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[thsftw]

Good news for anyone up for an impromptu drive over Tioga Pass next year:

https://www.wsj.com/articles/yosemite-national-park-reservations-travel-11668535648

After they get out of the 3 hour entrance traffic...

[thsftw]

On the subject of Sierra passes, I've been reading a lot lately about the Piute Pass and the Olancha pass highways, and I was curious if anyone had anymore info on the 180/onion valley pass routing (over Kearsage?) and more details about 203 past Devils Postpile (seems like the hard part has already been paved on that route...) It looks like 190 still shows up on highway maps routed over the Haiwee pass, but likely will never happen.

[Max Rockatansky]

On the subject of Sierra passes, I've been reading a lot lately about the Piute Pass and the Olancha pass highways, and I was curious if anyone had anymore info on the 180/onion valley pass routing (over Kearsage?) and more details about 203 past Devils Postpile (seems like the hard part has already been paved on that route...) It looks like 190 still shows up on highway maps routed over the Haiwee pass, but likely will never happen.

180 was supposed to be a Forest Service Road, never really got anywhere substantial:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/onion-valley-road-former-california.html?m=1

The Minaret Summit proposal was just that, a proposal:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/08/sierra-vista-scenic-byway-part-3-sierra.html?m=1

[bing101]

Asphalt Planet does a tour on I-5 Golden State Freeway.

[roadman65]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52501848096/in/dateposted-public/
Does anyone know why I-5 has a short paved median stretch near Red Bluff, CA?

[kkt]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52501848096/in/dateposted-public/
Does anyone know why I-5 has a short paved median stretch near Red Bluff, CA?

I've seen speculation that that is where the freeway from CA 99 was planned to merge with I-5.
Love to see that speculation either confirmed or rebutted.

[NE2]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52501848096/in/dateposted-public/
Does anyone know why I-5 has a short paved median stretch near Red Bluff, CA?

Temporary construction crossover.

[pderocco]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52501848096/in/dateposted-public/
Does anyone know why I-5 has a short paved median stretch near Red Bluff, CA?

I see such a place on Google Earth, but in Street View it doesn't match the picture. The multiple billboards are missing, even though Street View is dated only one year after the photo.

There is, however, an even more dramatic crossover here: https://goo.gl/maps/W2Hywqw8KXhN9dcb8

[Techknow]

Due to heavy rain since Friday, Highway 1 from Ragged Point (SLO county line) to the Big Sur settlement has been closed which makes passing through the region currently impossible. Let's hope the road didn't get washed out or a huge slide happen


https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article269567812.html

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/xYqnwdzof2ZueuSEA
Is the removal of the San Diego Freeway at this location due to the most recent MUTCD disallowing route numbers and road names to coexist on a guide?

I always remembered that freeway names were more prominent then route numbers my last visit to LA.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/Xn2omMpgHHTB1vvh8
What was one on the greened out sign? GSV shows this sign here always.

[heynow415]

https://goo.gl/maps/Xn2omMpgHHTB1vvh8
What was one on the greened out sign? GSV shows this sign here always.

Probably for an exit that was removed.  There used to be an exit/entrance at Waterford St southbound that provided a connection to Montana Ave which was a back route into UCLA - I remember using it regularly when my brother was a student there in the early 90's.  Since it dumped into a small residential neighborhood shoehorned into the VA cemetery and was way too close to the Wilshire interchange it was likely an easy choice to eliminate it.  Still, why they didn't just remove the upstream sign panel instead of going through the trouble of completely blanking it out is another D7 mystery. 

[roadfro]

https://goo.gl/maps/xYqnwdzof2ZueuSEA
Is the removal of the San Diego Freeway at this location due to the most recent MUTCD disallowing route numbers and road names to coexist on a guide?

I always remembered that freeway names were more prominent then route numbers my last visit to LA.

To my recollection, the 2009 national MUTCD does not prohibit a road name and route number on a sign (but may discourage it).

This is probably more a reflection of Caltrans de-emphasizing freeway names. Route numbers have become much more common in navigational parlance, and not including freeway names reduces message loading (and potentially sign panel area).

[roadman65]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52588325995/in/photostream/
California not only  doesn’t use standard states exit number formats. Not only due they put tabs within the signs, but they create a longer tab with a tab within it.

This sign displays a tab with a tab.  They could even write a border around all of it but instead create an illusion of two signs together.

[pderocco]

^^^
There really isn't a tab there. They lay out the sign as though it had tabs, and then place everything on a simple rectangular surface. Saves money on cutting, I guess.

[roadman65]

^^^
There really isn't a tab there. They lay out the sign as though it had tabs, and then place everything on a simple rectangular surface. Saves money on cutting, I guess.

This one https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52588125979/in/photostream/
They got it right. A real Exit tab on top.

[Techknow]

^^^
There really isn't a tab there. They lay out the sign as though it had tabs, and then place everything on a simple rectangular surface. Saves money on cutting, I guess.

Yeah those rectangular outlines in Caltrans BGSes are common. But in other cases rectangular outlines can appear inside rectangular outlines. Cool eh?

[roadman65]

https://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/52601553614/in/dateposted-public/
Interesting US 101 shield I found leaving a Vista Point along US 101 S Bound.

The arrow and place card both are misaligned above the shield. 

[Techknow]

With the current atmospheric river ongoing in California, it now appears many highways in the Bay Area are being impacted or closed at certain spots and weather forecasters are expecting a storm on Wednesday that could cause flooding that may be worse than the past Saturday (NYE). Several examples include US 101 flooded at South San Francisco, a landslide on I-580 EB around Livermore, and potholes at CA 37, I-880 and somewhere along I-5

Area Forecast Discussion from NWS:

Flood Watch and High Wind Watch have been issued for the midweek
system.

Afternoon radar continues to show light rain moving across the Bay
Area and Monterey Bay region. So far rain totals have been from
around a tenth in North Bay to a trace in South Bay. There still
is more rain to come this afternoon and early evening before
clearing out. When all is said and done, totals will be in the
few hundredths to half an inch, depending which site you`re
looking at. There is a chance of an over achiever getting to
0.75".

All focus however continues, and rightfully so, to be on the
midweek system. The meteorology is as such...first we`ll see the
warm front roll into the region Wednesday morning. The triple
point of the occlusion-warm-cold fronts seems to be slipping
northward in model runs. This means that we could sit under the
influence of warm frontal rain processes longer, which means more
rain than forecast currently, just from the warm front. This warm
front will also bring an initial bout of strong gusty winds.
Given the saturation of the soils, rainfall, and winds; this warm
front alone is enough to cause damage.

Portions of the Bay Area and the Monterey Bay region may get a
break from the rain for a short time late Wednesday morning as we
get behind the warm front, but before the cold front. It`ll still
be breezy during this time and will maintain the threat downed
trees. This will be a short lived reprieve before the cold front,
our pineapple express, sets in. Ensemble models are continuing to
show probability of substantial rainfall over our coastal ranges.
In addition, gale force, potentially storms force, winds will
accompany the winds Wednesday afternoon into the overnight hours.
Models have also been trending slower with the pineapple express,
which means more residence time over the region and the greater
chance for high amounts of precipitation. As such, we have issued
a high wind watch and a flood watch for our entire service area,
in coordination with our neighbors and their service areas.

To put it simply, this will likely be one of the most impactful
systems on a widespread scale that this meteorologist has seen in
a long while. The impacts will include widespread flooding, roads
washing out, hillside collapsing, trees down (potentially full
groves), widespread power outages, immediate disruption to
commerce, and the worst of all, likely loss of human life. This
is truly a brutal system that we are looking at and needs to be
taken seriously.

On the other side of the coin, this system and the serious of
systems is rather impressive. Total Precipitable Water in the
satellite currently is showing above 2", pushing 3" for midweek.
The afternoon upper air flight on Wednesday will really be
telling. Beyond the midweek system the pattern will remain active
and continue to have impacts on life, property, and commerce.

The most recent forecast package calls for the following rainfall
totals late Tuesday night through early Friday:

-The Santa Lucia Mtns and the Big Sur Coast: 4.5 to 6.5" (locally up
to 8" over higher peaks)

-Coastal Mountains in the North Bay: 4.5 to 6.5" (locally up to 7.5"
over higher peaks)

-The Santa Cruz Mtns and Northern Monterey Bay: 3.5 to 6" (locally
up to 7" over higher peaks)

-Interior North Bay: 2.75 to 5"

-Around the SF Bay (including East & South Bay): 1.5 to 3"

-Southern/Eastern Monterey Bay: 2 to 3"

-Salinas Valley/ San Benito County: 1.5 to 3"

[moabdave]

Does anybody here know of a published list of common places where Caltrans places chain control/winter weather closure check points? For example, on I-80 Eastbound I usually see on the Caltrans road reports if control is in place it's either at Applegate, Cisco Grove or Kingvale; I-80 westbound is almost always at either Truckee or Mogul (just across the state line in Nevada). Is there a published list of the normal places where such control checkpoints are located?

[TheStranger]

Noticed a few days ago that the exit for 3rd Street off US 101 north in San Francisco is now mistakenly labeled on the overhead sign as "Exit 492B" and not 429B (the correct number on the gore point sign).

[Max Rockatansky]

Does anybody here know of a published list of common places where Caltrans places chain control/winter weather closure check points? For example, on I-80 Eastbound I usually see on the Caltrans road reports if control is in place it's either at Applegate, Cisco Grove or Kingvale; I-80 westbound is almost always at either Truckee or Mogul (just across the state line in Nevada). Is there a published list of the normal places where such control checkpoints are located?

Best bet is the a Caltrans Quick Map for what’s going on real time.  In theory CHP could put a chain control checkpoint anywhere they wanted.

[Max Rockatansky]

California 63 Route courtesy a local install by Visalia:

63CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[pderocco]

^^^

That looks like the green stencil layer is delaminating, and exposing more of the solid white layer underneath. That happens a lot. You'd think 3M would have mastered that decades ago, or perhaps it's just that the sign makers aren't following the directions.

[Max Rockatansky]

The city of Fresno uses a similarly cheap vinyl which delaminates quickly.  Whatever vinyl Caltrans is using tends to hold up much better to UV and heat exposure.  Caltrans is also using a single vinyl sheet on the current spec highway spades, the previous generation had an issues where the numbers would begin to peel off.