This past November I drove CA 4 from I-5 in Stockton westward to I-80 in Hercules. CA 4 west from Stockton towards Byron traverses the San Joaquin River Delta and largely rides atop of levees which are bridged with structures dating from 1933 or prior. CA 4 between Byron west to Hercules is interesting due to how complex the original iteration of CA 4 was. In particular the earliest alignment of CA 4 went through Port Chicago (which was largely blasted away during a Naval munitions accident in 1944) and downtown Martinez. A bypass of Port Chicago and Martinez known as the Arnold Industrial Highway opened in 1939 which routed CA 4 over Willow Pass. The Arnold Industrial Highway was gradually expanded towards Pittsburg by the early 1950s and eventually became part of the modern freeway grade. CA 4 west of Martinez through Franklin Canyon feels as though it was barely engineered to a freeway standard and still includes a significant right on/right off Exit.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/california-state-route-4-west-from-i-5.html
Will the CA 4 Ort. J. Loftus Freeway ever reconnect with existing CA 4/West Charter Way? Or is Navy Drive the freeway's permanent western terminus?
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on December 30, 2019, 02:52:40 PM
Will the CA 4 Ort. J. Loftus Freeway ever reconnect with existing CA 4/West Charter Way? Or is Navy Drive the freeway's permanent western terminus?
As far as I know there isn't really a solid plan to connect it to mainline CA 4 on Charter Way.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 30, 2019, 03:34:06 PM
Quote from: The Ghostbuster on December 30, 2019, 02:52:40 PM
Will the CA 4 Ort. J. Loftus Freeway ever reconnect with existing CA 4/West Charter Way? Or is Navy Drive the freeway's permanent western terminus?
As far as I know there isn't really a solid plan to connect it to mainline CA 4 on Charter Way.
Technically, the section of CA 4 between the stub-end at Navy Drive in Stockton to the present expressway starting at the intersection of Vasco Road and Marsh Creek Road in Brentwood is still a part of the California Freeway & Expressway System. Practically, the likelihood of a freeway being built anywhere near the present levee-riding CA 4 alignment is virtually nil because of environmental considerations. The Delta is considered endangered; building a freeway across its midst would be seen both within the current Caltrans administration and other relevant agencies as exacerbating the various problems. The only freeway with a fighting chance of being deployed as an extension of the Brentwood Bypass would be one along the CA 239 alignment down to the I-580/205 junction. Since the Delta begins within a mile or so west of the Navy Dr. terminus, that'll likely remain in its present state for the foreseeable future. The Ort J. Loftus freeway between I-5 and CA 99 was constructed as its own SIU to fulfill a longstanding regional traffic need; IIRC it was opened to traffic in late 1992 or early 1993.