I-580 California

[Max Rockatansky]

Took the north end of the Bay via I-580 to get across to the Marin Headlands, I didn't think it would be a hot idea going through downtown San Francisco:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmb1GFXS

Obviously there is a lot of alignment and route designation stuff to discuss, but I'll update that all when I get to my road blog.

[Max Rockatansky]

Finished the road blog on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge along with alignment history:

http://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2017/11/november-bay-area-trip-part-4-richmond.html

I still think that the bridge ought to be part of I-580....but the Bay Area is full of questionable 3d Interstate designations to say the least.

[Kniwt]

From the link:

The double decker structure of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is pretty striking.  It appears that the shoulder in theory could be utilized in the future for an additional lane if the need ever arose.

A project is underway to add a third motorist lane on the eastbound (lower) deck, and a two-way bicycle path on the westbound (upper) deck:
https://mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/major-regional-projects/richmond-san-rafael-bridge-access-improvements

[Max Rockatansky]

From the link:

The double decker structure of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge is pretty striking.  It appears that the shoulder in theory could be utilized in the future for an additional lane if the need ever arose.

A project is underway to add a third motorist lane on the eastbound (lower) deck, and a two-way bicycle path on the westbound (upper) deck:
https://mtc.ca.gov/our-work/plans-projects/major-regional-projects/richmond-san-rafael-bridge-access-improvements

Well, I might be up for something like that.  I would imagine the views of San Francisco Bay are really good from the bridge but it is really obscured by car because of the high barriers on the westbound deck.

[Max Rockatansky]

Uploaded a new blog to add onto the previous Richmond-San Rafael Bridge entry.  Recently I drove I-580 west from I-205 in Tracy to CA 13 in Berkeley.  I've been looking forward to this one given the huge amount of historic corridors that were near I-580 such as; El Camino Viejo, Lincoln Highway, US 48, US 50 and of course I-5W.  The climb over Altamont Pass in particular is actually pretty damn scenic.  Really what has become apparent during all this Bay Area stuff is that I need a dedicated blog for the alignment of US 48 which will likely come at some point this month.

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2019/03/interstate-580-from-i-205-west-to-ca-13.html

My photo set for I-580 from I-205 west to CA 13 can be found below:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNNyxgv

[nexus73]

Uploaded a new blog to add onto the previous Richmond-San Rafael Bridge entry.  Recently I drove I-580 west from I-205 in Tracy to CA 13 in Berkeley.  I've been looking forward to this one given the huge amount of historic corridors that were near I-580 such as; El Camino Viejo, Lincoln Highway, US 48, US 50 and of course I-5W.  The climb over Altamont Pass in particular is actually pretty damn scenic.  Really what has become apparent during all this Bay Area stuff is that I need a dedicated blog for the alignment of US 48 which will likely come at some point this month.

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2019/03/interstate-580-from-i-205-west-to-ca-13.html

My photo set for I-580 from I-205 west to CA 13 can be found below:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNNyxgv

Having seen the stretch of I-580 heading toward Tracy here on this forum and now this one, the part which surprises me is the large amount of gorgeous natural growth.  It looks quite the attractive drive! 

Rick

[Max Rockatansky]

Uploaded a new blog to add onto the previous Richmond-San Rafael Bridge entry.  Recently I drove I-580 west from I-205 in Tracy to CA 13 in Berkeley.  I've been looking forward to this one given the huge amount of historic corridors that were near I-580 such as; El Camino Viejo, Lincoln Highway, US 48, US 50 and of course I-5W.  The climb over Altamont Pass in particular is actually pretty damn scenic.  Really what has become apparent during all this Bay Area stuff is that I need a dedicated blog for the alignment of US 48 which will likely come at some point this month.

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2019/03/interstate-580-from-i-205-west-to-ca-13.html

My photo set for I-580 from I-205 west to CA 13 can be found below:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNNyxgv

Having seen the stretch of I-580 heading toward Tracy here on this forum and now this one, the part which surprises me is the large amount of gorgeous natural growth.  It looks quite the attractive drive! 

Rick

Usually all that greenery only is a thing in the winter.  The entire Diablo Range has a summer/brown to winter/green transition which actually very scenic.  My office overlooks some of the higher peaks of the Diablo Range, they are a nice sight to look at this time of year.  In the case of I-580 the alignment of the freeway over Altamont Pass in particular is pretty striking.  Its a very impressive looking grade that doesn't detract from the surrounding terrain.

[nexus73]

Uploaded a new blog to add onto the previous Richmond-San Rafael Bridge entry.  Recently I drove I-580 west from I-205 in Tracy to CA 13 in Berkeley.  I've been looking forward to this one given the huge amount of historic corridors that were near I-580 such as; El Camino Viejo, Lincoln Highway, US 48, US 50 and of course I-5W.  The climb over Altamont Pass in particular is actually pretty damn scenic.  Really what has become apparent during all this Bay Area stuff is that I need a dedicated blog for the alignment of US 48 which will likely come at some point this month.

https://surewhynotnow.blogspot.com/2019/03/interstate-580-from-i-205-west-to-ca-13.html

My photo set for I-580 from I-205 west to CA 13 can be found below:

https://flic.kr/s/aHskNNyxgv

Having seen the stretch of I-580 heading toward Tracy here on this forum and now this one, the part which surprises me is the large amount of gorgeous natural growth.  It looks quite the attractive drive! 

Rick

Usually all that greenery only is a thing in the winter.  The entire Diablo Range has a summer/brown to winter/green transition which actually very scenic.  My office overlooks some of the higher peaks of the Diablo Range, they are a nice sight to look at this time of year.  In the case of I-580 the alignment of the freeway over Altamont Pass in particular is pretty striking.  Its a very impressive looking grade that doesn't detract from the surrounding terrain.

How long does the "green season" last?  In the southern Willamette Valley, the end of May and beginning of June, on a sunny day, is when you find out why Eugene is called the Emerald City.  I have never seen so many shades of green and at such intensity as in the countryside south of Cottage Grove to the Divide (so-called because it divides the Willamette and Umpqua drainage basins).  By this point in location, the Valley is getting narrower so the hillsides offer themselves as nature's display case quite well. 

Once the summer heat kicks in, the green becomes more and more brown.  So dull compared to the most vibrant part of the year!

For some more "green hills of Earth" looks, take SR 38.  Robert Heinlein wrote a short story called "The Green Hills Of Earth" back in 1947.  Here is a synopsis of the plot from Wikipedia and it is a sad story about a man who was unable to see home. 

It is the story of "Noisy" Rhysling, the blind space-going songwriter whose poetic skills rival Rudyard Kipling's. Heinlein (himself a medically retired U.S. naval officer) spins a yarn about a radiation-blinded spaceship engineer crisscrossing the solar system writing and singing songs. The story takes the form of a nonfiction magazine article.[1]

Heinlein credited the title of the song, "The Green Hills of Earth", to the short story "Shambleau" by C. L. Moore (first published in 1933).[2] In the story Moore's character, a spacefaring smuggler named Northwest Smith, hums the tune of "The Green Hills of Earth." Moore and Henry Kuttner also have Northwest Smith hum the song in their 1937 short story "Quest of the Starstone," which quotes several lines of lyrics.

The events of the story concern the composition of the titular song. An aged Rhysling realizes that his death of old age is near, and hitchhikes on a spaceship headed to Earth so he can die and be buried where he was born. A malfunction threatens the ship with destruction, and Rhysling enters an irradiated area to perform repairs. Upon completing the repairs, he knows that he will soon die of radiation poisoning, and asks that they record his last song; he dies just moments after speaking the final, titular verse.

Rick

[Max Rockatansky]

The green season can start in November but it really just depends on when the rains come.  Sometimes the rain doesn't really let up until late April and other years its done by the end of January.  This year in particular has been very wet which has definitely had an effect on the color of the Diablo Range.  I suspect things are about to dry out now that the temperature is starting to rise, most of the wet weather disappears from my weather forecasts after Thursday.

Interestingly I might be hitting CA 38 in the near future along with much of Riverside County.  I have a work convention coming up in May down in San Diego.  I plan on burning some vacation time after in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties.

[bing101]

I remember in old maps that CA-17 covered the San Rafael bridge before it got assigned I-180 and currently I-580.

[nexus73]

The green season can start in November but it really just depends on when the rains come.  Sometimes the rain doesn't really let up until late April and other years its done by the end of January.  This year in particular has been very wet which has definitely had an effect on the color of the Diablo Range.  I suspect things are about to dry out now that the temperature is starting to rise, most of the wet weather disappears from my weather forecasts after Thursday.

Interestingly I might be hitting CA 38 in the near future along with much of Riverside County.  I have a work convention coming up in May down in San Diego.  I plan on burning some vacation time after in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties.

SR 38....Oregon.  Try that Max!

A few decades back, 38 was rated as one of the ten most scenic drives in the USA.  The view changes from season to season so there is always something neat to look at.

Rick

[skluth]

The green season can start in November but it really just depends on when the rains come.  Sometimes the rain doesn't really let up until late April and other years its done by the end of January.  This year in particular has been very wet which has definitely had an effect on the color of the Diablo Range.  I suspect things are about to dry out now that the temperature is starting to rise, most of the wet weather disappears from my weather forecasts after Thursday.

Interestingly I might be hitting CA 38 in the near future along with much of Riverside County.  I have a work convention coming up in May down in San Diego.  I plan on burning some vacation time after in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties.

Right now some of the mountain highways in Riverside County are tough going. Both CA 74 from Hemet and CA 243 from Banning to Idyllwild are closed. CA 74 should be open by then, but CA 243 sustained a lot of damage during the Valentine's Day rains and it may be months before it opens completely. There is also scattered damage not requiring a road closure but still slowing down traffic. Don't know about any other mountain road closures, but those are the big ones on the news in Palm Springs.

[Max Rockatansky]

The green season can start in November but it really just depends on when the rains come.  Sometimes the rain doesn't really let up until late April and other years its done by the end of January.  This year in particular has been very wet which has definitely had an effect on the color of the Diablo Range.  I suspect things are about to dry out now that the temperature is starting to rise, most of the wet weather disappears from my weather forecasts after Thursday.

Interestingly I might be hitting CA 38 in the near future along with much of Riverside County.  I have a work convention coming up in May down in San Diego.  I plan on burning some vacation time after in San Diego, Imperial and Riverside Counties.

Right now some of the mountain highways in Riverside County are tough going. Both CA 74 from Hemet and CA 243 from Banning to Idyllwild are closed. CA 74 should be open by then, but CA 243 sustained a lot of damage during the Valentine's Day rains and it may be months before it opens completely. There is also scattered damage not requiring a road closure but still slowing down traffic. Don't know about any other mountain road closures, but those are the big ones on the news in Palm Springs.

Hopefully it's open because I do want to hit 243 and cover as much of the San Bernardino Area as I can in terms of mountain highways.  I'm looking at probably some desert stuff like Box Canyon Road and Dillion Road.  Used to work out that way in Palm Springs but I don't have a ton of photos. 

[Max Rockatansky]

I recently revisited I-580 on a trip to the Bay Area.  That being the case I expanded the existing photo log to include I-580 west from I-5 to I-205.  I went back to the blog and added two Department of Public Works guides; a 1938 volume showing the completion of US 50 on a new Altamont Pass alignment (now eastbound I-580) and a 1962 showing the first 2.6 miles of the MacArthur Freeway opening to traffic.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/03/interstate-580-from-i-205-west-to-ca-13.html

[bing101]

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/how-kilometers-appeared-on-bay-area-highway-sign-18601009.php
Here is one on how I-580 in Oakland has one of the signs in kilometers and the story behind it.

[FredAkbar]

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/how-kilometers-appeared-on-bay-area-highway-sign-18601009.php
Here is one on how I-580 in Oakland has one of the signs in kilometers and the story behind it.

(Not Oakland; the sign is at the eastern end of Castro Valley.)

[JustDrive]

How many mileage signs with kilometers are left in California? The only other one I can think of is on NB 101 at Rancho Conejo Blvd in Thousand Oaks.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've never seen any in District 6. 

[ClassicHasClass]

How many mileage signs with kilometers are left in California? The only other one I can think of is on NB 101 at Rancho Conejo Blvd in Thousand Oaks.

This one is still up on I-15. It may survive for awhile since it was part of the last segment to be constructed in northern San Diego county.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/p7MHA6qnPSYBvgdN8

My favourite km sign was this one on CA 270, but it looks like it's gone now.
http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/270/u1/#sec_24

[heynow415]

How many mileage signs with kilometers are left in California? The only other one I can think of is on NB 101 at Rancho Conejo Blvd in Thousand Oaks.

There's one on eastbound CA-88 (Carson Pass Road) between Cook's Station and Ham's Station:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/CQi1yjBSxtq6B5Cs6 The left side is bent a bit like it's been blasted by snow plow discharges but otherwise it's in good shape.

[dbz77]

https://www.sfgate.com/travel/article/how-kilometers-appeared-on-bay-area-highway-sign-18601009.php
Here is one on how I-580 in Oakland has one of the signs in kilometers and the story behind it.

The article forgets gto mention the 1866 Metric Act.

[theroadwayone]

How many mileage signs with kilometers are left in California? The only other one I can think of is on NB 101 at Rancho Conejo Blvd in Thousand Oaks.

This one is still up on I-15. It may survive for awhile since it was part of the last segment to be constructed in northern San Diego county.
https://maps.app.goo.gl/p7MHA6qnPSYBvgdN8

The distance to the latter two cities, of course, is via I-215 (because it was previously US 395.)

[kkt]

About the shoulder on the San Rafael Bridge - isn't it better to have one shoulder that's wide enough for a disabled vehicle to be completely out of the traffic lanes, rather than two shoulders that would leave part of the vehicle blocking traffic on each side?