In early 1964, the La Mesa City Council expressed their preference for Route 282, which had been nicknamed the Ramona Freeway, to run on the routing of Fletcher Parkway, contrary to local businesses that wanted the highway to be routed west of the parkway. A few months later, state engineer Jacob Dekema indicated that there were four routes under consideration for the portion from Brown Field to Sweetwater Lake, and the project would not be completed until well after 1972. The state had selected a route for that part of the highway by June, and for the routing west of Fletcher Parkway extending to Mission Gorge Road by July. The next year, the California Highway Commission approved a routing north of Mission Gorge Road into Poway and ending at SR 56.