CA 33

[ClassicHasClass]

Love those old box culverts.

[Max Rockatansky]

Love those old box culverts.

They are fairly common among the Old State Highways in the area.  They are especially common on the older segments of CA 41 south of Fresno.  For some reason Fresno County was huge on that design in the local road network in the 1940s.  The cool thing with those variants is that they often than street name and build year stamped into them. 

Example; Fowler Avenue just north of Laton:

0 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

[Max Rockatansky]

Took a drive on the Ojai Freeway yesterday.  The majority of the guide signs are still button copy and there are no exit numbers:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmW5U6JC

[sparker]

Took a drive on the Ojai Freeway yesterday.  The majority of the guide signs are still button copy and there are no exit numbers:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmW5U6JC

That freeway was and likely always will be the proverbial "red-headed stepchild" of D7, dating as it does from US 399 days.  Doesn't get a lot of love or attention aside from basic maintenance.  Don't expect much in the way of signage change until the nuts & bolts holding the signs in place rust away! 

[Max Rockatansky]

Took a drive on the Ojai Freeway yesterday.  The majority of the guide signs are still button copy and there are no exit numbers:

https://flic.kr/s/aHsmW5U6JC

That freeway was and likely always will be the proverbial "red-headed stepchild" of D7, dating as it does from US 399 days.  Doesn't get a lot of love or attention aside from basic maintenance.  Don't expect much in the way of signage change until the nuts & bolts holding the signs in place rust away!

I want to say that the Ojai Freeway is the last to not have any exit numbers of any kind in the state? 

[Occidental Tourist]

In fairness to District 7, it barely has any exits. 

Also, Sacramento did not include it on the original Cal-NExUS list.

[sparker]

In fairness to District 7, it barely has any exits. 

Also, Sacramento did not include it on the original Cal-NExUS list.

Also to be fair -- even back in '63 when building new freeways was DOH "gospel", it was pretty clear than a (then) US 399 freeway wouldn't extend more than a few miles north of US 101; the Ojai area, then as now, was a relatively high-ticket resort area interspersed with specialty agriculture (avocados, fruit, etc.) and slamming a freeway through there just wasn't in the cards.  And as a through route -- there's never been enough traffic north of CA 150 to justify a higher-capacity facility than is currently in place.  Besides, it's a fun drive; no need to change it into something that just isn't warranted! 

[Max Rockatansky]

In fairness to District 7, it barely has any exits. 

Also, Sacramento did not include it on the original Cal-NExUS list.

Also to be fair -- even back in '63 when building new freeways was DOH "gospel", it was pretty clear than a (then) US 399 freeway wouldn't extend more than a few miles north of US 101; the Ojai area, then as now, was a relatively high-ticket resort area interspersed with specialty agriculture (avocados, fruit, etc.) and slamming a freeway through there just wasn't in the cards.  And as a through route -- there's never been enough traffic north of CA 150 to justify a higher-capacity facility than is currently in place.  Besides, it's a fun drive; no need to change it into something that just isn't warranted!

That said, it is interesting to note that for a very brief time it would have been a superior roadway to the Old Ridge Route.  The improvements of two decades of highway development is very apparent between the Old Ridge Route and Maricopa Highway having extensively explored both.  I always got the feeling that the Maricopa Highway would was intended to be used far more than it actually ended up being in the 1930s, hence the US 399 designation. 

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In the pre-WWII years a sizeable chunk of CA's political power emanated from the Valley, particularly prior to L.A. joining the Bay Area as a power in and of itself.  Agricultural interests embedded since the 1800's made for a lot of private fortunes -- and more than a bit of that money went into 2nd (or even primary) residences on the coast, considered then as now more prime residential real estate.  And the south-facing coastlines of Ventura and Santa Barbara were the creme de la creme of all that -- sunshine tempering the cold Pacific waters, and fog that burned off in mid-morning.  So lots of Valley wealth was spent on the coastline from Carpinteria up through Goleta, and in the days before private planes and helicopters, they needed a consistent and efficient way to get from the Valley to that coastline.  In the 1920's and '30's executives from companies pumping oil from the Bakersfield/Taft fields, principally Union Oil, joined those ranks.   Influence was brought to bear, and US 399 was commissioned and improved to the facility it is today (minus the last few miles of freeway, of course) for that purpose.   And, minus a few traffic incidents and the occasional washout (particularly with the massive SoCal floods of 1938), fortunate families shuffled back and forth over 399 (and occasionally the western reaches of 150) for extended vacations; a number of these folks elected to make their primary homes on the coast, with more than a few of them becoming the original Hope Ranch residents in the hills west of downtown Santa Barbara and constituting much of Santa Barbara "high society" in those days.  Postwar, things changed with corporate shifts, and the dynamic of the cross-Coast Range regular trek abated considerably.  Today's CA 33 remains a vital if still challenging connector from that coastal area to the Valley, but the reasons for US 399's commissioning and upgrading in the first place aren't terribly pressing these days.  Fun drive and highly recommended as such -- but the odds are that it'll never host much more traffic than currently seen.       

[Max Rockatansky]

Made a massive update to our CA 33 blog.  It includes the entire Ojai Freeway and a scan of the CHPWs:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2018/07/california-state-route-33-us-101-north.html

[sparker]

The section of CA 33 through the Matilija Gorge north of Ojai, the site of regular rockfalls onto the roadway, is getting a concrete "awning" partially over the lanes to, hopefully, lessen the time the road is shut down for such things.   The project also includes improved drainage from the roadway itself.  The project EIS has just been completed; it's listed in today's (8/30) AASHTO DTU and in the Federal Register, vol. 86 #165, Monday August 30, 2021; it's FR Document #2021-18550 for anyone who wants more details.

[Max Rockatansky]

Put something together for Old CA 33 in Firebaugh.  I'll be doing something probably next month for Dos Palos also.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2022/05/the-original-alignment-of-california.html

[Max Rockatansky]

Put something together for the alignment history of CA 33 in Dos Palos:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2022/06/the-original-alignment-of-california.html?m=1

[Plutonic Panda]

After being closed since last years winter storm in January/February CA-33 between Ojai and Lockwood Valley Road again with some one lane segments controlled by a traffic signal.

[Quillz]

It appears to be closed again.

[Max Rockatansky]

Shows open on the QuickMap.  Where are you seeing a closure?

[Quillz]

Shows open on the QuickMap.  Where are you seeing a closure?

Road conditions site:

https://roads.dot.ca.gov/

This highway information is the latest reported as of Saturday, January 6th, 2024 at 12:14 PM.

SR 33

[IN THE SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA AREA]
Is closed from South Matilija Springs Rd /in Ojala/ (Ventura Co) to 9 mi south of the Ventura/Santa Barbara Co Line - Due to emergency repairs - Motorists are advised to use an alternate route

[Quillz]

Is QuickMap more reliable? I'm driving to Morro Bay and wanted to utilize 33 and 166.

[Max Rockatansky]

Substantially.  I've never even seen the page you were looking at.

[Plutonic Panda]

Yep. Shows open with lane closures being one lane each through the construction zone: https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/

[gonealookin]

From District 7 yesterday:

https://twitter.com/CaltransDist7/status/1743306576788910519

[Quillz]

From District 7 yesterday:

https://twitter.com/CaltransDist7/status/1743306576788910519

If I can't get to 166 still not useful for me.

[Quillz]

Also it shows Big Sur is fully open? I thought it was still closed.

[Max Rockatansky]

Stilled closed at Limekiln Creek.  That is also displayed on the QuickMap.

[Plutonic Panda]

Stilled closed at Limekiln Creek.  That is also displayed on the QuickMap.

I found out the hard way to only rely on Caltrans quick maps when Google maps showed HWY 1 through Big Sur when I had to turn around and take a 4 hour detour heading south because of all the people who also thought the same thing.