California

[Max Rockatansky]

The whole corridor on Santa Barbara Channel was fascinating to dig into.  And yes, the signals were removed in 1991:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/08/former-us-route-101-along-santa-barbara.html?m=1

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/fggewoRNzWc8Sjnr9

Is it me or is the south portal of the Tom Lantos Tunnel larger in diameter than its northbound counterpart?

[Max Rockatansky]

https://goo.gl/maps/fggewoRNzWc8Sjnr9

Is it me or is the south portal of the Tom Lantos Tunnel larger in diameter than its northbound counterpart?

Possibly, I took this photo myself a couple years back from the older Devils Slide alignment of CA 1:

https://flic.kr/p/2eF3Hxz

Interestingly I found the Tom Lantos Tunnels to be barely obscured from the oldest alignment of CA 1 atop Pedro Mountain Road:

https://flic.kr/p/2md32La

[pderocco]

https://goo.gl/maps/fggewoRNzWc8Sjnr9

Is it me or is the south portal of the Tom Lantos Tunnel larger in diameter than its northbound counterpart?

The Street View imagery clearly shows that in each direction the exit from the tunnel widens on the left side. At the north end, this allows for emergency vehicle turnaround.

[roadman65]

My question is why is each tube striped for single lane?Wouldn't it been more logical to build one tube for two way traffic?  Yes it's safer but still a waste of money for a state that claims it's broke.  Or for any state unless they are being proactive for future expansion.

[kkt]

I suspect it was based on how big a hole could be punched through the hillside and have it still stand up.  We know that hillside is a bit unstable already.

[Max Rockatansky]

Apparently the Tom Lantos Tunnels are rated to withstand a 7.5-8.0 magnitude earthquake.  I believe the idea was that if one tunnel went down for some reason the other couple be temporarily put into two-way services.  Considering the amount of trouble Devil's Slide caused it would surprise me if redundant measures like tunnel twinning would be desirable. 

Also, it's kind of amusing that after all this time the Wawona Tunnel is still the longest highway tunnel in the state.

[Techknow]

My question is why is each tube striped for single lane?Wouldn't it been more logical to build one tube for two way traffic?  Yes it's safer but still a waste of money for a state that claims it's broke.  Or for any state unless they are being proactive for future expansion.

I drove thru the tunnel three weeks ago and can guess it's striped that way to allow for a shoulder in case of an emergency stop. Also the inner side of each tunnel has emergency exits. (the Alaskan Way replacement tunnel has similar exits although it's a single tube) The safe exits likely would have influenced the tunnel design?

[dbz77]

Question about US 101.  Are there any stop lights along it between LA and SF? 

I know it's not all freeway between the two, but that doesn't mean it has to have at grades with signals.  I know that north of SF, you get expressway segments and two lane segments  there that do not have busy intersections to warrant signals.


I thought I heard someone post here a while back, that Caltrans made improvements to eliminate some of the signals making the first signal north of Greater Los Angeles further away from the big metro than what once was.

The last signals on (the) 101 were in Santa Barbara, four in a row downtown, that resulted in monumental traffic jams.  They were removed ~30 years ago with completion of the freeway.  There are flashing beacons at some crossings in expressway segments but otherwise there's nothing from LA to SF.  North of SF, with completion of the Willits bypass there are no signals until Eureka.

In which intersections were these signals located?

[heynow415]

Question about US 101.  Are there any stop lights along it between LA and SF? 

I know it's not all freeway between the two, but that doesn't mean it has to have at grades with signals.  I know that north of SF, you get expressway segments and two lane segments  there that do not have busy intersections to warrant signals.


I thought I heard someone post here a while back, that Caltrans made improvements to eliminate some of the signals making the first signal north of Greater Los Angeles further away from the big metro than what once was.

The last signals on (the) 101 were in Santa Barbara, four in a row downtown, that resulted in monumental traffic jams.  They were removed ~30 years ago with completion of the freeway.  There are flashing beacons at some crossings in expressway segments but otherwise there's nothing from LA to SF.  North of SF, with completion of the Willits bypass there are no signals until Eureka.

In which intersections were these signals located?

North to south (southwest to northeast, actually):  Chapala, State, Anacapa, Santa Barbara

[DTComposer]

Question about US 101.  Are there any stop lights along it between LA and SF? 

I know it's not all freeway between the two, but that doesn't mean it has to have at grades with signals.  I know that north of SF, you get expressway segments and two lane segments  there that do not have busy intersections to warrant signals.


I thought I heard someone post here a while back, that Caltrans made improvements to eliminate some of the signals making the first signal north of Greater Los Angeles further away from the big metro than what once was.

The last signals on (the) 101 were in Santa Barbara, four in a row downtown, that resulted in monumental traffic jams.  They were removed ~30 years ago with completion of the freeway.  There are flashing beacons at some crossings in expressway segments but otherwise there's nothing from LA to SF.  North of SF, with completion of the Willits bypass there are no signals until Eureka.

In which intersections were these signals located?

North to south (southwest to northeast, actually):  Chapala, State, Anacapa, Santa Barbara

I had lived there for about a year when the signals were removed. I clearly remember sitting at those signals for four, five minutes.

[Concrete Bob]

It's a shame that the Tom Lantos tunnels couldn't have been built with two lanes in each direction.  If they were, it would probably piss off the locals.

[Max Rockatansky]

It's a shame that the Tom Lantos tunnels couldn't have been built with two lanes in each direction.  If they were, it would probably piss off the locals.

I don't know about that.  A lot of people out of Half Moon Bay complain CA 92 is only two lanes and a hellish safety corridor.  CA 1 was once planned to be realigned as a freeway over Pedro Mountain in the distant past.

[kernals12]

It's a shame that the Tom Lantos tunnels couldn't have been built with two lanes in each direction.  If they were, it would probably piss off the locals.

I don't know about that.  A lot of people out of Half Moon Bay complain CA 92 is only two lanes and a hellish safety corridor.  CA 1 was once planned to be realigned as a freeway over Pedro Mountain in the distant past.

The Bay Area once was capable of thinking big.

[Max Rockatansky]

It's a shame that the Tom Lantos tunnels couldn't have been built with two lanes in each direction.  If they were, it would probably piss off the locals.

I don't know about that.  A lot of people out of Half Moon Bay complain CA 92 is only two lanes and a hellish safety corridor.  CA 1 was once planned to be realigned as a freeway over Pedro Mountain in the distant past.

The Bay Area once was capable of thinking big.

That whole area has a weird history with transportation.  Even before CA 1 there was supposed to be an interurban line that would connect San Francisco to Santa Cruz directly via Devils Slide.  The gap never really got filled in the middle of the San Francisco Peninsula in the Pescadero-San Gregorio corridor.  The only thing that was actually kind of modern that got built is the largely coast hugging alignment of CA 1. 

[Plutonic Panda]

It's a shame that the Tom Lantos tunnels couldn't have been built with two lanes in each direction.  If they were, it would probably piss off the locals.

I don't know about that.  A lot of people out of Half Moon Bay complain CA 92 is only two lanes and a hellish safety corridor.  CA 1 was once planned to be realigned as a freeway over Pedro Mountain in the distant past.

The Bay Area once was capable of thinking big.

That whole area has a weird history with transportation.  Even before CA 1 there was supposed to be an interurban line that would connect San Francisco to Santa Cruz directly via Devils Slide.  The gap never really got filled in the middle of the San Francisco Peninsula in the Pescadero-San Gregorio corridor.  The only thing that was actually kind of modern that got built is the largely coast hugging alignment of CA 1.

It would be nice to see tunnels built for the 101 freeway through San Francisco. Maybe one day. One can dream.

[kernals12]

The undeveloped parts of the Bay Area have had a strong "humans are the virus" mentality since the 1970s and have opposed any infrastructure projects (freeways, 4 lane highways, aqueducts) that might possibly allow more people into their bucolic wonderland.

[kkt]

It would be nice to see tunnels built for the 101 freeway through San Francisco. Maybe one day. One can dream.

I'm not sure it would save that much.  The fastest way from San Jose or parts south to San Rafael and parts north is NOT through San Francisco, and would not be even if there were a tunnel connecting 101.  On days when the weather is decent, the traffic delay over the Golden Gate Bridge is not from the bridge's capacity, or the cross traffic on 19th Avenue or Park Presidio Blvd., but the right lane of the bridge being backed up all the way to Golden Gate Park with traffic for the Bridge visitor's parking lot.

The undeveloped parts of the Bay Area have had a strong "humans are the virus" mentality since the 1970s and have opposed any infrastructure projects (freeways, 4 lane highways, aqueducts) that might possibly allow more people into their bucolic wonderland.

And I'm glad they did, so they Bay Area has a few miles of suburbs alternating with woods or park or agricultural land.  Partly due to keeping down road construction, but other measures as well:  zoning, parks, ownership by the Nature Conservancy and similar organizations.  Without them it would be 10,000 square miles of unrelieved subdivisions with no open space for play and native plants and animals without driving for hours.

[Max Rockatansky]

I enjoy the coastline of the San Francisco Peninsula also.  There are some really obscure parklands like Montara State Beach which have some gems hidden them like Old CA 1 on Pedro Mountain Road.  I think the perception of the terrain is that it much developable for real estate than it actually is.  There is a bunch of terrain variations as the Santa Cruz Mountains emptied into the Pacific Ocean at the western edge of the peninsula. 

[GaryA]

The last signals on (the) 101 were in Santa Barbara, four in a row downtown, that resulted in monumental traffic jams.  They were removed ~30 years ago with completion of the freeway.  There are flashing beacons at some crossings in expressway segments but otherwise there's nothing from LA to SF.  North of SF, with completion of the Willits bypass there are no signals until Eureka.

In which intersections were these signals located?

North to south (southwest to northeast, actually):  Chapala, State, Anacapa, Santa Barbara

I had lived there for about a year when the signals were removed. I clearly remember sitting at those signals for four, five minutes.

I recall there were signs on the cross streets advising drivers of the long signal cycles and suggesting that they should shut off their engines while waiting.

[TheStranger]

It would be nice to see tunnels built for the 101 freeway through San Francisco. Maybe one day. One can dream.

I'm not sure it would save that much.  The fastest way from San Jose or parts south to San Rafael and parts north is NOT through San Francisco, and would not be even if there were a tunnel connecting 101.

I have seen enough traffic backlog on both Franklin and Van Ness heading north to definitely wish for a free-flowing alternative!  I'm realistic that such type of tunneling (which was proposed in the 1960s for 101 at one point from Turk to the current Presidio Parkway) would be very unlikely, just that it would be a helpful alternative to 19th and Van Ness.

I've also dealt with congestion southbound on 19th approaching Taraval at rush hour.

[TheStranger]

After several years, some updates on the proposed Broadway Bridge linking Sacramento and West Sacramento:

https://ceqanet.opr.ca.gov/2017072019/4
https://www.bizjournals.com/sacramento/news/2022/05/20/broadway-bridge-environmental-review.html

[Kniwt]

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Caltrans has put out a $12 million contract to add a peak-hour southbound shoulder lane on I-15 from the Nevada line to the agricultural station:
https://www.reviewjournal.com/local/traffic/i-15-traffic-at-nevada-california-border-one-step-closer-to-relief-2581579/

The several mile backup often seen on Interstate 15 at the Nevada-California border – most recently on Monday following the conclusion of the Electric Daisy Carnival – could soon see some relief.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently put a contract out for bid for a planned $12 million project on a stretch of I-15 southbound from the Nevada-California border to the California Department of Food and Agriculture Station. That's where the road goes from three travel lanes to two, causing traffic bottlenecks.

The project calls for repaving and restriping the shoulder so it can become a third lane during high traffic times. Those would mainly be Sundays and Mondays following busy weekends in the Las Vegas Valley.

"The California Department of Transportation and the Nevada Department of Transportation continue to work together to deliver a project that will help improve operations of Interstate-15,"  Caltrans said in a statement. "The goal is to open the first phase of the project, the expanded transition section, by late summer."

[GaryA]

Is it legal for a passenger car to use a truck bypass?  This was prompted by Memorial Day traffic at the Lebec 5/99 merge, where taking the truck bypass was noticeably faster than staying in the car lanes.  The signage (https://goo.gl/maps/HuJBbCjZSvHXHPhu5) in this case has a BGS over the car lanes with "Passenger Cars / Buses", and a BWS over the truck lanes with "Trucks / All Trailers".

[Max Rockatansky]

Is it legal for a passenger car to use a truck bypass?  This was prompted by Memorial Day traffic at the Lebec 5/99 merge, where taking the truck bypass was noticeably faster than staying in the car lanes.  The signage (https://goo.gl/maps/HuJBbCjZSvHXHPhu5) in this case has a BGS over the car lanes with "Passenger Cars / Buses", and a BWS over the truck lanes with "Trucks / All Trailers".

Yes, as far as I know.  I use the truck bypass on I-5 northbound at CA 14 almost every time I'm heading into Santa Clarita due to the general use lanes clogging.