Crown Highway 0

unexplained phenomenon

C-0.png

type

phantom highway

location

NorthlandValley, Centralia

discovered

1966

Crown Highway Zero is the unofficial name of an unexplained, seemingly supernatural phenomenon located in rural Centralia: a fully paved, four-lane divided highway with no apparent destination.

Description

Along C-94 in a rural area of the NorthlandValley, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) south of the former WerewolfJunction train station, a curious highway branches off to the west. While standard traffic control signs are present, no signs give any name, route number, or destination for this strange highway.

"Highway Zero" is a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction, separated by a grass median--typical of many rural highways across Centralia. Strangely, however, this particular highway does not connect to any other major highways, nor does it provide access to any specific destination. As a result, it is almost always deserted except for the curious few who seek it out.

The highway's existence is itself a bit of a mystery. Neither the county's highways department nor the CenDOT have any records of the road's planning or construction--and, perhaps more curiously, neither entity provides maintenance for the road. Despite this apparent clack of maintenance, however, the road always remains in drivable condition, which is especially curious in the winter months, when snow is seemingly cleared from the pavement without the aid of plows.

Despite its informal name, Highway Zero is not formally recognized as part of Centralia's network of numbered highways.

End of the Road

Exactly 6 miles (9.7 km) west from its start at the C094 junction, Highway Zero abruptly ends. The only advance warning to drivers is a faded orange sign reading ROAD ENDS.

About a half a mile past the sign, the pavement ends abruptly at a pile of dirt. A small median crossover offers drivers one last opportunity to turn around.

Beyond the end of the pavement simply lies more wooded Centralia wilderness. Despite the seemingly unfinished nature of the highway, nothing has ever been found to suggest Highway Zero was meant to be extended, nor has any possible destination been revealed.

Signage

Speed Limits

When Highway Zero was first discovered several decades ago, signs along its six-mile length specified a speed limit of 55 mph, consistent with speed limits on similar highways across Centralia.

Oddly, when PrincessJeanette officially transitioned Centralia traffic signage to metric units some years later, the the signs apparently changed to declare a speed limit of 90 km/h. The metric signs appear just as weathered as the previous imperial signs, suggesting that they were altered, not replaced. There is, however, no evidence that the numerals had been painted over or otherwise manually changed--they seemingly changed on their own.

Wayfinding

There is a single wayfinding sign along the highway, serving westbound traffic:

Linworth        12 km
Bellwether      23 km
Ottersburg      95 km

However, the names on these signs do not correspond to any cities or towns within Centralia. Further, even if these destinations did exist, they would be impossible to reach from Highway Zero, as they are all said to lie beyond the dead end at the 10 kilometer mark.


CategoryMysteriesAndUnexplained CategoryTransportation

CentraliaHighway0 (last edited 2023-09-12 12:08:37 by CentralAvenue)