CA 51/I-80 Business Loop

[cahwyguy]

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits a 4di?

I don't think there necessarily is, but the FHWA / MUTCD specified Interstate shield that is 30" x 24" is intended for 3 numerals. So you may be constrained by that definition.

Not that Route 51 should be an x05, but... so how do they fit H201 (which is effectively 4 numerals) into that shield. Must be a tight fit.

[Max Rockatansky]

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits a 4di?

I don't think there necessarily is, but the FHWA / MUTCD specified Interstate shield that is 30" x 24" is intended for 3 numerals. So you may be constrained by that definition.

Not that Route 51 should be an x05, but... so how do they fit H201 (which is effectively 4 numerals) into that shield. Must be a tight fit.

Like this:

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

[michravera]

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits a 4di?

No numbering mechanism is available to create one, but nothing prohibits one either. I've suggested several short I-xx80s in the Bay Area, if ever made full freeway connectors. A couple of I-xx05s wouldn't be bad for Fresno or Bakersfield. Of course, if CASR-99 is ever fully upgraded and renumbered, or CASR-65 is ever completed as anything besides a line on the map, more connectors would be needed.

[pderocco]

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits a 4di?

I don't think there necessarily is, but the FHWA / MUTCD specified Interstate shield that is 30" x 24" is intended for 3 numerals. So you may be constrained by that definition.

Not that Route 51 should be an x05, but... so how do they fit H201 (which is effectively 4 numerals) into that shield. Must be a tight fit.

Like this:

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

Since there are so few Interstate routes in Hawaii (or Alaska), they could have used two digits for the loops and spurs instead of three.

[pderocco]

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits a 4di?

I don't think there necessarily is, but the FHWA / MUTCD specified Interstate shield that is 30" x 24" is intended for 3 numerals. So you may be constrained by that definition.

If the first two digits were 11, it wouldn't be so hard.

[bing101]

[mrsman]

Watching the above video reminded me of a certain point.  While the general trend in CA is to remove the freeway names from the BGSes, it seems that at least at the Biz-80/CA-160 interchange, the signage for the Capital City Fwy still remains.  See timestamp 3:45.  IMO, it would be better to replace "Capital City Fwy" with Fresno and San Francisco (the most likely traffic controls for traffic heading in this direction, Fresno continues straight, San Francisco follows the historic routing of Biz-80).

[Quillz]

Is there any law or regulation that prohibits a 4di?

I don't think there necessarily is, but the FHWA / MUTCD specified Interstate shield that is 30" x 24" is intended for 3 numerals. So you may be constrained by that definition.

Not that Route 51 should be an x05, but... so how do they fit H201 (which is effectively 4 numerals) into that shield. Must be a tight fit.

Can be done with Series B. If using something like Illustrator, you can set the maximum horizontal distance and then have the height adjusted proportionally. Not sure what software is used to create shields/BGS, but no doubt it has a similar feature.

[andy3175]

I-305 indeed is the FHWA-only designation for the section that was primarily built as I-80 (specifically from the old 80/880 junction in West Sacramento, now 80/50, to around E Street in Midtown Sacramento), but has never been signed nor has it ever been a California legislative route.

So this would mean that the route of I-305 includes not just the US 50 portion but also the first mile or so of California SR 51 between US 50 and E Street. The non-Interstate portion of SR 51/BL 80 is from the American River northward to I-80, which includes the substandard American River bridge and Marconi Curve, among other issues. A project is pending to upgrade this section (not sure if this was mentioned upthread):

https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-3/d3-projects/d3-cap-city-corridor

The Cap City Corridor (State Route 51 and adjacent streets) is the most congested corridor in the region. In 2016, SR 51/Cap City experienced over 2,050,000 vehicle hours of delay at a $27.5 million cost to users and had five of the region's top 10 bottlenecks. As the region continues to grow, conditions in the SR 51/Cap City Corridor are expected to worsen by 2035. To address the issues in the corridor and better meet the needs of drivers, transit riders, freight drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, Caltrans initiated the Capital City (Cap City) Corridor Project: A collaborative, interagency planning process that coordinates and prioritizes potential multimodal projects in the corridor. There is no single project that will solve all the issues. Instead, it will require a suite of short-, medium- and long-term multimodal projects with planning and funding from multiple agencies (including):

- HOV lanes
- A multi-use Class I path across the American River
- Neighborhood bike infrastructure
- Improved pedestrian infrastructure
- Transit projects and improved connectivity to transit stations

The project page does not refer to this road as BL 80. As noted by others, at some point, it may be of interest to make the legislative change to delete the BL 80 reference for SR 51.

[TheStranger]

I-305 indeed is the FHWA-only designation for the section that was primarily built as I-80 (specifically from the old 80/880 junction in West Sacramento, now 80/50, to around E Street in Midtown Sacramento), but has never been signed nor has it ever been a California legislative route.

So this would mean that the route of I-305 includes not just the US 50 portion but also the first mile or so of California SR 51 between US 50 and E Street. The non-Interstate portion of SR 51/BL 80 is from the American River northward to I-80, which includes the substandard American River bridge and Marconi Curve, among other issues. A project is pending to upgrade this section (not sure if this was mentioned upthread):

https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-3/d3-projects/d3-cap-city-corridor

The Cap City Corridor (State Route 51 and adjacent streets) is the most congested corridor in the region. In 2016, SR 51/Cap City experienced over 2,050,000 vehicle hours of delay at a $27.5 million cost to users and had five of the region's top 10 bottlenecks. As the region continues to grow, conditions in the SR 51/Cap City Corridor are expected to worsen by 2035. To address the issues in the corridor and better meet the needs of drivers, transit riders, freight drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians, Caltrans initiated the Capital City (Cap City) Corridor Project: A collaborative, interagency planning process that coordinates and prioritizes potential multimodal projects in the corridor. There is no single project that will solve all the issues. Instead, it will require a suite of short-, medium- and long-term multimodal projects with planning and funding from multiple agencies (including):

- HOV lanes
- A multi-use Class I path across the American River
- Neighborhood bike infrastructure
- Improved pedestrian infrastructure
- Transit projects and improved connectivity to transit stations

The project page does not refer to this road as BL 80. As noted by others, at some point, it may be of interest to make the legislative change to delete the BL 80 reference for SR 51.

The current Sacramento Light Rail crossing of the American River - the only one in fact at this time - uses the North Sacramento Freeway/Route 160 right of way, rather than Business 80.

In fact, I don't think there is any pedestrian infrastructure for Biz 80, unlike 160 or the next few bridges over (H Street and Howe Avenue bridges)

I have biked across the American River ca. 2004 on an old railroad bridge approximately north of 19th Street, a little bit east of the 160 bridge.

---

Pre-1979, when the I-80 upgrade project was still on the table in Arden, the plan was to route the new freeway lanes along the railroad right of way (which got taken over by the light rail line instead) and some overpasses were specifically built in anticipation of the freeway that never happened (notably, El Camino Avenue/former US 40 was severed from its historic link to Auburn Boulevard as a result).  I do recall someone in one of the threads here stated that the original plan was to have both today's Business 80 and the new lanes parallel to the tracks operational at the same time!  I mention this because this would have meant that the Marconi Curve would have stayed in the freeway system, and I'm not sure that any plan for straightening it or realigning it has emerged.

[The Ghostbuster]

When the Interstate 80 realignment project was still active, how would upgrading the existing Interstate 80 (present-day Business 80) alignment to Interstate Standards rather than construct a new alignment have been? Would it have been too impractical or difficult?

[Max Rockatansky]

It would have required a bunch of new right of way that the state was just not willing to invest in.  Straightening the
Elvas Freeway and Ben Ali Freeway was much of the problem.

[The Ghostbuster]

While Ben Ali is a neighborhood in Sacramento (I just learned that from Wikipedia), I don't remember seeing any of Business 80 being named after the neighborhood. It is likely a moot point since all of Business 80 has been named the Capital City Freeway since 1996.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm just using the names the freeway segments originally had.  I tend to find they are better at describing where things are on CA 51.  But yes, Ben Ali was one of many communities which has been annexed into Sacramento. 

[TheStranger]

I'm just using the names the freeway segments originally had.  I tend to find they are better at describing where things are on CA 51.  But yes, Ben Ali was one of many communities which has been annexed into Sacramento. 

If I'm remembering correctly, the names used were:
29/30 Freeway for the section built as I-80/US 99E in the early 1960s (and likely part of I-305 based on FHWA's mileage count), a local moniker and not an official name I think
Elvas Freeway (IIRC, built first as US 99E in the late 1950s) for the section from E Street across the American River (near Elvas Avenue) to Route 160
North Sacramento Freeway (former US 40/99E)) as continuation of that name from the Route 160 freeway, to Marconi Curve
Ben Ali-Roseville Freeway (former US 40/99E) from Marconi Curve northeast past today's 80/Business 80 interchange, to Roseville itself around the Riverside Avenue left exit

[ClassicHasClass]

Don't forget the W-X.

[The Ghostbuster]

I've heard of the Roseville Freeway name, but not the Ben Ali name. I had also heard of the other names listed as well.

[TheStranger]

Don't forget the W-X.

I think WX Freeway is the only one of the 1950s-1960s Sacramento-area freeway names that actually has become common usage! Here are some recent news clips in the last few years that refer to the moniker:

It's also mentioned in this CBS local writeup:
https://www.cbsnews.com/sacramento/news/caltrans-hwy-50-project-nearly-75-percent-done-but-drivers-can-expect-more-changes/

I think the fact that the WX segment had the old triple concurrency of 50/Business 80/99 - and serves to connect 99 directly to 5 - has kept it prominently in the public consciousness.