California

[kernals12]

According to Wikipedia, there were proposals in the 70s to make the Big Sur Highway into a 4 lane freeway and the only thing stopping that from happening was the creation of the California Coastal Commission. Is that true or is it because, as I suspect, the terrain and seismic risks make building a 4 lane freeway impossible?

Would be news to me, but if it was the 1970s it would have been post CHPW where it could easily be referenced.  The closest freeway segment to Big Sur is Carmel-Castroville.  CA 1 (old CA 3 and US 101A was planned for a freeway upgrade in addition to a segment over Montara Mountain.

Pertaining to the CHPWs it was a publication that ran from 1924-67.  Generally freeways Route adoptions were well publicized in the 1950s/1960s CHPW era.  The blog on did on the overall history on CA 1 in Big Sur and the Monterey Peninsula has sublinks to the applicable CHPW volumes hosted on archive.org.  You can run a simple search for notable words (example; "Sur" ) to narrow down what your looking for.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2020/02/california-state-route-1-cabrillo.html?m=1

Also Daniel's site doesn't list a freeway alignment being adopted for CA 1 in Big Sur:

https://www.cahighways.org/ROUTE001.html

Here is the relevant text:

[SHC 253.2] From Route 101 near San Luis Obispo to San Simeon; the northern limits of Carmel to the west city limits of Santa Cruz; the Higgins-Purisima Road to Route 280 south of San Francisco. Constructed as freeway for 5 miles near Morro Bay, from Route 68 to Route 156, from south of Watsonville to Santa Cruz, and from Pacifica to Route 280. Added to the Freeway and Expressway system in 1959 (Chapter 1062).

It sounds like you might have encountered someone who thinks Cambria and/or Carmel is part of the Big Sur Area in that Wikipedia article.

There seems to an assumption in popular culture that every time a freeway is cancelled it was some great big David vs Goliath battle when really, most freeways die with a whimper, being too expensive to build.

I think the best example of this are the proposals to turn the LA River's concrete flood channel into a freeway. There seems to be an assumption that it was something that almost happened when the truth was that the idea went through a predictable cycle. First, some ill-informed politician would suggest it. Second, Caltrans or the Army Corps of Engineers would study it. Third, a report would be issued saying the idea would not work.

[Max Rockatansky]

Apparently there is a snag in California's share of Federal Transportation Funds:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/feds-block-billions-public-transit-193917145.html

[skluth]

Apparently there is a snag in California's share of Federal Transportation Funds:

https://www.yahoo.com/news/feds-block-billions-public-transit-193917145.html

California could win in court. This isn't much different from the history of federal employees. CSRS took care of federal civil servants until the mid-80's. Employees hired after that date got the less generous for the same money FERS; the government justified the change by saying new employees now had the flexibility to move in-and-out of government employment as they now pay Social Security. The donation percentage has increased over the years arbitrarily. It's hard to argue states violated the law when the federal government is doing the same thing.

[andy3175]

A couple of interesting incidents occurred along Interstate 5 in San Diego County over the past week.

The first was flying cash from an unsecured armored car traveling on I-5 through Carlsbad.

https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/photos-authorities-look-to-identify-motorists-accused-of-scooping-up-money-on-freeway/

Calls began coming in about 9:15 a.m. Friday (11/19/21) to California Highway Patrol dispatchers about "a large sum of money in the roadway"  on I-5 near Cannon Road, as well as about drivers getting out to collect the bills. A man and a woman were arrested on suspicion of taking cash after they got stuck on the freeway with their keys locked in the car, blocking traffic, according to CHP. ...

Travis Fisher, a driver caught in the chaos, told FOX 5 he initially thought it was an accident. Fisher estimated there were thousands of dollars scattered on the road. "I see all these things floating around and I realize it's money,"  Fisher said. "It was pretty crazy. Just everywhere, there was a sea of bills, everywhere."

On Sunday evening (11/21/21), two water main breaks occurred. One was downtown at 11th Avenue and A Street (south end of State Route 163), and the other was above the transition ramp between SR 163 south and I-5 north/Fourth Avenue. This break sprouted a geyser of water that flowed to the lowest point, in the S-curve of I-5, which flooded and blocked the northbound lanes most of the day Monday (11/22/21).



https://timesofsandiego.com/crime/2021/11/22/water-main-breaks-close-northbound-i-5-in-downtown-san-diego-flood-area/

The first of the two pipeline failures began flooding traffic lanes at A Street and 11th Avenue about 3:30 p.m. Sunday, city officials reported. By 6:45 p.m., when repair workers got the overflow halted, the surging water had created a sinkhole and inundated at least one business.

About 3 1/2 hours after the first round of flooding began, an Uber driver reported that a geyser of water had burst through his windshield and a passenger window, injuring a customer, on an Route 163 offramp near I-5, the California Highway Patrol said. It took crews roughly six hours to get the flow of water under control. The extent of the Uber rider's injuries was unclear.

[ClassicHasClass]

I was driving by Hawthorn St (exit 17, the reverse angle) the next morning and it was all mud and muck that they were digging out with a front loader.

[jander]

Speaking of turnpikes and toll roads....

Road companies soon formed to build turnpikes, or toll roads, to charge travelers to cross over the ridge to the coast. The Redwood City and San Gregorio Turnpike was built in 1868 up what is now Kings Mountain Rd., named for the Mountain Brow House Resort owned by Frank King and later by his widow. The turnpike followed what is present-day Tunitas Creek Rd. until it forked left through the Star Ranch to San Gregorio. A year earlier, Eugene Froment bought 750 acres on the backside of the ridge. It was a tow-day haul to Redwood City. At the resting spot, east of Skyline ridge, he built the Summit Springs Hotel one mile east of the ridge, complete with store, blacksmith shop, saloon and school

http://www.bocranebooks.com/blog/2015/5/25/the-truth-about-tunitas

In 1868, Alpine Road was granted as a franchise toll road by the county supervisors to the Menlo Park and Santa Cruz Turnpike Corporation.  However, within a few years, residents began complaining that the poorly maintained road had become impassible in winter. In 1874, the company forfeited the road to the county. At that time, the four-mile road had only extended a little beyond the Portola Corners stop sign, ending opposite Willowbrook at the bottom of a former Native American footpath to the coast. The path was used by Mission Dolores soldiers chasing after a renegade from the missions named Pomponio, who hid out in Devil's Canyon, named in his honor, near the Alpine-Skyline crest. What became known as the Old Spanish Trail ascends Coal Mine Ridge, named after what was prematurely thought to be a valuable discovery.  Users of the toll road that stopped at the base of the ridge discovered that easily getting all the way to Santa Cruz from there was a fantasy of its own.

http://www.bocranebooks.com/blog/2015/5/28/biking-the-loop-secrets-of-alpine-road

All drivers had to pay a toll to use the private turnpike (twenty-five cents for one man with one horse and one dollar for a loaded wagon pulled by four horses). Officially known as the Saratoga and Pescadero Turnpike and Wagon Road, the road was opened in 1871 to access the redwood timber in the upper San Lorenzo Valley and the Pescadero basin. The turnpike never came close to its initial objective, the town of Pescadero. Later it became known simply as the Saratoga Toll Road. At one point there were separate toll houses on either side of the Santa Clara/Santa Cruz county line. There were numerous complaints about the condition of the toll road, and within twenty years, the roadway had been purchased by the respective counties and made public.

Summit Road, the forerunner of Skyline Boulevard, came through the gap in 1884, providing an important link to the toll road. Before this time there had only been a trail along the summit linking the different ranches. When one of the ranchers began charging a toll to pass over his property, his neighbors petitioned the county for a public road, putting an end to this practice.

https://www.santacruzwaves.com/2015/11/skyline-boulevard-the-ever-evolving-saratoga-gap/

[bing101]

Interstate Kyle does a 3 part tour of CA-49


There is even a cut showing the historic CA-49 alignment.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhLPnK8asIo

[bing101]

Rockersk08 does a tour of Westside parkway.

[Techknow]

Was going south on US 101 to San Mateo when I noticed the BGS before the 3rd Ave exit. I have a picture of it in 2019 where it says "Junction 92". Now the sign is replaced and the route number is inside a miner spade and Junction is in all caps. This is viewable in Google Street view so not a new but surprising change!

[jeffe]

Was going south on US 101 to San Mateo when I noticed the BGS before the 3rd Ave exit. I have a picture of it in 2019 where it says "Junction 92". Now the sign is replaced and the route number is inside a miner spade and Junction is in all caps. This is viewable in Google Street view so not a new but surprising change!

When this sign was first installed I checked the design plans and the plans had the sign with a state route shield on it, so this was a contractor error. A while back I filed a customer service request with Caltrans pointing out that text "Junction 92" could be confused with Exit 92.  They agreed and said that sign would be corrected with a proper state route shield.

There is another interchange sequence sign installed at the same time where the integer distance is right aligned instead of being vertically aligned with the integers below it and leaving space for a fractional value. I pointed that out in the same service request.  Caltrans agreed it was incorrect but said it was too minor to fix and so only the "Junction 92" sign was corrected.

[bing101]

Rockersk08 does another tour this time on I-580, I-80.

[bing101]

Here is more on Interstate Kyles CA-49 tour

[Plutonic Panda]

More stupid ass shit proposed here:

https://www.latimes.com/homeless-housing/story/2021-12-12/freeway-expansions-in-underserved-communities-could-be-banned-under-proposed-state-law?_amp=true

[Max Rockatansky]

I'm kind of surprised that was someone from Los Angeles County and not a Bay Area County proposing that.

[Plutonic Panda]

I'm kind of surprised that was someone from Los Angeles County and not a Bay Area County proposing that.

It's the same lady representative who has been bitching and whining about the 710, 605, and I-5 expansions claiming the freeway widenings are racist. This seems ridiculous to me as the majority of people in these communities drive.

How about more sensible approaches like buying a row or two of homes/businesses along the freeway and placing forests/linear parks along the freeway to offset the emissions. Or if that's too expensive in the meantime just plant more trees/landscaping in these areas.

[kernals12]

I'm kind of surprised that was someone from Los Angeles County and not a Bay Area County proposing that.

It's the same lady representative who has been bitching and whining about the 710, 605, and I-5 expansions claiming the freeway widenings are racist. This seems ridiculous to me as the majority of people in these communities drive.

How about more sensible approaches like buying a row or two of homes/businesses along the freeway and placing forests/linear parks along the freeway to offset the emissions. Or if that's too expensive in the meantime just plant more trees/landscaping in these areas.

It is ridiculous, but playing up racial victimhood is very trendy these days. Look at the people claiming Maryland's plan to widen 270 and the Beltway through extremely wealthy Montgomery County is racist.

Also, the proliferation of electric cars and trucks makes pollution a bad faith argument for not improving freeways.

[roadman65]

What is the reason why CA 125 ending at a local roadway instead of CA 905?  Also why is there a very short freeway spur of CA 905 called CA 11?  CA 11 is nothing more than a glorified freeway ramp.

[oscar]

What is the reason why CA 125 ending at a local roadway instead of CA 905?  Also why is there a very short freeway spur of CA 905 called CA 11?  CA 11 is nothing more than a glorified freeway ramp.

The CA 125/905 interchange is still unfinished. When it's done, there will be a complete connection between the two freeways and with the new CA 11 freeway.

As for CA 11, it is being extended to a new border crossing east of the CA 905 crossing. This won't be the first time that a low route number once used for a freeway in the Los Angeles area was recycled for a short border crossing highway -- that happened with CA 7, now east of Calexico.

[Max Rockatansky]

Longer wind explanation below and in the sub links regarding CA 11:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/12/california-state-route-11-otay-mesa.html?m=1

[kkt]

I'm kind of surprised that was someone from Los Angeles County and not a Bay Area County proposing that.

It's the same lady representative who has been bitching and whining about the 710, 605, and I-5 expansions claiming the freeway widenings are racist. This seems ridiculous to me as the majority of people in these communities drive.

How about more sensible approaches like buying a row or two of homes/businesses along the freeway and placing forests/linear parks along the freeway to offset the emissions. Or if that's too expensive in the meantime just plant more trees/landscaping in these areas.

It is ridiculous, but playing up racial victimhood is very trendy these days. Look at the people claiming Maryland's plan to widen 270 and the Beltway through extremely wealthy Montgomery County is racist.

Also, the proliferation of electric cars and trucks makes pollution a bad faith argument for not improving freeways.

I wouldn't say that.  It's looking like excess pollution around freeway will continue for several decades at least, possibly longer.  Electric cars are a small minority, electric light trucks even smaller, and electric heavy trucks practically nonexistent.

[kernals12]

I'm kind of surprised that was someone from Los Angeles County and not a Bay Area County proposing that.

It's the same lady representative who has been bitching and whining about the 710, 605, and I-5 expansions claiming the freeway widenings are racist. This seems ridiculous to me as the majority of people in these communities drive.

How about more sensible approaches like buying a row or two of homes/businesses along the freeway and placing forests/linear parks along the freeway to offset the emissions. Or if that's too expensive in the meantime just plant more trees/landscaping in these areas.

It is ridiculous, but playing up racial victimhood is very trendy these days. Look at the people claiming Maryland's plan to widen 270 and the Beltway through extremely wealthy Montgomery County is racist.

Also, the proliferation of electric cars and trucks makes pollution a bad faith argument for not improving freeways.

I wouldn't say that.  It's looking like excess pollution around freeway will continue for several decades at least, possibly longer.  Electric cars are a small minority, electric light trucks even smaller, and electric heavy trucks practically nonexistent.

A Harvard Study found deaths from vehicle emissions fell by almost 30% between 2008 and 2017. Air pollution is a problem that gets smaller every year as older, more polluting cars are scrapped and replaced by cleaner newer ones.

Also, commercial vehicles are probably going to electrify faster, due to economics and regulations

[Kniwt]

The Fresno Bee reports on the ongoing Veterans Boulevard project, which will connect Herndon and Shaw avenues and include a new interchange at CA 99.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article256593581.html

The first stretch of the boulevard was completed in 2019, when it was celebrated as the first phase of what will ultimately be a 2.5-mile connection from Herndon and Polk avenues, east of Highway 99, to Shaw and Grantland avenues, west of the freeway.

City leaders said the next piece of Veterans Boulevard would be completed by mid-2022. The project includes an extension of Veterans Avenue west of Riverside Drive and an overpass above the Union Pacific tracks.

The total project is projected to be completed by the end of 2023.

[Max Rockatansky]

The Fresno Bee reports on the ongoing Veterans Boulevard project, which will connect Herndon and Shaw avenues and include a new interchange at CA 99.
https://www.fresnobee.com/news/local/article256593581.html

The first stretch of the boulevard was completed in 2019, when it was celebrated as the first phase of what will ultimately be a 2.5-mile connection from Herndon and Polk avenues, east of Highway 99, to Shaw and Grantland avenues, west of the freeway.

City leaders said the next piece of Veterans Boulevard would be completed by mid-2022. The project includes an extension of Veterans Avenue west of Riverside Drive and an overpass above the Union Pacific tracks.

The total project is projected to be completed by the end of 2023.

I drive by this all the time, it's been interesting to see in action.  The new alignment of Golden State Boulevard is being pushed west of where the HSR will be. 

[jakeroot]

^^^
Glad to see partial cloverleafs are still being built. Seems like they have been less popular the last twenty years (outside of a few select states).

[Max Rockatansky]

Okay, what's up with super old image of the area around Herndon and Weber?  There is an entire shopping complex there now.  All that stuff along 99 and existing Golden State immediately south of Herndon has been razed.