Bradley Section

 

The Bradley section actually starts at Camp Roberts about 3 miles north of San Miguel. From San Miguel, the original route of 101 follows the current freeway north through Camp Roberts just west of the SP railroad tracks. The original route then diverts to the east and crossed a bridge over the Salinas River just south of its confluence with the Nacimiento River. The old route then continues north following Bradley Rd. just to the east up through the town of Bradley. Just north of the town, the original route made a turn to the west and crossed a bridge over the Salinas River again, then continued north. This bridge was taken down, and was replaced by the current bridge on Bradley Rd. in 1930.

Bradley, California was severely affected by the re-routing of the current freeway in the 1950's. Before that, the town was very busy with several gas stations, restaurants, stores, a hotel, and a motel. It was also a railway station on the Southern Pacific line. Similar to San Ardo to the north, the routing of the current 101 freeway completely bypassed the town of Bradley. Many of the old commercial buildings are still there, but few are used today for their original purposes.

I'd like to give special thanks to Darlene Lloyd, her husband Evan, and to Atwell Brown for all their help in providing historical details, and the vintage photos that were used to complete this section.

Location #	Thumbnail	Description
1		South Bradley Rd. Off-Ramp
B		South Bradley Bridge
2		Old highway 1 mile north of bridge
3		Exposed slab 3.5 miles north of bridge
4		Old highway just east of Bradley

This map shows the three generations of the 101 routing through the town of Bradley. Up until the original N. Bradley Bridge was taken down in 1933, the route through Bradley went west on Meadow Ave, then turned south on Pleyto for two blocks before turning west on Dixie St.. At the west end of Dixie St., the road made a sudden turn to the south and crossed the old bridge over the Salinas River, then turned sharply to the northwest. After the new bridge was completed it followed the current route of Sargents and Bradley Rd.

Location #	Thumbnail	Description
5		East Bradley & Original Route
6		Walter Davis Chevron
7		Allen Motel
8		Sea Plane Inn
9		Texaco garage & Townhouse Restaurant
10		Standard Oil Bulk Plant
11		Vitage Photos
12		Original N. Bradley Bridge Remains
13		Current N. Bradley Bridge

Comments, suggestions, and feedback are welcome
E-mail me at: don@Historic101.com