California

[Quillz]

Minor news: there's now a signalized junction for Mulholland Highway/S Old Topanga Canyon Road. This was a dangerous intersection my whole life, nice to see it finally get addressed.

[Plutonic Panda]

^^^ it's also being upgraded with pedestrian pathways as well.

[gonealookin]

We haven't had much snow so far, and rather unusually Ebbetts, Sonora and Monitor Passes are open for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Pretty good chance they will even see some traffic on December 1 as right now there's nothing in the 10-day forecast to prevent that.  The Tioga Road through Yosemite and the portion of SR 203 west of the Mammoth ski area are closed for the winter.

[cl94]

We haven't had much snow so far, and rather unusually Ebbetts, Sonora and Monitor Passes are open for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Pretty good chance they will even see some traffic on December 1 as right now there's nothing in the 10-day forecast to prevent that.  The Tioga Road through Yosemite and the portion of SR 203 west of the Mammoth ski area are closed for the winter.

Monitor will sometimes stay open all winter if it's a light snow year. Looking back, though, Ebbetts and Monitor usually stay open until the end of November or first half of March. Last year was the earliest Ebbetts closure since at least 2009. Sonora generally closes a little later because it's 900 feet higher. Tioga closed right around the average time.

Models are showing a storm at the end of next week. So there's a decent chance the 30th or 1st will be the closure date for the remaining passes, depending on how cold and strong this storm is.

[gonealookin]

We haven't had much snow so far, and rather unusually Ebbetts, Sonora and Monitor Passes are open for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Pretty good chance they will even see some traffic on December 1 as right now there's nothing in the 10-day forecast to prevent that.  The Tioga Road through Yosemite and the portion of SR 203 west of the Mammoth ski area are closed for the winter.

Monitor will sometimes stay open all winter if it's a light snow year. Looking back, though, Ebbetts and Monitor usually stay open until the end of November or first half of March. Last year was the earliest Ebbetts closure since at least 2009. Sonora generally closes a little later because it's 900 feet higher. Tioga closed right around the average time.

Models are showing a storm at the end of next week. So there's a decent chance the 30th or 1st will be the closure date for the remaining passes, depending on how cold and strong this storm is.

The historical pass closure dates on the Caltrans site are misleading.  The roads close with significant storms in late October or early November and are listed as "closed due to snow" rather than "closed for the winter".  Caltrans leaves open the possibility of reopening them with an extended period of dry weather.  This year there were some brief closures (2-3 days, including the last several days; Ebbetts and Sonora just reopened today).  But often we get a few more minor storms that start to add up, and eventually Caltrans throws in the towel for that year and declares the road "closed for the winter", and the date they announce that is what is shown on the historical chart, even though the road in many cases has been closed for a few weeks prior without ever having reopened.

[Quillz]

I was just in the Eastern Sierra last week and supposedly there were snow tire/chain restrictions in place for the Conway Summit (basically the part of the 395 between Mono Lake and Bodie State Park). Otherwise the roads were just fine, had no trouble getting to Mammoth or Mono Lake. Planning to go back there at the end of the year, possibly with a new car.

[pderocco]

Minor news: there's now a signalized junction for Mulholland Highway/S Old Topanga Canyon Road. This was a dangerous intersection my whole life, nice to see it finally get addressed.

I concur. I heard a crash behind me shortly after turning into Old Topanga Canyon once, as someone pulled out of that road and was hit by someone on Mulholland. My guess is that people mostly went too fast on Mulholland.

[pderocco]

We haven't had much snow so far, and rather unusually Ebbetts, Sonora and Monitor Passes are open for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Pretty good chance they will even see some traffic on December 1 as right now there's nothing in the 10-day forecast to prevent that.  The Tioga Road through Yosemite and the portion of SR 203 west of the Mammoth ski area are closed for the winter.

Google is showing 108 and 4 closed for the season. They were yesterday, too. Sonora Pass is shown as open, but not the road further west.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Caltrans Quick Map has 4 and 108 still open. 

[cl94]

We haven't had much snow so far, and rather unusually Ebbetts, Sonora and Monitor Passes are open for the Thanksgiving weekend.  Pretty good chance they will even see some traffic on December 1 as right now there's nothing in the 10-day forecast to prevent that.  The Tioga Road through Yosemite and the portion of SR 203 west of the Mammoth ski area are closed for the winter.

Google is showing 108 and 4 closed for the season. They were yesterday, too. Sonora Pass is shown as open, but not the road further west.

Google is wrong. Caltrans announced yesterday that both were reopened, VMSes say both are open, and I plan to drive at least one this weekend. TBD if they will last until next weekend.

[Quillz]

For those in the SF Valley, does anyone know what the hold up is on getting the signalized intersection at Ventura and Royer up and running? The lights were installed nearly a year ago at this point, and some of Ventura got the lanes reconfigured, but there's still no progress. By contrast, the Mulholland/Old Topanga Canyon intersection started work after, and it's already done. By contrast, this looks like a much simpler signalized intersection, so I'm not sure why it's still not in use yet.

[gonealookin]

Ebbetts and Sonora are open for the Thanksgiving weekend but Monitor got shut down.  I don't think there's that much snow, but they could have a lot of ice up there, and maybe part of the reasoning is that a holiday weekend draws some drivers who don't have enough experience in those conditions.

https://twitter.com/CaltransDist10/status/1727958649904259238

(Caltrans, you usually do better than that with the font on your green spade graphic.)

[cl94]

I drove Sonora yesterday. A little snow around the 8k mark on the Mono side, but over the summit and down the Alpine side were heavily salted and clear. Much less snow up there than when I drove it in June. Overall, a nice drive and much less treacherous than I expected given how cold it was.

I would assume Monitor closed due to snow. Parts of Alpine and northern Mono had snow on the ground yesterday morning and 395 had snow/ice patches in the canyon.

If you want to drive Monitor (reopened this morning), Sonora, or Ebbetts this year, you probably have until Thursday at the latest. First big storm  of the year coming Thursday PM and the passes are likely to get a lot. A smaller system coming tomorrow PM into Wednesday, which may push up the closing timeline.

[Quillz]

Does the area around Mono Lake usually stay open? Seems it was just fine south of the Conway Summit. I like going there, Mammoth Lakes already had a fair bit of snow on some of the nearby roads.

[pderocco]

Does the area around Mono Lake usually stay open? Seems it was just fine south of the Conway Summit. I like going there, Mammoth Lakes already had a fair bit of snow on some of the nearby roads.

The northern part of the June Lake Loop 158 usually closes. And so does 120, of course. But I've never seen any of the other nearby state routes closed, like 167, 270, 182.

I've never tried to explore local roads in the area after a snowstorm, and closures on those don't usually show up on Google.

[gonealookin]

Does the area around Mono Lake usually stay open? Seems it was just fine south of the Conway Summit. I like going there, Mammoth Lakes already had a fair bit of snow on some of the nearby roads.

The northern part of the June Lake Loop 158 usually closes. And so does 120, of course. But I've never seen any of the other nearby state routes closed, like 167, 270, 182.

I've never tried to explore local roads in the area after a snowstorm, and closures on those don't usually show up on Google.

The winter gate on CA 158 is around 3 miles west of the town of June Lake, like so:  https://maps.app.goo.gl/ZhMqtJNhN2b1kDYu9.  At the north end the closure is just a few yards off US 395.

East of US 395, CA 120 is kept open for just a few miles, to the turnoff to the tufa formations in Mono Lake.  The gate at the other end is at Benton Crossing Road (a Mono County road which is usually kept open but can also close for days at a time).  Mono County has a road status page.

CA 167 and CA 182 and their connections in Nevada are almost always open as they serve as bypasses of some snowy parts of US 395.

[cl94]

CA 182 and NV 338 had some extended closures last year, but that was more due to the extreme winter causing slides than anything else. 182/338 and NV 208 are signed as a permanent detour for US 395 through the flood and slide-prone Walker River Canyon.

CA 167 / NV 359 / US 95 and US 6 / NV 360 / US 95 are commonly used by trucks to get around the 2-lane section of 395 thanks to gentler grades and more truck facilities. Even in a car outside of winter, Reno to Bishop is only slightly slower via 95/6 than 395. Trucks are generally directed onto 6 if there is any inclement weather north of Bishop.

[Quillz]

Does the area around Mono Lake usually stay open? Seems it was just fine south of the Conway Summit. I like going there, Mammoth Lakes already had a fair bit of snow on some of the nearby roads.

The northern part of the June Lake Loop 158 usually closes. And so does 120, of course. But I've never seen any of the other nearby state routes closed, like 167, 270, 182.

I've never tried to explore local roads in the area after a snowstorm, and closures on those don't usually show up on Google.

Yeah, those routes make sense. But Mono Lake is a nice area to spend a weekend, lots of trails and what not, I've usually had good luck even during the winter with it being open. I guess I'll just try a drive out there soon.

[roadman65]

https://maps.app.goo.gl/y6H9a3SEWZ7uqpms8
Is there really a business route here? I ve did a virtual tour of Front Street and found no confirmation of shields verifying it.

Also no CA 146 shields along Front Street in Downtown Soledad either especially at East Street where the route goes east. Makes me wonder if Caltrans even maintains Front Street or even East Street for CA 146.

[Max Rockatansky]

146 in Soledad was authorized for relinquishment in 2009 and accepted by the city in September 2010:

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE146.html

And no, I've never found US 101 Business shields on Front Street.  146 is decently signed though:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/151828809@N08/z1maQ6J44m

[roadman65]

So Business 101 is de facto as AASHTO doesn't treat it as real.

What interests me is the fact that CA 146 is discontinuous and is in two non connected segments. It seems odd to give the two the same number and not assign separate route numbers for both.

[Max Rockatansky]

Signage of eastern 146 was removed in 2020, but the segment has not been relinquished.  The terminus of eastern 146 runs up to the older National Monument boundary before Pinnacles Wilderness was incorporated into the new National Park.  The segment at this point is probably completely unnecessary given it is on NPS lands.  Early LRN 120 did run up to approximately where the near Gulch Trail parking lot is.  I could never find any evidence to suggest there was ever a plan to connect the two highway segments.  The terrain isn't conducive for creating a through road and would require a ton of switchbacks or a tunnel.

Regarding Business 101, I believe it is actually in the AASHTO database.  I don't really pay attention to Business Route designations as much as I do the movements of the mainline parent highway. 

https://www.gribblenation.org/2022/08/former-us-route-101-through-soledad.html?m=1

[oscar]

And no, I've never found US 101 Business shields on Front Street.

There's still signage for the business route, at a sign for exit 303 to Front St. from southbound US 101. https://maps.app.goo.gl/Pj7Hi8dT9syQMsQn8

Signage of eastern 146 was removed in 2020, but the segment has not been relinquished.

Signage for eastern 146, at least from southbound CA 25, has returned. https://maps.app.goo.gl/pbcHfUeaRyXjwC4W8

[Max Rockatansky]

Interesting regarding eastern CA 146.  I'm wondering if the CTC thought that would be an east relinquishment but the Park Service is telling them "no so fast?"

Regarding Soledad, I'm actually stopping there this morning for breakfast on the way home.  I'll have a chance to double check for Business Route signage on Front Street.

[RZF]

I-5 N/CA-126 exit is poorly signed as of now. I was getting off I-5 N to take CA-126 W when I noticed there was no BGS at the gore point. The only thing that exists to let you know the junction is coming up is a pull-through sign about 1000 feet beforehand. Then, the exit just comes up. The good thing is I already know where to get off having done this so many times, but for new motorists it may be confusing.

There's a GSV from last month showing a temporary orange gore point exit sign, but, when I was there, that orange sign was gone.
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.4398881,-118.5987944,3a,30.5y,300.69h,88.2t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-v6c0uYNIfTYQaMDwIw82g!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu