Former US 99 on Gateway Drive in Madera

[Max Rockatansky]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

[dbz77]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

Since when was there a Golden State Freeway in Madera.

I thought it was between downtown L.A. and the bottom of the Grapevine.

[Max Rockatansky]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

Since when was there a Golden State Freeway in Madera.

I thought it was between downtown L.A. and the bottom of the Grapevine.

Traditionally US 99 in San Joaquin Valley was known as the Golden State Highway.  Numerous former surface segments are still signed as Golden State Boulevard or Golden State Avenue.  The CHPW articles make numerous references to "Golden State Highway"  in regards to even the freeway realignments of US 99.  In terms of "Golden State Freeway"  I don't believe I've seen that exact special term used in a CHPW for San Joaquin Valley but it is often referred to as such between Bakersfield north to Sacramento.  Sometimes even local news agencies even use West Side Freeway for I-5 in western San Joaquin Valley. 

[mrsman]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

Since when was there a Golden State Freeway in Madera.

I thought it was between downtown L.A. and the bottom of the Grapevine.

Traditionally US 99 in San Joaquin Valley was known as the Golden State Highway.  Numerous former surface segments are still signed as Golden State Boulevard or Golden State Avenue.  The CHPW articles make numerous references to "Golden State Highway"  in regards to even the freeway realignments of US 99.  In terms of "Golden State Freeway"  I don't believe I've seen that exact special term used in a CHPW for San Joaquin Valley but it is often referred to as such between Bakersfield north to Sacramento.  Sometimes even local news agencies even use West Side Freeway for I-5 in western San Joaquin Valley.

I don't recall seeing any signage on CA-99 that states "Golden State Freeway" even in the days when naming freeways was common.  There would be plenty such signs along I-5 in the LA area, but really none north of the Grapevine.  I guess the thought was that a freeway in a rural area does not need to have a name that is advertised to the general public, since there are no addresses on such route.  Plus, given the existing surface alignments of Golden State Hwy (or Blvd) in places like Bakersfield, naming similar on the freeway could be confusing.

Of course, in the current era, where the emphasis is on removing freeway names, seeing names on freeways is getting rarer indeed.

[sparker]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

Since when was there a Golden State Freeway in Madera.

I thought it was between downtown L.A. and the bottom of the Grapevine.

Traditionally US 99 in San Joaquin Valley was known as the Golden State Highway.  Numerous former surface segments are still signed as Golden State Boulevard or Golden State Avenue.  The CHPW articles make numerous references to "Golden State Highway"  in regards to even the freeway realignments of US 99.  In terms of "Golden State Freeway"  I don't believe I've seen that exact special term used in a CHPW for San Joaquin Valley but it is often referred to as such between Bakersfield north to Sacramento.  Sometimes even local news agencies even use West Side Freeway for I-5 in western San Joaquin Valley.

I don't recall seeing any signage on CA-99 that states "Golden State Freeway" even in the days when naming freeways was common.  There would be plenty such signs along I-5 in the LA area, but really none north of the Grapevine.  I guess the thought was that a freeway in a rural area does not need to have a name that is advertised to the general public, since there are no addresses on such route.  Plus, given the existing surface alignments of Golden State Hwy (or Blvd) in places like Bakersfield, naming similar on the freeway could be confusing.

Of course, in the current era, where the emphasis is on removing freeway names, seeing names on freeways is getting rarer indeed.

Seeing as how various sections of original pre-freeway US 99, including the diagonal portion in Bakersfield northwest of Union Ave., were field-labeled "Golden State Highway" (this extended to the US 99 expressway section between Kingsburg and Fresno), it's hardly a stretch to imagine local media referring to the various freeway replacement sections as the "Golden State Freeway", with or without signage to that effect.   

[Max Rockatansky]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

Since when was there a Golden State Freeway in Madera.

I thought it was between downtown L.A. and the bottom of the Grapevine.

Traditionally US 99 in San Joaquin Valley was known as the Golden State Highway.  Numerous former surface segments are still signed as Golden State Boulevard or Golden State Avenue.  The CHPW articles make numerous references to "Golden State Highway"  in regards to even the freeway realignments of US 99.  In terms of "Golden State Freeway"  I don't believe I've seen that exact special term used in a CHPW for San Joaquin Valley but it is often referred to as such between Bakersfield north to Sacramento.  Sometimes even local news agencies even use West Side Freeway for I-5 in western San Joaquin Valley.

I don't recall seeing any signage on CA-99 that states "Golden State Freeway" even in the days when naming freeways was common.  There would be plenty such signs along I-5 in the LA area, but really none north of the Grapevine.  I guess the thought was that a freeway in a rural area does not need to have a name that is advertised to the general public, since there are no addresses on such route.  Plus, given the existing surface alignments of Golden State Hwy (or Blvd) in places like Bakersfield, naming similar on the freeway could be confusing.

Of course, in the current era, where the emphasis is on removing freeway names, seeing names on freeways is getting rarer indeed.

Seeing as how various sections of original pre-freeway US 99, including the diagonal portion in Bakersfield northwest of Union Ave., were field-labeled "Golden State Highway" (this extended to the US 99 expressway section between Kingsburg and Fresno), it's hardly a stretch to imagine local media referring to the various freeway replacement sections as the "Golden State Freeway", with or without signage to that effect.

To that end I don't see anything other than Memorial Highway signage on any of my CA 99 Freeway photo albums:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/151828809@N08/j57n2a

https://flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/sets/72157697579756430

I want to say I-5 north of CA 99 is signed as "West Side Freeway"  but I don't have any photo stock of it. 

[mrsman]

Yesterday I paid a visit to Madera to take a drive on former US Route 99 on Gateway Drive.  Gateway Drive was the surface alignment of US Route 99 through Madera from 1926 through 1958 when it was moved to the Golden State Freeway.  Gateway Drive notably contained the last segment of two lane US Route 99 within Division of Highways/Caltrans District 6.  From 1949-1958 US 99 multiplexed CA 145 through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive between Madera Avenue and Yosemite Avenue.  CA 145 still remains as a maintained State Highway on Gateway Drive through downtown Madera on Gateway Drive whereas the Golden State Freeway is presently being upgraded to six lanes:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/08/old-us-route-99-through-madera-on.html

Since when was there a Golden State Freeway in Madera.

I thought it was between downtown L.A. and the bottom of the Grapevine.

Traditionally US 99 in San Joaquin Valley was known as the Golden State Highway.  Numerous former surface segments are still signed as Golden State Boulevard or Golden State Avenue.  The CHPW articles make numerous references to "Golden State Highway"  in regards to even the freeway realignments of US 99.  In terms of "Golden State Freeway"  I don't believe I've seen that exact special term used in a CHPW for San Joaquin Valley but it is often referred to as such between Bakersfield north to Sacramento.  Sometimes even local news agencies even use West Side Freeway for I-5 in western San Joaquin Valley.

I don't recall seeing any signage on CA-99 that states "Golden State Freeway" even in the days when naming freeways was common.  There would be plenty such signs along I-5 in the LA area, but really none north of the Grapevine.  I guess the thought was that a freeway in a rural area does not need to have a name that is advertised to the general public, since there are no addresses on such route.  Plus, given the existing surface alignments of Golden State Hwy (or Blvd) in places like Bakersfield, naming similar on the freeway could be confusing.

Of course, in the current era, where the emphasis is on removing freeway names, seeing names on freeways is getting rarer indeed.

Seeing as how various sections of original pre-freeway US 99, including the diagonal portion in Bakersfield northwest of Union Ave., were field-labeled "Golden State Highway" (this extended to the US 99 expressway section between Kingsburg and Fresno), it's hardly a stretch to imagine local media referring to the various freeway replacement sections as the "Golden State Freeway", with or without signage to that effect.

To that end I don't see anything other than Memorial Highway signage on any of my CA 99 Freeway photo albums:

https://www.flickr.com/gp/151828809@N08/j57n2a

https://flickr.com/photos/151828809@N08/sets/72157697579756430

I want to say I-5 north of CA 99 is signed as "West Side Freeway"  but I don't have any photo stock of it.

I can't think that there was ever any signage for West Side Freeway on I-5, but there were probably many planning documents that referred to the highway as the West Side Freeway.

[sparker]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^
CHPW made periodic references to the "West Side Freeway" back when it was simply LRN 238 (the irony of the number is inescapable) prior to the I-5 reroute over it rather than US 99 after 1957.  After that, the Interstate designation dominated the conversation.

[Bickendan]

If it helps, the most recent California Thomas Guide I have (2002) has I-5 labeled as the West Side Frwy.

[mrsman]

^^^^^^

Right.  All of that leads to the conclusion that "West Side Freeway" was an official term that was recognized by the public, but it doesn't necessarily mean that it was signed as such on the freeway itself, which I don't believe it has. 

Nor was it necessary.  The use of a name on a freeway is a helpful tool for navigation, but it is more useful in the cities where there are interchanges as well as multiple freeways to navigate. 

West Side Freeway is a good descriptive term to indicate that it ran along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and not through the cities like 99.

Some of this discussion is reminiscent of I-476 in the Philly suburbs.  Its official name is the Mid-County Expressway and its number is I-476.  But a very common nickname for the road is "Blue Route" because on planning documents there was a choice in routing between a red route, a green route, and a blue route and the blue route was eventually chosen as the routing.  You certainly won't find any road signs saying "Blue Route" on that highway.

Here's an article:  https://whyy.org/articles/the-blue-route/

[SeriesE]

Here is what the 2018 named bridges and highways document from Caltrans says about Golden State Highway:

GOLDEN STATE HIGHWAY: The portion of Route 99 between Bakersfield and Sacramento is named by location and long
local usage in the Central Valley.

[Max Rockatansky]

Here is what the 2018 named bridges and highways document from Caltrans says about Golden State Highway:

GOLDEN STATE HIGHWAY: The portion of Route 99 between Bakersfield and Sacramento is named by location and long
local usage in the Central Valley.

Do you have a link to that citation?  That would be something I would be interested in linking in my 99 articles and I think Daniel would interested in it too given he's trying to track down known freeway names. 

Edit:  To that end Daniel does have Golden State Highway as the traditional name of US 99/CA 99 in San Joaquin Valley:

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE099.html

Come to think of it I believe the CHPW frequently used Golden State Highway in almost every publication. 

[SeriesE]

Here is what the 2018 named bridges and highways document from Caltrans says about Golden State Highway:

GOLDEN STATE HIGHWAY: The portion of Route 99 between Bakersfield and Sacramento is named by location and long
local usage in the Central Valley.

Do you have a link to that citation?  That would be something I would be interested in linking in my 99 articles and I think Daniel would interested in it too given he's trying to track down known freeway names. 

Edit:  To that end Daniel does have Golden State Highway as the traditional name of US 99/CA 99 in San Joaquin Valley:

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE099.html

Come to think of it I believe the CHPW frequently used Golden State Highway in almost every publication.

I have a copy of the PDF, but the link to it on Caltrans's website is gone since the redesign.

The complete title from the document is "2017 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California"

[Max Rockatansky]

Here is what the 2018 named bridges and highways document from Caltrans says about Golden State Highway:

GOLDEN STATE HIGHWAY: The portion of Route 99 between Bakersfield and Sacramento is named by location and long
local usage in the Central Valley.

Do you have a link to that citation?  That would be something I would be interested in linking in my 99 articles and I think Daniel would interested in it too given he's trying to track down known freeway names. 

Edit:  To that end Daniel does have Golden State Highway as the traditional name of US 99/CA 99 in San Joaquin Valley:

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE099.html

Come to think of it I believe the CHPW frequently used Golden State Highway in almost every publication.

I have a copy of the PDF, but the link to it on Caltrans's website is gone since the redesign.

The complete title from the document is "2017 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California"

Yes, a lot of the Caltrans stuff got yanked from public accessibility a year or so back.  It's made it a lot harder finding official sources from Caltrans to use as citations in general. 

[TheStranger]

West Side Freeway is a good descriptive term to indicate that it ran along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley and not through the cities like 99.

Also, the name there is similar to the preexisting West Side Highway portion of Route 33.

[SeriesE]

Here is what the 2018 named bridges and highways document from Caltrans says about Golden State Highway:

GOLDEN STATE HIGHWAY: The portion of Route 99 between Bakersfield and Sacramento is named by location and long
local usage in the Central Valley.

Do you have a link to that citation?  That would be something I would be interested in linking in my 99 articles and I think Daniel would interested in it too given he's trying to track down known freeway names. 

Edit:  To that end Daniel does have Golden State Highway as the traditional name of US 99/CA 99 in San Joaquin Valley:

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE099.html

Come to think of it I believe the CHPW frequently used Golden State Highway in almost every publication.

I have a copy of the PDF, but the link to it on Caltrans's website is gone since the redesign.

The complete title from the document is "2017 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California"

Yes, a lot of the Caltrans stuff got yanked from public accessibility a year or so back.  It's made it a lot harder finding official sources from Caltrans to use as citations in general.

Found the 2019 version (published January 2020) here:

https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/place-names/web-2019-named-freeways-final-a11y.pdf