Olancha-Cartago 4-Lane Project

[ClassicHasClass]

Can cities use blue pentagons? I don't know if the county would like that since San Diego county uses it for county routes.

[pderocco]

Another decent possibility is blue pentagon 54 (similar to blue pentagon 66 in San Bernardino County).  It denotes a locally maintained route but maintains the same number.  And fortunately, as we know in California there is one number for one road, even if it changes between Interstate, state, US, or local.  (Think of CA-210 and I-210 being one roadway, I envision similar for 54.)

Or CA-59 to CR-J59. Or CA-132 to CR-J132. There are also some occasional spots where a county route is multiplexed with a state route, especially in the Central Valley. But none of those are county route signs placed on local roads. I'm assuming that all that former CA-54 is maintained by El Cajon, since it starts right at the city limits.

[cahwyguy]

Several legal route descriptions in the Streets and Highway Code (not including the section for route 54) call for localities with relinquished mileage to "apply to the department for approval of a business route designation in accordance with Chapter 20, Topic 21, of the Highway Design Manual".

I'm back to working on the highway pages, and found Ch 20 Topic 21, so I thought I would quote it:

(4) Business Routes. A Business Route generally is a local street or road in a city or urban area, designated by the same route number as the through Interstate, U.S., or State highway to which it is connected, with the words "Business Route" attached to the identifying route shields. The Business Route designation provides guidance for the traveling public to leave the main highway at one end of a city or urban area, patronize local businesses, and continue on to rejoin the main route at the opposite end of the city or urban area.

The Transportation System Information Program is responsible for approval of Business Route designations. Applications for Business Route designation and signing must be made by written request from the local government agency to the Chief of the Transportation System Information Program. U.S. and Interstate Business Routes require approval by the AASHTO Executive Committee.

Note that last sentence. This might mean that the designation of BR US 395 would be in some AASHTO minutes. Route 54 wouldn't, as it is state highway, but there would likely be a record in the Route 54 files in Sacramento.

[Quillz]

I'm planning on visiting the Eastern Sierra next weekend, so it will be my first time driving on the now opened Olancha bypass.

[Quillz]

Here is the word on what is happening, direct from the District 9 PIO:

Since the Olancha-Cartago 4-Lane Project is still in construction, the postmile databases won't be updated until the project is officially completed. So, the stretch of old U.S. 395 from State Route 190 in Olancha to the new connector on the southern end of the project won't be redesignated as State Route 190/Business Route 395 until the project is fully completed and the contract closed out. This also applies to the addresses of residents in the area.

 
You are correct. The stretch of U.S. 395 from the southern connector to the southern end of the project is being permanently removed.

 

Wait... I'm confused. Are they physically going to remove the roadway, OR will that former part of 395 simply be given a 190 shield, like I was assuming? (Or business loop 395, whatever).

[Quillz]

Further north, is it likely that there will be realignments around Independence and Big Pine (Bishop was already mentioned), so the four-lane US 395 roadway can continue uninterrupted? Also, US 395's exits should be numbered since they have been numbering exits statewide for the last couple of decades.

A bypass around Bishop seems very unlikely. It's by far the largest and most important community in the Owens Valley area (despite not being the county seat), and it's usually where you stay for Mammoth if you don't want to stay in the area itself. It's also a good gateway for Mono Lake, Death Valley, etc. There is a ton of business on the 395 and a bypass would likely hurt a lot.

It's a little different with Olancha, Independence, even Lone Pine. These are very small communities that a motorist is far less likely to stop in. (Lone Pine is mainly known for Whitney Portal access). I don't think I've ever once stopped in Independence. But almost anyone taking an Eastern Sierra trip will stop in Bishop. It's the only real major community south of Carson City, again if you aren't going to Mammoth Lakes.

There might be a bypass on paper, but the odds of it being built are practically zero. It's very similar to the talk of a Eureka bypass, which also won't happen because there is too much to lose economically for it to happen. (Eureka is basically the "Bishop" for the Redwood Curtain, it's by far the largest and most important community of that region).

[Quillz]

As I said upthread, I think it's misleading to the traveler to sign the former alignment of US 395 through Olancha as a Business Route, because there's barely any business along there.  Nevertheless, on the northbound expressway the Business Route signage appears twice.  Seriously, they ought to put a blue "JERKY" sign on that top one, because there is one gas station, one cafe attached to the motel/RV park, and the jerky place across from the Mobil station

I think it might be some kind of compromise. Olancha gets bypassed, but in exchange it becomes the "business route." Although personally, I'm not a fan of business routes, I think just signing it as part of 190 (already a fairly well known route because of Death Valley) is fine. Whether business will grow or decline as a result of the realignment, hard to say.

[gonealookin]

The stretch of U.S. 395 from the southern connector to the southern end of the project is being permanently removed.

Wait... I'm confused. Are they physically going to remove the roadway, OR will that former part of 395 simply be given a 190 shield, like I was assuming? (Or business loop 395, whatever).

It's only about 3000 feet of the old US 395 alignment that has been removed.  There's a short new connector from the new bypass to the old alignment, routed so the connector meets the bypass in a T configuration.  The old alignment continues northward as before to "downtown" Olancha.  Let's see if my second grade-level skills in MS Paint can illustrate it adequately.

[Quillz]

Ah, I see. It's a lot simpler than I was thinking. I guess the logic is the new road will be easier to turn onto if you're heading southbound.

Is the northern counterpart being modified at all?

[gonealookin]

Yes.  See my photos in reply #91 showing the way it looked in January.  I'm pretty sure there will be a similar T configuration, but whether it's right there at Lake Street in Cartago or somewhere else wasn't clear at the time, as that area was still very much under construction and the Lake Street connector appeared temporary.