Imperial county Plank Road (#0774)

Poster at the site providing detailed description of how the road came about and pictures of cars on the road (see larger version of picture).

In this poster and in various other places, the Plank Road and related Dixie Overland highway, US-80, and eventual I-8, are described as having started due to a competition as to whether San Diego or Los Angeles was going to win the right to be the western focal point for southern cross-national traffic.

That argument is great for PR, but seems odd given that direct connections of the Yuma Valley and Imperial County were already needed by the early 1900’s. At that time, getting between the areas required a very roundabout detour north.

While the road may have been part of a larger battle about dominance on the coasts, clearly a shorter Yuma/Imperial connection was already in demand.