In my defense, in those cases I'm normally headed to the airport and am worried about being late for my flight.

[@JacklesSpeedy]

Same here! I never knew it was an abandoned section of road. I have driven this road hundreds of times for the airport, museums, zoo, hospital, seaport, etc. and never once looked back to see it was a road to nowhere. Thinking about the layout of Balboa Park now though, I should have known it wasn't another on-ramp... crazy!! And very cool!

[@mistreme8341]

I always wondered why they had that strange easement on the onramp to North 5 from 163. During the retrofit of the Laurel St. Bridge, they used the Road To Nowhere to stage the heavy equipment. I was mystified why they were putting a bunch of big vehicles on an onramp to a major freeway, but then realized it must be a paved clearing. I had no idea it was the abandoned 163 Extension! Very cool video! Thanks for the research! Interestingly, from looking at the Google Map of the construction, you can actually ride on a portion of The Road To Nowhere if you take the 4th Ave. offramp from 163. The concrete portion is a part of the same road that was to become the extension.

[@bradbo3]

Once again you are showing me some of my favorite spots in SD……Balboa Park was my second favorite spot after Cabrillo Nat mon. Your Channel ROCKS. Getting back to SD before Im to old or die is a must do for me….would love to show my adult kids and my grandbabies where I grew up….your videos help though.

[@CactusAtlas]

GoPro's really do have great stabilization. Beats carrying around a gimbal and such but find their battery life to be difficult for longer outings. Strange how many abandoned roads there are out there. Something I've never really thought about or sought out. Makes me wonder now about ones I've passed and never realized were there. 🤔

[@SidetrackAdventures]

It always amazes me that they leave all these roads as is when they get abandoned, especially in the middle of a park.

[@mikefitchNYC1971]

Such an awesome exploration!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you.

[@sergpie]

I can’t skateboard for crap, but of the 3-4 times I tried, once was on this abandoned ramp. Literally goes nowhere, but no because it’s unfinished; it would’ve landed about 3 blocks from an extant freeway off-ramp. California’s weird when it comes to its civil engineering. I’d love to see what Bankers Hill and Little Italy looked like before the 5 freeway was carved into them

[@ShanerTheGrey]

I pass by this every day. I always thought it was an on-ramp but it’s blocked by pota-pottis haha

[@his.purpose]

Very cool find and vlog. Camera is working fine and the sound is very good. Love the posts!

[@melindabaker8118]

Interesting! I drove and walked that area frequently growing up. I remember that road to nowhere but never really considered why it was there. Thank you! Would love information about the Juniper staircase and why it is there. Is it related to the desert garden behind the Recreation building(I think that is what it was called) I took ballet lessons there and junior theatre classes there many years ago. I imagine those are all remnants of the Exposition in the early 1900’s,

[@SidetrackAdventures]

The Juniper Staircase was built in the 1930s by the CCC. Before the freeway was put in the area down there was wetter and it may have been built for easy access to a pond but that's just speculation. It predates the freeway though. The desert garden was built in 1935 for the California Pacific International Exposition by Kate Sessions.

[@jerroldkazynski5480]

Many times, a road project will be part of an even bigger planned road project. To make the next phase of construction easier to begin, short sections are made but not used. In the late 1970s, I-80 across Nevada had all traffic get off and go thru the few & far between towns, taking surface streets or the old road. When the bypass was built, traffic could continue with those little delays, and construction of bridges & underpasses through town didn't disrupt Interstate traffic. If the new bigger project never gets completed, people wonder about the abandoned section.

[@SaynaTheSpiffy]

I didn't realize that it got abandoned because people didn't want it! Makes me wonder if we could stop them from trying to expand the 5 around Rose Canyon.

[@wafflesnfalafel1]

super cool - similar to the Seattle "ramps to nowhere" that existed for nearly 50 years. And that vid with the new camera look great.

[@lovescoffee9780]

It's so nice to see sections of San Diego. The camera is doing a great job. Colors are fine.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you!

[@benvsreality]

Super interesting. For a second I thought this was going to be that weird bridge where Richmond dead-ends and skateboarders are always building illegal ramps that periodically get removed by the city. They should just use this unused slab of concrete and put a legit skate park there.

[@ChiefExecutiveOrbiter]

The hero 10 looks good on my end. Smooth. Thanks for the vids!

[@MrSquareart]

Very nice video. Never really knew anything about that. Please keep uploading your great videos.

[@johncasor9698]

Whatssss up with those stares just wow that took a lot of rocks and where is going to and when did they and who made those they are great... nice job on making them...

[@gobbleguk]

Have you thought of visiting the 252 Ghost Ramps? The 171 Ghost Ramps are close by Balboa as well.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I'd have look more into it. I know about the 171 but don't know much about the 252.

[@lylekimball5131]

@@SidetrackAdventures I'm the opposite, knowing about the 252 but not the 171. Where are those ghost ramps? Looking at a map of Switzer Canyon (or roughly, anyway), it looks like a proposed 171 would have come out somewhere by the 15/805 interchange.

[@lylekimball5131]

Pershing Drive?

[@gobbleguk]

@@lylekimball5131 Pershing Drive is correct yes. It had much less of an impact on the threatened neighborhoods than the 252, and the only relic of it is the strange freeway interchange involving Pershing, B, the 94, and the 5.

[@russC13]

great camera work!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you!

[@IDNHANTU2day]

Looks great.

[@alexmontoya3199]

Camera good I'm very sensitive to camera movement it did not get me sick thank u

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thats great to hear. Seems to be pretty stable.

[@johnjaco5544]

Thank you I never knew that existed

[@NovaRider760]

and the northbound 5 towards the 76 the old exit bridge still in place

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Will have to check that out.

[@IEchuckie]

There is a bridge in Azusa canyon that is called the bridge to nowhere. It was built in the 40s or 50s but the road was never completed. It's about 5 miles past the east fork road.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I have to get out there. I've seen it in videos but never in person.

[@SMALLBUSINESSFUNDER]

Thanks for sharing 👍

[@peacefulamerican4994]

I always wondered what that was and why was it there. Thanks!

[@jimschafer9196]

Camera appears to be working well - good report on abandoned GOVT project too.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you.

[@leonajameson8902]

Very cool. Great pic on the new camera

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thank you.

[@agrofindastation]

I know north of that is an abandoned bridge for I think Richmond and I always thought those were supposed to connect

[@johncasor9698]

i drive by that part of 163 a lot and i have seen that part of it and think about it that they stop making it to be a merge into highway 5 south... so heading south 163 take the 5 south and there it is on your right side right at the 4th street offramp... you can no problem stop there and eat lunch so much room to stop...

[@SomeplaceOrAnother]

Interesting video 👍 I have a question about the GoPro 10. Did they fix some of the old problems like freezing up and both of mine will drain the battery when off sometimes.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I've been using it this week and haven't had any battery issues but did have an issue once so far where it wouldn't stop recording and had to pull the battery just to get it to stop.

[@fakealexstrong]

Wow! Ive totally been there and thought nothing of that! Thanks for pointing this out ☠️

[@SidetrackAdventures]

No problem. Thank you for watching.

[@REDDOGLewiston61]

Nice!

[@davidlarson2534]

The Carrillo Bridge is hollow.U have been inside. It is very musty inside.

[@wandat7275]

That’s a nice camera

[@Porsche996driver]

San Diego is beautiful.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Yes. Super fortunate to live here.

[@kilroywuzhere6864]

Hey I live one block away!

[@SharingtheRoad]

What a small world! On a totally different note, I'm a huge Kilroy fan haha. I did a research paper in middle school on the origins of "Kilroy was Here!"

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Awesome. Small world.

[@SidetrackAdventures]

I recently bought a book on humor during WWII that had a big section on Kilroy.

[@JasmineApple]

Congrats on getting the Hero10! I love the GoPro's, I think they are great! And good video - super interesting, and you're right, a huge waste of taxpayer dollars!

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Thanks. Loving it so far.

[@secretdaisy6484]

Interesting video. Thanks! Your new GoPro 10 works great. I'm guessing you got the appropriately rated high capacity high speed SD Cards for it. After seeing your video I suppose I will need one for my cycling videos. 👍☮️🌞🌟📷🚵🏼‍♀️🏔🏕🚲

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Should work great for cycling. We've been getting into lately and have been having a blast.

[@secretdaisy6484]

@@SidetrackAdventures Your videos are very good & your subject matter is interesting. My best friend lives in SD & every now & then I send him one I think he might find interesting. He likes to drive around & explore. Keep up the good work. ✅

[@ALLworldCONSTRUCTIONLLC]

one exit to the north is an abandon bridge you shoulda caught on film

[@DiogenesOfCa]

They should close the 163 or put a giant lid over it.

[@peterbozzo1451]

Interesting

[@newbengraham4775]

i used to sleep there when i was homeless in san diego.

[@OurEclecticTravelAdventures]

Color looks good. A wee little bit washed out. But, arabization is excellent as is clarity

[@zeroeffortmemes]

There's an abandoned on ramp a little further north as well

[@SidetrackAdventures]

Is that the one at Richmond Street? That one was built in the 40s when the freeway was built but I have no idea why it stopped being used.

[@mattb9748]

There are two ramps north of there. One of them is from Richmond Street and the other one is from Quince Street. Both have been deactivated. I believe as speed limits and traffic volume increased, these ramps became more of a threat to the flow of traffic.

[@TheRealDrJoey]

During the Pan American Exhibition they turned the area where 163 goes through Balboa Park into a river.

[@K11ling619]

No way thats awesome I wish it was still there

[@TheRealDrJoey]

@@K11ling619 That bridge into Balboa was actually a bridge over it.

[@Barley150]

If it had been finished, where would it have gone? To Mexico? To Canada?

[@NaesoOner]

I went on Google Earth 🌎 to look for the "on ramp from nowhere" and I did not see it

[@conniewojahn6445]

How did people did a road project shut down? That's unheard of. Government officials always get what they want, and taxpayers get the bill.

[@gobbleguk]

Guess there’s been 4 times that road projects have been killed in San Diego then :0

[@TheGrinddcore]

For as much as I love San Diego and Balboa Park I disagree I think extra Lanes would have been great in Balboa Park especially if it would have reduced southbound traffic in the mornings or Northbound traffic in the evenings

[@deandupont5503]

I grew up in San Diego. The concepts of "wasted tax dollars" and "San Diego" go hand in hand. The city government was a kleptocracy, and probably still is. 🙄

[@Corgis175]

Yes, wasted taxpayer dollars.

[@sharylcherwa7369]

Yep MORE Wasted taxpayer money

[@K11ling619]

I used to love drinking there with the homies after hitting that little archery range down there cops never tripped to whenever they would come lol it was a night thi when we were drinking 😂