California

[pderocco]

Had business in Redlands so I was out on the new 3-laned portion of Route 210 (i.e., Highland to I-10). Really nice. Just some leftover details to finish but all three lanes are open in both directions.

That's strange. Google Earth has imagery that's supposed to be from two months ago, and it looks like it's all still under construction. Did they actually finish it in two months?

Also, it looks like they added just enough room for the new lanes, which means it's still not up to Interstate standards.

[ClassicHasClass]

Had business in Redlands so I was out on the new 3-laned portion of Route 210 (i.e., Highland to I-10). Really nice. Just some leftover details to finish but all three lanes are open in both directions.

How are the lanes configured? Is it at least 3 everywhere but between the 330 exits and entrances?

It's now three everywhere. No more pinchpoint going east.

[skluth]

Had business in Redlands so I was out on the new 3-laned portion of Route 210 (i.e., Highland to I-10). Really nice. Just some leftover details to finish but all three lanes are open in both directions.

I went through it on my way home just before July 4. I agree; it's really nice. The merge onto I-10 could be a bit better because there's not much distance to the Orange St interchange but that's a minor complaint compared to the previous squeeze into two lanes.

[cahwyguy]

Also, it has long been the case that Caltrans has little interest in upgrading I-15 NE of Barstow because most of that 'need' is being driven by places that are not in California.  If that other place chooses to chip in...

Mike

That doesn't make any sense. It still affects California.

I mean hey, building a more inconveniently located Ag Station just to slow passenger traffic down at the bottom of a long ascent grade was a priority.  Kind of tells you what the state probably thinks regarding cooperative measures towards Nevada?

Caltrans was probably thinking: Where can we build an Ag station where we can ensure that traffic trying to avoid our ag restrictions and inspections would not easily have the ability to go around it -- which means close to the border, before any interchanges that connect anywhere else. They were also probably asking where right of way was inexpensive, where environmental regulations would permit them to do it (i.e., not protected desert land), and where there was easy observation. The current location is great for that, and is significantly better than the previous location, which was all the way down in Yermo.

[Max Rockatansky]

Also, it has long been the case that Caltrans has little interest in upgrading I-15 NE of Barstow because most of that 'need' is being driven by places that are not in California.  If that other place chooses to chip in...

Mike

That doesn't make any sense. It still affects California.

I mean hey, building a more inconveniently located Ag Station just to slow passenger traffic down at the bottom of a long ascent grade was a priority.  Kind of tells you what the state probably thinks regarding cooperative measures towards Nevada?

Caltrans was probably thinking: Where can we build an Ag station where we can ensure that traffic trying to avoid our ag restrictions and inspections would not easily have the ability to go around it -- which means close to the border, before any interchanges that connect anywhere else. They were also probably asking where right of way was inexpensive, where environmental regulations would permit them to do it (i.e., not protected desert land), and where there was easy observation. The current location is great for that, and is significantly better than the previous location, which was all the way down in Yermo.

Right, the current location minimizes the inconvenience for the Ag inspectors while maximizing the problem for Nevada.  Then again, I don't understand why this state insists on stopping/slowing passenger traffic.  No other state does ag inspection like this, it just seems incredibly inefficient.  The whole concept seems like an antiquated relic of a much different era that could have (perhaps should have been) streamlined when a new station on I-15 became necessary.

As an aside, maybe this topic is worth putting in the CARoutexRoute podcast?

[cahwyguy]

Right, the current location minimizes the inconvenience for the Ag inspectors while maximizing the problem for Nevada.  Then again, I don't understand why this state insists on stopping/slowing passenger traffic.  No other state does ag inspection like this, it just seems incredibly inefficient.  The whole concept seems like an antiquated relic of a much different era that could have (perhaps should have been) streamlined when a new station on I-15 became necessary.

As an aside, maybe this topic is worth putting in the CARoutexRoute podcast?

As for why we have Ag inspections, I recommend the following podcast: https://gastropod.com/chocpocalypse-now-quarantine-and-the-future-of-food/ . I'll paste a relevant transcript at the end.

As for discussing this on the podcast: We could explore the issue when we talk about Route 15, unless we want to talk about it with the Ag stations on I-5.

Here's the interesting segment of the podcast for this discussion:

GRABER: In the part of your book that focuses on food and crop quarantine, you visit a quarantine station on the California border with Arizona, it's called the Needles Inspection Station.

VEHICLE SOUND

MITCH VEGA: How you doing, bud? Good. This is his bills and all this is on here. They usually just have basic stuff. Auto parts. Yeah, nothing that concerns us. Have a good day, bud.

TWILLEY: This is Mitch Vega–he's getting the documents that say what the 18-wheeler in front of us is carrying. Needles is on the I-40, which is one of the big cross-country freeways coming into California. Every truck that comes into California on I-40, Mitch or one of his colleagues stops it.

VEGA: How you doing sir? Hazardous materials. Loads. Scotch tissue. Supply solutions. He's good. Mars Chocolate.

TWILLEY: We should hijack that one.

VEGA: We got a lot of chocolate that comes through here.

GRABER: The site is is out in the desert, there isn't much around, and it's called Needles because that's the name of a nearby city.

MANAUGH: It's basically a kind of a checkpoint that you would drive through on your way from Arizona into California. It's four lanes. There's generally about six people working there.

TWILLEY: Basically, it's a border control station run by the California Department of Agriculture. And they have one mission and one mission only, which is to intercept any plant diseases or pests that might be kind of hitchhiking their way into California from anywhere else and that might pose a threat to the California agricultural industry.

GRABER: Michele Jacobsen is in charge of the Needles Inspection Station.

MICHELE JACOBSEN: We have a lot of produce comes through. Anything. Citrus, your winter greens, kiwis coming in right now out of Italy. Sometimes South African oranges. Chile, a lot of stuff comes in through here from Chile, too. What they're doing is the inspectors are checking the bills of lading. So when the drivers pull up, they know that they have to give us our paperwork and we see what's going on.

TWILLEY: Depending on what's in the truck, Mitch and his colleagues might just wave the driver onward–like the Mars chocolate, or the auto parts. But if they're carrying produce, then it may well be subject to a quarantine order.

JACOBSEN: What's not under quarantine is easier to tell you than what's under quarantine. What's not under quarantine is a lot of your lettuces, your tomatoes are not under quarantine, your melons are not really under quarantine. Bananas, there's no quarantine on bananas. Onions and stuff don't have quarantines. But there's a lot of quarantines. It's easier to tell you what's not under quarantine.

TWILLEY: We were at the Needles checkpoint on one of the busiest days of their entire year–it was the peak of bee season, when trucks full of bees from all over the U.S. are flowing into California to pollinate all the almond trees. 75 billion bees to be precise. Every single truckload gets inspected. The ones that are pest-free get waved on. Geoff and I suited up in bee suits and Michele took us out to see some of the rejected bee trucks.

JACOBSEN: What we're doing over here is all these loads have been rejected for having pests on them. And it could be anything from a small hive beetle to any kind of an ant, it could be a fire ant. It could be a carpenter ant. And or anything that would be considered as a Q rating, which is something that is not determined to be established in California.

GRABER: Michele and her team are scouring the trucks they stop. They're searching for all kinds of tiny pests that haven't yet gotten into California, these Q-rated ones–and those are different kinds of beetles, ants, moths, flies. Because California is really concerned about what these creatures might do if they penetrate its borders.

TWILLEY: Well California is, as my garden is evidence, the fruit and vegetable capital of America. I mean, the agricultural industry here is massive. I think the latest estimate was that it's worth fifty billion dollars a year. Two thirds of America's fruits and nuts are produced in California was the stat that blew me away. And of that, it's 100 percent of all the almonds–all the almonds! All the almonds that are eaten in America and 80 percent of all the almonds that are eaten in all the world.

MANAUGH: You know, California is sort of two things at once. It's very, very geographically isolated in the sense that it is surrounded by mountains, deserts and the Pacific Ocean. And so it's kind of its own little unusual ecosystem. You know, species that have been here have been here for a very long time and species that have not been here have been, you know, separated by these natural barriers that exist. And so when newly introduced species do come here, they often find they have no natural predators.

GRABER: Michele and her team become the predators–they look to see if there are any bugs–and then they have to figure out if the bug is anything to be worried about.

TWILLEY: What's going on here?

JACOBSEN: He's checking under the microscope for a pest. He probably–did you find those on the bees, Matthew?

MATTHEW: Yeah.

JACOBSEN: So he found something on the bees and he's checking it. That's our digital imaging microscope. So he is taking a digital image and he's sending it down to our pest diagnostics lab. And they will send us back an email telling us what the insect is rated. And then we go from there.

TWILLEY: The pest diagnostics lab folks were actually on their lunch break, but as soon Michele and her team were able to confirm the bug's ID, then they would know whether they could let the truck full of bees through, or whether it had to be turned back to be disinfested–usually by pressure washing–and then reinspected. Sometimes the entire load has to be destroyed–not bees, they would just get turned away, but if it's a load of infested oranges, that's likely going straight in the incinerator.

GRABER: Infested oranges–that's a huge problem. In our citrus episode, we talked about how the Asian citrus psyllid is a massive issue because the little bug carries a bacterial disease that can completely destroy citrus crops. And California's citrus industry is valued at billions of dollars.

MANAUGH: Oh, yeah. I mean, that's part of the stress. And, you know, kind of the existential stakes actually, of the problem here is that you're dealing with unbelievably tiny little offenders, you know, things that are the size of a grain of rice or just an egg that might be the size of like a mustard seed.

TWILLEY: Michele told us that one of her proudest moments was stopping this tiny citrus psyllid at the border.

MANAUGH: Someone was moving across the country. They looked into their moving van and they had an entire tree back there. The tree itself did not look very healthy. You know, that was obviously a warning flag for them. They inspected that tree and that's when they found the citrus psyllid. And that, of course, is not something they want to let into California. It's found very fertile ground in Florida already. And it's actually wiped out an estimated five out of every seven Florida growers. It's a huge threat. And it's people like Michele Jacobson that are keeping it out of California.

GRABER: But like we said, the psyllid is the size of a grain of rice. How did they even think to look to find it in a moving van–I mean, that's not a truck carrying one of the crops of particular concern!

TWILLEY: I know! In a way it was just lucky–they also do random inspections, especially of cars and RVs with out-of-state plates and they happened to find it. But they do also have a logic to what they decide to inspect beyond just those trucks carrying crops that are on the quarantine list.

MANAUGH: The way Michele, who runs the station, described it to us, was basically "thinking like a pest."  Trying to imagine where, if you're a pest, if you're a bug, if you're a little insect, where you would be in a container, in a truck bed, or maybe even just like a set of somebody's backyard patio furniture that they're bringing across the country to their new home in California. And so then that's where they'll look. So they'll think to themselves, OK, here's a nice little crack that this bug might lay some eggs here or here's a dark little corner where we might find something. And so that's where they look. And that's actually, it turns out, how they have found a lot of things.

GRABER: Do people try to sneak through things that they would want to inspect, like trees from their house or their moving pods or anything, are they trying to get things through the border?

TWILLEY: Yeah, all the time. And a lot of times people don't necessarily know. So one of the things Michele said was that people who live in their RVs and just kind of tool around, oftentimes they'll have a little like potted plant that they like to put out when they're actually kind of stationary somewhere and those can carry pests. She said, actually, one of the things she's seen is there's a huge rise in chainsaw art.

GRABER: Huh.

TWILLEY: Yeah, not a thing that I've dabbled in myself.

GRABER: I'm not sure what that is.

TWILLEY: I guess people take chainsaws and carve tree trunks and oftentimes, you know, they'll be like a little hole in the tree trunk. She's like, Oh, it's so beautiful. And then I look and there's a hole and there'll be a bug inside that hole.

GRABER: Oh my god.

TWILLEY: So she has a huge problem there. Some people lie. She pulled over a guy who had a bag of pecans, which are a Q-rated nut, and she said she was going to have to confiscate them and he said no and turned around and went back into Arizona, came back an hour later. The pecans were in his suitcase. Apparently he forgot.

GRABER: LAUGHS. Forgot in quotes.

TWILLEY: Exactly. And then the other thing that's really funny is like so many people are afraid of being caught with something that the entire freeway just before the checkpoint is just littered with people's fruit and vegetables. So people throw out their baby carrots, which they could totally bring through. Baby carrots aren't Q-rated. You know, people throw out their bananas. Not a problem. Again, there are, you know, no bananas to kill in California. So some people are so worried about being caught with something, which, of course, nothing happens. They either just take it away or clean it, but people see a checkpoint and panic. So.

GRABER: Of course Michele and her team can't check everything that comes through. They just can't. They do check all the trucks that are carrying crops that are known to harbor pests, but even there, they can't go over every inch. Traffic would be backed up for miles. So sometimes things do get through.

TWILLEY: An amazing example is the bee example. There's this incredibly disastrous bee mite that has been responsible for a lot of the colony collapse stuff you see. We talked about it in our honey episode. And this mite used to be a Q-rated pest. They used to inspect for it. Back in the 80s and 90s, they were inspecting for it. Eventually it got through. Now it's established. But that bought the time for them to start working on which chemicals can you spray your hive with to kill this mite. Those chemicals also have problems. So at the same time, they've been working on breeding something called a hygienic bee, which is resistant to the mite. So quarantine like: yes, kind of it failed in the sense of like now this mite is established in California, but it didn't fail in the sense that it bought more than a decade for people to figure out how to mitigate the consequences of the mite arriving, as it were.

MANAUGH: And I think that that's one of the things that happens, that even though things get through, you know, even though the quarantine is not total and it's not universally successful, what it does do is it gives us time to get ready for this thing to show up. And so what I mean by that is developing things like responses, treatments, even new pesticides. You know, getting people ready, maybe they have to plant new crops. Maybe they actually do need to physically design something into their existing farms or greenhouse operations to help filter out this thing that's coming. But quarantine is really vital then in the sense that even though it's not perfect, it allows us to get ready.

TWILLEY: Quarantine for plants does this, and so does quarantine for humans. You heard the expression flatten the curve everywhere in spring 2020–that was coined by the head of quarantine at the CDC, which is a story we tell in the book. He analyzed the 1918 flu and he realized the cities that did best used quarantine to buy themselves time–quarantine flattened that curve so doctors and hospitals could prepare to handle the disease. Same with the social distancing and so on of COVID. The point was to give us time to get ready and to come up with treatments and even vaccines.

GRABER: But one thing that did occur to me as I was reading about Needles Station is that it's not actually a real quarantine.

TWILLEY: Yeah, you're totally right. You called it, Cynthia. LAUGHS. The Needles border inspection station is not true quarantine, even by our own definition. But there is–you know, honestly, mostly for plants, there isn't such a thing as true quarantine because, you know, unlike people, plants are sort of not that valuable individually. And if you put it in the incinerator, you know, it's okay.

GRABER: Imagine an orange–whether it's the fruit or the tree, it's just not worth putting in quarantine to see if it gets sick. If you notice a problem, a bug of concern in the truck, or a sick plant, you might dump the whole truckload of crops or plants in the incinerator, frankly. It's cheaper to replace oranges than have a special quarantine facility to hold them. But some individual plants are indeed worth saving.

[roadman65]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

[pderocco]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

[roadman65]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

I'm waiting for I-15 to finally get signed south of I-8.

[Max Rockatansky]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

I'm waiting for I-15 to finally get signed south of I-8.

You'll be waiting for awhile.

[The Ghostbuster]

I'm still waiting for CA 210 and CA 905 to become Interstate 210 and Interstate 905. It is obvious by now that neither will ever happen.

[kkt]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

I'm waiting for I-15 to finally get signed south of I-8.

How much time do you think you have? 

[Techknow]

I'm still waiting for CA 210 and CA 905 to become Interstate 210 and Interstate 905. It is obvious by now that neither will ever happen.

And I'm waiting for the freeway on I-380 to be extended west of I-280 to Pacifica! It doesn't have to be signed as an Interstate but another freeway would be nice.

[TheStranger]

I'm still waiting for CA 210 and CA 905 to become Interstate 210 and Interstate 905. It is obvious by now that neither will ever happen.

And I'm waiting for the freeway on I-380 to be extended west of I-280 to Pacifica! It doesn't have to be signed as an Interstate but another freeway would be nice.

Totally in fictional territory but at the very least, a 2 lane road west to Skyline/Route 35 would be super useful, if for no other reason than allowing Daly City and Pacifica residents to have airport access without having to use 280 or 101!

SM-G973U1

[Quillz]

Interesting observation, how many people consider Sherman Pass in the big Sierra Nevada pass lot?  Sherman Pass ranks as the third highest highway pass after Tioga and Sonora.  I tend to think it gets overlooked given it is a Forest Service maintained road.  Hell, even Horseshoe Meadow Road (old CA 190) and Rocky Creek Road both exceed 10,000 feet in elevation beating out Tioga Pass.

Yup, that's the main issue. It's not part of CA-190 (even though it should be for all practical purposes), so it gets ignored. Admittedly the road quality isn't the best. But I'm looking forward to doing it again soon, whenever it opens (if it's not already). It's a really great crossing and you get some good views of Whitney on a clear day.

[pderocco]

Yup, that's the main issue. It's not part of CA-190 (even though it should be for all practical purposes), so it gets ignored. Admittedly the road quality isn't the best. But I'm looking forward to doing it again soon, whenever it opens (if it's not already). It's a really great crossing and you get some good views of Whitney on a clear day.

The NF website says it's open now. I may drive it this coming weekend. There's a great meadow up there with lots of different wildflowers, typically peaking in mid-July. There's also a fire lookout tower on Bald Mountain that I went to once, and the guy who manned it invited us up to enjoy the view.

If CA-190 is ever connected, though, it will go north of there. But it would certainly intersect 21S03, which runs from the northernmost point on Sherman Pass Rd up to a trailhead. And it would also intersect 22S82 that runs up the west side of the Kern River to another trailhead. That would create an interesting road network up there.

[Max Rockatansky]

Yup, that's the main issue. It's not part of CA-190 (even though it should be for all practical purposes), so it gets ignored. Admittedly the road quality isn't the best. But I'm looking forward to doing it again soon, whenever it opens (if it's not already). It's a really great crossing and you get some good views of Whitney on a clear day.

The NF website says it's open now. I may drive it this coming weekend. There's a great meadow up there with lots of different wildflowers, typically peaking in mid-July. There's also a fire lookout tower on Bald Mountain that I went to once, and the guy who manned it invited us up to enjoy the view.

If CA-190 is ever connected, though, it will go north of there. But it would certainly intersect 21S03, which runs from the northernmost point on Sherman Pass Rd up to a trailhead. And it would also intersect 22S82 that runs up the west side of the Kern River to another trailhead. That would create an interesting road network up there.

What I always found weird was that the hardest part of CA 190 to the vicinity of Mulky Pass by way of Horseshoe Meadows was actually constructed.  For whatever reason the DOH decided it should be an all-year expressway and turned it over to the Forest Service.

[pderocco]

What I always found weird was that the hardest part of CA 190 to the vicinity of Mulky Pass by way of Horseshoe Meadows was actually constructed.  For whatever reason the DOH decided it should be an all-year expressway and turned it over to the Forest Service.

I don't think it's odd, because there are lots of other roads that climb the verge of the Sierra Nevada and stop: Whitney Portal, Onion Valley, Glacier Lodge, Lake Sabrina, Rock Creek, etc. They're useful for other reasons than starting a through-road over the mountains. And they're easier to build in one sense: the road workers can easily go home to Lone Pine every night while they're building it. The original building of roads like CA-120 or CA-108 is staggering to contemplate, especially given when they were built.

[Henry]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

I'm waiting for I-15 to finally get signed south of I-8.

How much time do you think you have? 

I'm still waiting for CA 210 and CA 905 to become Interstate 210 and Interstate 905. It is obvious by now that neither will ever happen.

And I'm waiting for the freeway on I-380 to be extended west of I-280 to Pacifica! It doesn't have to be signed as an Interstate but another freeway would be nice.

Knowing Caltrans, it'll be a cold day in hell before any of these things happen.

[cahwyguy]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don’t see any catenary wiring.  I’m guessing it’s a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don’t specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

I’m waiting for I-15 to finally get signed south of I-8.

How much time do you think you have? 

I'm still waiting for CA 210 and CA 905 to become Interstate 210 and Interstate 905. It is obvious by now that neither will ever happen.

And I'm waiting for the freeway on I-380 to be extended west of I-280 to Pacifica! It doesn't have to be signed as an Interstate but another freeway would be nice.

Knowing Caltrans, it'll be a cold day in hell before any of these things happen.

And there's a reason. Ask yourself what the cost benefit is.

For conversion from state signage to Interstate? No benefit to the state at all. No federal funds come with the designation these days. There's no change in maintenance. Truckers don't need the signage to direct them (there are apps for that). There is only cost for a lot of resignage. When you have tight budgets, it's not going to be a priority.

As for extending I-380 to Route 1: Is there traffic justification for the freeway? Would it pass environmental muster, especially considering the induced traffic and pollution that would come from the route, at a time that the state is trying to discourage driving to reduce carbon impacts. It's a different time than the 1950s/1960s. There's no clear need or benefit, and it would cost a lot of funds that could be better spent elsewhere.

Yeah, I know I'm somewhat of a downer realist in this group, where folks want their number consistency, their lines on a map completed. But I enjoy the history and understanding why something isn't completed or won't be completed, as well as admiring well done construction.

[Rothman]

I noticed along CA 15, that a transit way exists in the median, however I don't see any catenary wiring.  I'm guessing it's a bus only lane with stops at El Cajon Blvd and such. 

The city of San Diego transit website don't specify what mode is used other than route 235.

It's for MTS buses. Doesn't go very far, so it doesn't look like a very cost-effective piece of pavement.

I'm waiting for I-15 to finally get signed south of I-8.

How much time do you think you have? 

I'm still waiting for CA 210 and CA 905 to become Interstate 210 and Interstate 905. It is obvious by now that neither will ever happen.

And I'm waiting for the freeway on I-380 to be extended west of I-280 to Pacifica! It doesn't have to be signed as an Interstate but another freeway would be nice.

Knowing Caltrans, it'll be a cold day in hell before any of these things happen.

And there's a reason. Ask yourself what the cost benefit is.

For conversion from state signage to Interstate? No benefit to the state at all. No federal funds come with the designation these days.

No additional money is specifically allocated for Interstates nowadays, but they are still eligible for a 90% federal share of NHPP funding, as opposed to the usual 80%.  On projects that cost in the millions, that is a significant difference.

[cahwyguy]

And there's a reason. Ask yourself what the cost benefit is.

For conversion from state signage to Interstate? No benefit to the state at all. No federal funds come with the designation these days.

No additional money is specifically allocated for Interstates nowadays, but they are still eligible for a 90% federal share of NHPP funding, as opposed to the usual 80%.  On projects that cost in the millions, that is a significant difference.

Thanks for the clarification. I took a look at the implementation guidance, and it doesn't make clear if they are referring only to chargeable mileage or not. I would image any of the noted conversions (210, 15) would be non-chargeable mileage. Of course, none of those routes have major worked planned in the relevant areas (esp. the small stub of Route 15), so this might not be a big deal. It might impact Route 905, but that's also got trade corridor route funding.

[TheStranger]

Of course, none of those routes have major worked planned in the relevant areas (esp. the small stub of Route 15), so this might not be a big deal.

I remember reading a while ago there were plans to reconfigure the 15/94 interchange and remove the left ramps, though not sure if that is still slated to happen at present.

[pderocco]

I remember reading a while ago there were plans to reconfigure the 15/94 interchange and remove the left ramps, though not sure if that is still slated to happen at present.

I don't know why left exits are considered unacceptable when they connect to other freeways. The roads could be renumbered to redefine them as through-routes instead of exits, but why would that make them acceptable?

And in this case, the left exits are attributes of CA-94, so shouldn't have anything to do with whether CA-15 could be considered up to Interstate standards.

[pderocco]

Drove Sherman Pass Road today, from US-395, where it was almost 110 degrees, over the pass where it was in the 70s, and then down the Kern River to Lake Isabella, where it was almost 100. Sherman Pass Road seemed like it always does, with a fair number of very shallow potholes, but perfectly drivable. I was a little disappointed in the wildflowers, because they're late this year. The corn lilies were only a couple feet tall, and nowhere near blooming at the high elevations. It was still quite wet up there, so I think I should have waited a couple of weeks. Tons of scarlet gilia, though, which are pretty spectacular, and I saw a lot of columbines up there, which I had never seen in that area in the past.

CA-178 along lower Kern Canyon still has one-way traffic at one point, due to a bit of the road falling into the river. Lake Isabella is the fullest it's been since June 2005, at 530K acre/feet. It had dropped almost to 36K last November, which was the lowest since October 2015. Amazing how fast it changes. Part of it may be that they have raised the dams, which involved some fancy retaining wall work on CA-155 next to the main dam, while over the past ten years they haven't dared to let it get that full. Both the upper and lower Kern were raging. I think the raft businesses are doing well.

Oh, and CA-155 over the mountains is still closed, and so is Sierra Way through the South Fork Valley east of the lake.