Headlines About California Highways - August 2019

[cahwyguy]

Ah, the start of Labor Day weekend. But we're road geeks. Instead of being outside BBQing or watching sports, we're going to be on the computer discussing the headlines about California Highways that were published in August 2019: https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=15514

Ready, set, discuss.

[theroadwayone]

California route 11...it's happening, y'all.

[ClassicHasClass]

No more catwalks means no more Richard Ankrom-style sign fixing. (For those who don't know the reference, see http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/110/#img_7 . I actually bought his DVD; it's in a box somewhere. Officially I disapprove but unofficially it was really nice work.)

[Max Rockatansky]

No more catwalks means no more Richard Ankrom-style sign fixing. (For those who don't know the reference, see http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/110/#img_7 . I actually bought his DVD; it's in a box somewhere. Officially I disapprove but unofficially it was really nice work.)

I posted his YouTube video on my Facebook page.  It was an outstanding piece of work that Caltrans emulated when the signs at the four level interchange were replaced. 

[gonealookin]

Obviously the full closure of Echo Summit can only happen in an off-season for tourism and when the weather is (on average) adequate; that limits it to May before Memorial Day, or late September into October.  I had understood it would happen in the spring, because in the fall you have wildfire risk.  In the event of a catastrophic fire in the Tahoe area, US 50 would be both an evacuation route and an access route for emergency vehicles.  They're having some public meetings this week, and believe me that issue will come up, but it sounds like Caltrans wants to go through with the closure now.  Cross your fingers, I guess.

[Max Rockatansky]

Obviously the full closure of Echo Summit can only happen in an off-season for tourism and when the weather is (on average) adequate; that limits it to May before Memorial Day, or late September into October.  I had understood it would happen in the spring, because in the fall you have wildfire risk.  In the event of a catastrophic fire in the Tahoe area, US 50 would be both an evacuation route and an access route for emergency vehicles.  They're having some public meetings this week, and believe me that issue will come up, but it sounds like Caltrans wants to go through with the closure now.  Cross your fingers, I guess.

If that's the case will Johnson Pass still be available at least to local traffic?

[sparker]

The concept of a roundabout at the CA 25/156 junction near Hollister is decidedly short-sighted and unrealistic -- or an example of a "solution looking for a problem".  There's just too much commuter traffic on CA 25 and way too much commercial traffic (primarily large trucks) on CA 156; the idea of that level of usage having to negotiate one another to pass through an intersection is ludicrous.  The current signalized intersection isn't optimal, but at least it's functional for the time being -- even if commuter traffic on 25 is inconvenienced.  Ideally, an interchange -- possibly a SPUI with CA 156 traffic on the freeway portion -- would be deployed (I know Caltrans doesn't do cloverleaves much anymore, but one here with C/D lanes on both crossing routes would work very well). 

Glad to hear that San Benito County is itself leading the objections to the roundabout concept;  let's hope that idea is nipped in the bud before becoming "imprinted" in the minds of D5 planners and engineers.   Roundabouts may indeed function well in less-than-congested situations, but that doesn't begin to describe CA 25 and/or 156 during peak travel times. 

[mrsman]

Ah, the start of Labor Day weekend. But we're road geeks. Instead of being outside BBQing or watching sports, we're going to be on the computer discussing the headlines about California Highways that were published in August 2019: https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=15514

Ready, set, discuss.

I have a question.  How are the articles on your list ordered?

[cahwyguy]

Usually, just in the order that I see the articles and save them, from oldest to the newest. I'm picking up articles from Facebook, Newblur (my RSS feeds), the MTC email blasts, and a customized google search I have set up.

[gonealookin]

Obviously the full closure of Echo Summit can only happen in an off-season for tourism and when the weather is (on average) adequate; that limits it to May before Memorial Day, or late September into October.  I had understood it would happen in the spring, because in the fall you have wildfire risk.  In the event of a catastrophic fire in the Tahoe area, US 50 would be both an evacuation route and an access route for emergency vehicles.  They're having some public meetings this week, and believe me that issue will come up, but it sounds like Caltrans wants to go through with the closure now.  Cross your fingers, I guess.

If that's the case will Johnson Pass still be available at least to local traffic?

The usual procedure is that residents in the immediate vicinity get a gate pass, but through access is closed to everyone else.  Westbound US 50 can be closed at the last intersection at the bottom of the hill at Meyers, eastbound I'd guess they would close US 50 at the Twin Bridges trailhead, and I'd think you'd need to prove property ownership or residency between those two spots to qualify for a pass.  When we had an extended closure of NV 207 several years ago I qualified for a pass because of home ownership in the designated area.

[skluth]

The concept of a roundabout at the CA 25/156 junction near Hollister is decidedly short-sighted and unrealistic -- or an example of a "solution looking for a problem".  There's just too much commuter traffic on CA 25 and way too much commercial traffic (primarily large trucks) on CA 156; the idea of that level of usage having to negotiate one another to pass through an intersection is ludicrous.  The current signalized intersection isn't optimal, but at least it's functional for the time being -- even if commuter traffic on 25 is inconvenienced.  Ideally, an interchange -- possibly a SPUI with CA 156 traffic on the freeway portion -- would be deployed (I know Caltrans doesn't do cloverleaves much anymore, but one here with C/D lanes on both crossing routes would work very well). 

Glad to hear that San Benito County is itself leading the objections to the roundabout concept;  let's hope that idea is nipped in the bud before becoming "imprinted" in the minds of D5 planners and engineers.   Roundabouts may indeed function well in less-than-congested situations, but that doesn't begin to describe CA 25 and/or 156 during peak travel times.

I'd be fine with an roundabout as long as one of the highways has a bridge over an oversized roundabout like this one. A typical roundabout would be a distaster waiting to happen almost daily. Not sure which highway would get the roundabout vs the bridge. I'd probably pick the one with the most truck traffic gets the bridge.

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^^
Considering the truck traffic on CA 156, that would be the one I'd put on an overcrossing bridge.  The commute traffic on CA 25 is already going slow enough; if the roundabout is at least 3 lanes, that would suffice for its purpose.   I've not noticed a substantial amount of traffic shifting from one route to another; to get to Hollister, most traffic from 156 has already veered off (in both directions) to the original in-town alignment, which is clearly marked from both directions a couple of miles from the CA 25 junction.  And most CA 25 traffic is commuters heading directly for Hollister; a few may turn west on 156 to get to housing on the west side of town, but most maintain a straight course.  All that being said -- once CA 25 is twinned (according to present near-term plans), a cloverleaf with C/D lanes would be the optimal junction format for that level of traffic and directional change. 

[skluth]

^^^^^^^^^^^
I'd be good with your solution also. Any standard solution with an overpass is probably good enough for now, even a SPUI. I'm just going along with the current planning obsession with roundabouts and one with an overpass would solve the worst problems. A cloverleaf as you describe would be ideal, but it would be an expensive solution.