Headlines About California Highways – June 2024

We’re halfway through 2024. Whew. I’m tired, aren’t you. And we aren’t into the real craziness of the election yet. But there is good news. We’re past the Westhost site transition from cpanel to stackCP.  You’re reading this blog, so the main site and the main blog are working. The podcast blog, CARoutebyRoute, is also working. The only thing still broken is the RSS feed on the podcast site. It feeds the blog posts, but doesn’t seem to highlight the media files for podcatchers. I think this is a problem with WordPress, not the site transition, and I have a reddit post asking about it. The one comment received so far indicating it is possible the RSS feed is being cached, but I’m not sure how to fix that (other than time).

However, the poor technical support from the time of the transition still sticks in my craw, and I will be exploring transitioning the site to a new provider. It isn’t a rush, as things are already paid for a while, and things are working. Still, suggestions are welcome.

In any case, it is the start of a new month, and that means headlines. For those unfamiliar, this post generally contains headlines about California Highways that I’ve seen over the last month. It also serves as fodder for the updates to my California Highways site, so there are also other pages and things I’ve seen that I wanted to remember for the site updates. Lastly, the post also includes some things that I think would be of peripheral interest to my highway-obsessed highway-interested readers. Speaking of updates to the California Highways site: updates to the California Highways site were posted a few weeks ago.

So what has happened in June? In terms of shows, we had three: Jelly’s Last Jam at the Pasadena Playhouse (just closed);  A Strange Loop at the Ahmanson (just closed), Mrs. Doubtfire at the Pantages (just closed), Come Blow Your Horn at Canyon Theatre Guild (just closed), and Radium Girls at Stage Left Arizona (you guessed it… just closed).

I’m also still looking for opinions on Medicare Advantage plus Medicare Supplement Plans: specifically, the Anthem Medicare Plus PPO with Senior Rx Plus Medicare Advantage Plan (as Implemented for Aerospace Retireees: See (1) Get to Know Your Group Plan; (2) Plan Summary; (3) last year’s Open Enrollment Guide) vs. a Medicare Supplement Plan.

The podcast continues apace. I’m still writing the Season 3 episodes, but we’ve also got some bonus episodes. The first is a two-part interview with Joe Rouse of Caltrans on ExpressLanes, Tolling, and Fastrak. Part 1 is up; Part 2 goes up later in the week. Later in July, we’ll be recording the second bonus episode on auto trails.  Please tell your friends about the podcast, “like”, “♥”, or “favorite” it, and give it a rating in your favorite podcatcher. Yes, the sound quality of the episodes does get better — we were learning. As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org (once it comes back) , the show’s page on Spotify for Podcasters, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcatching app or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted this month:

• CA RxR 2.13: Bonus – Fastrak and Tolling (Part 1). In this episode, we have the first half of an interview with Joe Rouse of Caltrans, talking about HOV Lanes, Express/Toll Lanes and Bridges, and Fastrak. There are two more bonus episodes in the pipeline. Episode 2.14 will be the second part of this interview. (Spotify for Podcasters)

Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for June.

Key

[Ħ Historical information | ＄ Paywalls, ＄＄ really obnoxious paywalls, and ∅ other annoying restrictions. I’m no longer going to list the paper names, as I’m including them in the headlines now. Note: For ＄ paywalls, sometimes the only way is incognito mode, grabbing the text before the paywall shows, and pasting into an editor. See this article for more tips on bypassing paywalls. indicates an primarily audio article. indicates a primarily video article. ]

Highway Headlines

• ＄ Caltrans’ lapses contributed to 10 Freeway fire, Inspector General finds (Los Angeles Times). Infrequent and haphazard inspections by Caltrans allowed for the conditions that caused the massive fire that shut down the 10 Freeway downtown last year, costing $33 million, according to a new report from the agency’s inspector general. In the damning assessment, Bryan Beyer and his chief deputy, Diana Antony, laid out how the California Department of Transportation brushed off two major “warning signs” of the potential fire danger at property it leased under and adjacent to freeways. The report also found the agency kept shoddy lease records, failed to complete annual inspections or collect rent and never took meaningful action after finding hazardous conditions at the site.
• Northern California environmental groups suing Caltrans over Interstate 80 project (Fox 40 Sacramento). Two environmental groups based out of Northern California recently announced they filed a lawsuit against Caltrans to stop the agency from widening a portion of Interstate 80 from six to eight lanes. On Wednesday, the Sierra Club, which is considered the oldest and largest environmental organization in the country, and the Environmental Council of Sacramento said their lawsuit accuses Caltrans of conducting an “inadequate environmental analysis” of the I-80 widening project that would expand the freeway between Davis and Sacramento through the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area.
• 2 wildlife crossings proposed for I-15 north of San Diego County (NBC Los Angeles). More than half of California is mountain lion territory and that’s led to several mountain lion sightings in San Diego County in recent months, as well as the deaths of two of them on local freeways. Last week, a mountain lion was hit and killed on Interstate 8 in La Mesa. In March, a mountain lion was fatally hit by a car in Oceanside, just days after one was seen peering through the windows of a nearby movie theater. As a result, there have been renewed calls for a wildlife crossing in the San Diego region, similar the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing that is being built near Agoura Hills on Highway 101 in Los Angeles County.
• Caltrans shares when Highway 1 through Big Sur may fully reopen (MSN/SF Gate). A portion of Highway 1 prone to landslides is slated to reopen next month, freeing some Big Sur residents from relying on convoys to cross over the closure. But the Central Coast highway that connects Carmel to Cambria won’t fully reopen until later. Caltrans has worked since January 2023 to remove an estimated 500,000 cubic yards of material that spilled onto the highway at Paul’s Slide during a major storm. Road crews created a turnaround at Limekiln State Park for traffic approaching from the south, which meant residents of Lucia and the Christian monastery New Camaldoli Hermitage had to use convoys led by a Caltrans vehicle each day to bypass the slide.
• Topanga Canyon Boulevard Stretch Reopens After Storm Damage (REAL 92.3). A critical stretch of Topanga Canyon Boulevard that has been closed since early March due to storm-triggered mud and debris flows is open Monday, about 90 days ahead of schedule. “Crews reopened the roadway this weekend after Topanga Canyon Blvd had been closed due to a major slide btwn Grand View Dr and PCH,” Caltrans posted Sunday morning on social media. “Expect one-way traffic control during non-peak hours as crews will continue with some items of work. Drive safely!” Approximately 15,000 cubic yards of material were removed and repurposed for Ventura County farmers, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and an art installation in downtown Los Angeles near the State Historic Park, officials said. Caltrans revised its original estimate of 50,000 to 90,000 cubic yards of material needing to be removed once a geotechnical report determined that the slide was shallower than first thought. Crews did not encounter any anomalies in the soil during removal, which benefited the expedited opening.
• California Is Testing A Road Tax Based On Miles Driven. We Answered Some Of Your More Pressing Questions (MSN/LAist). California is considering replacing the gas tax with a more sustainable source of transportation funding, and LAist’s readers and listeners had a lot of questions about the pilot program. We have answers to some of your most common concerns, but remember, the road charge is an idea that’s still being explored and developed. The pilot program is a way for your opinion to shape if, and how, it’s implemented, so these responses will likely change to reflect the results. Lauren Prehoda, the Caltrans program manager, told LAist that if you hate the idea of a road charge or are worried about how it’ll work, you should still sign up to participate in the program. “We want to hear from everyone,” she said. So let’s get into answering your questions…
• Pacific Coast Freeway (Huntington Beach) (FB/Andrew Oshrin). Old right of way map showing SR-1 and SR-39 as freeways.
• What’s With All the Construction on the I-5 Freeway Across South OC? (Voice of OC). South Orange County residents will spend most of this year continuing to confront occasional construction-related congestion and late-night freeway segment closures along the I-5 in areas like Mission Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills and Lake Forest. But the end is in sight for the series of freeway construction efforts that have been ongoing since the summer of 2019. About 6.5 miles of the I-5 Freeway – between State Route 73 and El Toro Road – will be under construction until early 2025, according to the Orange County Transportation Authority. Approximately 360,000 motorists travel daily on this section of the freeway.
• Paul’s Slide on Highway 1 on Big Sur coast to open earlier than anticipated (East Bay Times). The long-awaited reopening of the largest of the three landslides on Highway 1 is coming earlier than anticipated, bringing the flow of unimpeded traffic between Carmel and Cambria one section closer to reality. Since Jan. 14, 2023, when an estimated 500,000 cubic yards of material slid down the mountain side and engulfed Highway 1 at Paul’s Slide, Caltrans has been planning on how, and working to repair and reopen, the roadway that is now expected to be ready by early- to mid-July. Once Paul’s Slide – post mile 22 – is open, traffic coming from the south will be able to come as far north as repair work on the Regent’s Slide – post mile 27.8 – will comfortably allow.

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