Paved Construction of El Camino Real Celebrates 100th Birthday

Very few people in the Peninsula and South Bay can remember a time without El Camino Real.

That's probably because El Camino Real's construction began 100 years ago today, on Aug. 7, 1912 with a formal groundbreaking near San Bruno Avenue that marked the first segment of State Route 82.

According to a press statement released by Assemblyman Jerry Hill who along with others will attend a 10 a.m. celebration on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2012 at San Bruno's City Hall, "the roadway was a catalyst for an investment by Californians in transportation that has helped fuel California’s growth and prosperity."

Largely known as the California Mission Trail, within seven year El Camino Real already carried 20,000 vehicles per day. Today, El Camino Real runs through 19 cities in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

The route originally began with the colonization of California by the Spanish, through the efforts of Father Junipero Serra, beginning in 1769.

Contract No. 1 of a statewide construction project authorized by California voters who passed an $18 million bond measure in 1909, El Camino Real helped pave the growth in the Peninsula and Silicon Valley.

 

What's your favorite stretch of El Camino Real? What's your favorite Los Altos location (past or present) on El Camino Real?

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