🛣 Headlines About California Highways – September 2022

[cahwyguy]

A little bit late, because I've been extremely busy. Here are the headlines for September 2022: https://cahighways.org/wordpress/?p=16413

As a reminder: I'm looking for someone who is willing to talk for 30 minutes or so on the following:

For 1.05: The Pat Brown era of highway construction in California, and the rationale behind, and impact of, the 1964 "Great Renumbering"  on the traveling public.

For 1.06: The impact of CEQA on road construction in California – including the process both before and after CEQA – as well as the impact of the growing importance of regional transportation agencies on the State Highway System.

Episode 1.03 features Morgan Yates of the Auto Club of Southern California; Episode 1.04, which will be posted around 10/15, features Jonathan Gifford of George Mason University on the Interstate System. Podcast details are in the headline post.

As always: Ready, set, discuss.

[Quillz]

＄ 101 will close this weekend to demolish the Encino Avenue bridge, and neighbors are thrilled —  (Daily News). About five years ago, a group of Encino residents got wind that a pedestrian bridge on Encino Avenue over the 101 Freeway was to be demolished and then rebuilt. They weren't opposed to the demolition, but they were opposed to the estimated $20 million to rebuild a bridge barely anyone used, and they felt the money could be better spent repairing Encino's infrastructure, streets and sidewalks. So, they organized and got federal, state, county and city government representatives involved to helping them win their case. "It looks as though we accomplished what we wanted ... and the $18 million can be saved and used for a more worthy project,"  said Encino resident Marshall Barth, 84, who has lived on Encino Avenue south of the freeway two decades. "One of the reasons I have lived so long is that I swore I would not leave this Earth until that bridge was down. Every once in a while, you can fight City Hall."

I'm sure the fact that some homeless people were living on the bridge for a short time played no role in them wanting the bridge to be demolished. Although I really can't recall ever seeing foot traffic on that bridge. Interestingly, there is another one that is closer to the Balboa off-ramp that is still up. I guess that one is staying?

And on a totally unrelated note: someone keeps plowing into the "Exit 21" gore sign on the 101 SB Balboa off-ramp. It was fixed, TWICE, and then not even a week later, plowed into again. I dunno if it's some weird coincidence or it's someone actually having a vendetta. I wouldn't normally notice things like that but it's been systematic this past year.

[skluth]

Neither of those pedestrian bridges are needed. Pedestrian bridges are needed where neighborhoods are split and there are no good alternatives for pedestrians to easily/ safely walk from one side of a highway to the other. Almost every other street between Wilbur Av to Balboa Blvd crosses the freeway with pedestrians needing to only walk about 1000 feet in either direction to reach a highway bridge across 101. I agree with the locals who said the money saved by not rebuilding the bridge could be used elsewhere for better purposes. I'm betting most of the residents of the homes near Encino Av south of 101 have never walked to any destination along Burbank Blvd.

[Max Rockatansky]

I'll be really exited to get a four lane 156 between San Juan Bautista and Hollister.  The back up at the light at Union is absolutely horrendous and is something I have to often contend with when I visit Monterey for work.  I posted something regarding the start of the expansion the other day on Gribblenation:

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0344P9GTZesKf7xZ2eckYdwJW7cbPw2YAGBibPMKpsm3ZkUC5ZfrKoQ6wk3K9affKol&id=100063655972258

[jdbx]

I'm really happy that things are getting started on the Soscol Junction project in Napa. We often travel that route to get to Napa or Sonoma, and the backups at that traffic light can be epic on the weekends with all of the Napa Valley tourists heading in that direction. The new arrangement will allow through traffic on CA-29 to travel unimpeded on an overpass. I would expect that this will also reduce the backups on southbound 221 at that intersection, as the roundabout will move traffic much better.

This will probably move the southbound bottleneck down to the traffic light at CA-12 / Jameson Canyon Rd and I also expect a bigger bottleneck to develop on the other side of the river heading north were CA-12 splits off towards Sonoma.

Project page with before and after layout of this interchange: https://dot.ca.gov/caltrans-near-me/district-4/d4-projects/soscol-junction

[ClassicHasClass]

I'll be really exited

Freudian slip on a roadgeek site? 

Anyway, good that people are finally paying attention to CA 37, but that highway is so overcapacity it makes CA 91 look like a smooth ride.