Editing Interstate 8 (section)

====Early road====
[[Image:Old US 80 West of Descanso Junction.JPG|thumb|left|A section of old US&nbsp;80 (Wildwood Glen Lane) now closed to vehicular traffic west of [[Descanso, California|Descanso Junction]]]]

A [[stagecoach road]] existed into the 19th&nbsp;century that passed through the mountains east of San Diego.<ref name="grade">{{cite news |title = I-8 grade challenges the motorist |work = The San Diego Union |date = May 9, 1985 |last = McVicar |first = Jim |page = II7 |oclc = 13155544 }}</ref> Before the freeway was constructed, the automobile road through the mountains east of San Diego was narrow and wound through the mountains; it was officially dedicated in 1912.<ref name="fruition">{{cite news |title = San Diego-Yuma Freeway Dream Nearing Fruition |work = The San Diego Union |date = May 19, 1970 |last = McVicar |first = Jim |page = B3 |oclc = 13155544 }}</ref><ref name="newroadlink"/> This trip was known to take up to four hours, and frequently resulted in the [[Radiator#Engine cooling|radiator]] boiling over, flat tires, or broken [[fan belt]]s; inclement weather would result in cars becoming mired in the mud. The road was paved in 1926, and was open by 1927; remnants of this road were still present in the late 20th&nbsp;century. Another road was built in the early 1930s, to remove curves and widen the lanes.<ref name="grade"/> This was a two-lane road that still had many [[hairpin turn|switchbacks]], with one popularly known as "Dead Man's Curve".<ref>{{cite news |title = Out of Way-side Ellis Rest stop still remembered |work = The San Diego Union |date = March 7, 1985 |last = McVicar |first = Jim |page = B4 |oclc = 13155544 }}</ref> Construction of I-8 took place atop much of the roadbed of the highway from the early 1930s.<ref name="grade"/> The delay in extending a road to San Diego caused increased development in Los Angeles and resulted in that city becoming the trade and population center of Southern California, according to the ''[[San Diego Union-Tribune|San Diego Union]]''.<ref name="finally">{{cite news |title = Last Section Of Interstate 8 To Yuma Opens Thursday |work = The San Diego Union |date = May 25, 1975 |last = Harrison |first = Donald |page = B10 |oclc = 13155544 }}</ref>