CA 126 signed on Newhall Ranch Road/Golden Valley Road? What about the freeway?

[ACSCmapcollector]

CA 126 signed on Newhall Ranch Road/Golden Valley Road? What about the freeway?

I have heard that Caltrans decommisioned CA 126 east of Interstate 5 (Old U.S. 99) onto the Magic Mountain Parkway.  I was thinking to myself that CA 126 should have been signed on the Newhall Ranch Road/Golden Valley Road to California state route 14, Antelope Valley Freeway.   

There was a plan to build a freeway in Santa Clarita, CA in the Santa Clarita Valley as California state route 126 east, either as the "Santa Paula Freeway" or the "Santa Clara River Freeway".  Can anyone comment on this please?



Scott C. Presnal
Morro Bay, CA

[myosh_tino]

AFAIK, plans for a CA-126 freeway from I-5 to CA-14 are dead.  The city of Santa Clarita turned down Caltrans' offer to build the freeway connection in 1990.

[ACSCmapcollector]

I am talking about the Crosstown Connector for Santa Clarita, CA not the freeway as recomissioning California State Route 126 on Newhall Ranch Road/Golden Valley Road between Interstate 5 (old U.S. 99) Golden State Freeway and California state route 14, Antelope Valley Freeway.  Someone missed the "gist" of my original posting here earlier.

http://www.signalscv.com/archives/26605/

Scott C. Presnal
Morro Bay, CA

[sparker]

There is no 126 extension freeway -- or any state facility, for that matter.  At one time there were plans for such, but they have long been scrapped, despite the presence of a couple of "straggler" ramps from 14 to the Sierra Highway.  And Caltrans is not in the habit of taking over maintenance of surface roads, no matter how new.  Any further speculation about this corridor as CA 126 should reside in the Fictional realm. 

[andy3175]

We have a page on California 126 that goes into some basics about the state route and the Cross Valley Connector through the city of Santa Clarita at https://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-126.html. The page has pictures of the current state route segment as well as the Cross Valley Connector, which is not a state highway but serves as the through route connecting I-5 and SR 14 continuing east after SR 126 ends.

Daniel Faigin's page, which is always the best resource on the legal description of a route and its history at http://www.cahighways.org/121-128.html states:

Prior to 2001, there was an additional segment that ran from Route 5 to Route 14 near Solemint. Relinquishment of this segment was authorized by AB 635, Chapter 575, 10/11/2001. The bill required that Santa Clarita keep signs showing the way for travelers to get to the rest of Route 126. The section (which is from PM R5.8 to T12.707) was up for relinquishment in September 2002. There were plans to construct this as freeway; if it had been constructed, there would have been an interchange at Rye Canyon, McBean, and Bouquet Canyon.

In 2003, AB 1717 (Ch. 525, 9/25/2003) updated the legislative definition to reflect the relinquishment.The relinquished former portion of Route 126 within the City of Santa Clarita is not a state highway and is not eligible for adoption as a state highway.

The segment from Route 5 to Route 14 was planned as freeway but never upgraded. When they built the Antelope Valley Fwy (Route 14), they also built a stub of this freeway, which juts out as a long overpass on Via Princesa. You can only get on that stub by going northbound on Route 14. The exit is called "Canyon Country/Sierra Hwy".

Michael Ballard has a good resource on the various old alignments of SR 126 at http://socalregion.com/highways/old-hwy-126-santa-clarita-to-ventura/

[cahwyguy]

Daniel Faigin's page, which is always the best resource on the legal description of a route and its history ...

Thank you for the (oh so) kind words.

[sparker]

Incidentally, the Cross Valley Connector was, in its entirety, High Priority Corridor #69 (added in 2005); as such, the project deploying it was the recipient of a large portion (likely 80%) of Federal funds.  It is unusual for a singular HPC to be devoted to a city or county facility that's not specifically transit-related. 

[ACSCmapcollector]

So now California state route 126 begins at the Ventura Freeway, U.S. 101 and ends at Interstate 5, Golden State Freeway (Old U.S. 99) seems fair to me now, since the eastern part of California state route 126 has been decommissioned by the city of Santa Clarita, California.

Scott C. Presnal
Morro Bay, CA

[cahwyguy]

Yup. The legal definition is:

From Route 101 near Ventura to Route 5.

The relinquished former portion of Route 126 within the City of Santa Clarita is not a state highway and is not eligible for adoption under Section 81.