🚘 Headlines About California Highways – April 2026

Where does the time go? As we enter into May, we’re approaching the half-way mark for the year. It seems to be going by so fast. Here in California, we’re in the middle of the political silly season. I should be receiving my ballot any day now (it has been mailed), and that means folks should be on the lookout for my series of ballot deep dive posts. To keep this highway related, I will remind folks that the whole gas tax debate is a red herring, as the gas tax is a fixed amount per gallon and hasn’t changed  recently. It isn’t the reason for the high gas prices — those are to be blamed on the War in Iran (which 47 chose to initiate), on California’s special blend, and the dearth of refineries for the blend which leads to higher prices. I remember the days of heavy smog in Los Angeles and days when it hurt to breathe, so I’m happy to pay a little more for clean air.

Of course, if you want to learn what the Gas Tax pays for, the best place is the Building California website. They have an interactive map that shows all the projects. Many of the projects are also discussed on the California Highways website (which is celebrating its 30^th anniversary this year). April saw the posting of the January-March updates to the California Highways website.

Turning to the California Highways: Route by Route podcast: Tom and I are finishing up recording Season 4 (we have 3 episodes yet to record), and are planning the inter-season bonus episodes. I particularly like ep 4.12, which covers the unbuilt freeways of the San Fernando Valley, using the first segment of Route 14 as the starting point. I’ve started the research for Season 5, looking into the history of I-15, which means deep dives into routes such as US 395, Route 103, Route 163, Route 71, I-215, Route 24, Route 70, and others. Season 5 covers Routes 15 through 23, which should keep me busy. Good thing I’m retired! Zencaster is working well for recording the podcast. I think it sounds better, but I would love to hear from the listeners. Let us know what you think. It looks like the regular audience is between 60-80 folks, and I’d love to get that number up, although the numbers don’t included those who listen directly from the CARouteByRoute website (as I don’t know how to get those stats). You can help our listening audience grow. Please tell your friends about the podcast, “like”, “♥”, or “favorite” it, and give it a rating in your favorite podcatcher. Share the podcast on Facebook groups, and in your Bluesky and Mastodon communities. For those that hear the early episodes, the sound quality of the episodes does get better — we were learning. If you know sound editing, feel free to give me advice (I use Audacity to edit). As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on Spotify for Creators, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcatching app or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Creators) . The following episodes have been posted this month:

• April | CA RxR 4.10: Route 12: Into the Sierras. Episode 4.10 concludes our exploration of Route 12 with an exploration of the final section of the route: From Route 99 in Lodi to Route 49 near San Andreas. This is a segment that travels through the foothills of the Sierras, running through Lodi, Lockeford, Clements, Valley Springs, and San Andreas along what was originally LRN 24. We also review LRN 12, which we visited before in our episodes on Route 8, for LRN 12 became I-8 between San Diego and El Centro. In our next episode, our attention turns to Route 13, and includes a discussion of LRN 13, the original Sign Route 13 which was quickly renumbered as Sign Route 17, and today’s Route 13 which runs through Oakland and Berkeley, although the route is unconstructed between the Oakland Airport and I-880. (Spotify for Creators)

As a reminder: One of the sources for the highway page updates (and the raison d’etre for for this post) are headlines about California Highways that I’ve seen over the last month. I collect them in this post, which serves as fodder for the updates to my California Highways site, and 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.

Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for April 2026.

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. ＄＄ paywalls require the use of archive.ph. ☊ indicates an primarily audio article. 🎥 indicates a primarily video article. 🎩 indicates hat/tip to someone for finding this article. ]

Highway Headlines

• Bridge to reopen after nearly year-long closure, $11.3M replacement project (Fox 40 News). A bridge in southern Sacramento County that has been closed since May of last year is set to reopen later this month. Franklin Bridge over Lost Slough will reopen on April 10, coinciding with the closure of the New Hope Road Bridge, which is undergoing its own replacement project. The 86-year-old bridge on Franklin Boulevard was replaced after maintenance and other necessary repairs forced several temporary closures, the Sacramento County Department of Transportation announced in a press release.
• Calpella Creek Two-Bridges Replacement Project Wins Award (FB/Caltrans District 1). Caltrans District 1 is pleased to share that the Calpella Creek Two-Bridges Replacement Project has received the Caltrans Excellence in Transportation award in the Highway Rural category. This annual awards program highlights and recognizes some of the best work from Caltrans and its partners for outstanding achievements in transportation design, construction, traffic operations, maintenance, planning, and improvements across California.
• I-15 Corridor (FB/Rebuild CA). The I-15 corridor is California’s deadliest highway, with over 1000 crashes documented between 2018 and 2024. The I-15 expansion project will reduce congestion, allowing for safer and more efficient travel on the route.
• Pasadena Moves Closer to Adopting 710 Stub Vision Plan (Streetsblog Los Angeles). On Monday, the city of Pasadena held the first of two public workshops on the 710 Stub’s vision plan called “Reconnecting Pasadena.” This document outlines an idealized redevelopment of the land where the northern terminus was built for the cancelled 710 Freeway, and acknowledges the painful history behind it.
• Construction Begins on Final Segment of Highway 101 Widening in Santa Barbara (edhat Santa Barbara). Construction will officially begin Monday, April 6, on the final segment of the Highway 101 widening project, marking a major milestone toward completing the Highway 101: Carpinteria to Santa Barbara project. Highway 101: Santa Barbara North represents the last segment of the signature Measure A project and will complete 10.9 miles of continuous peak-period carpool lanes, delivering long-awaited congestion relief and updated infrastructure for the South Coast.
• ＄ Gas is $10 a gallon at a Big Sur station. The owner explains why his prices can’t go higher (Los Angeles Times). The owner of Gorda by the Sea, the lone gas station for several miles in any direction from this remote, scenic hamlet in Big Sur, is charging $9.99 for a gallon of gas because, well, that’s as high as the digital numbers on the gas pumps allow. “The software only goes to $10,” said Leo Flores, owner of the gas station and mini-market. “I know, sometimes someone wants to make a good story because of it, but we have to tell you why.” As the lone gas station for at least 12 miles along Highway 1, the service station often prompts drivers to gasp or clutch their wallets at the sight of a $9.99 price tag for a gallon, but Flores insists he’s not trying to price-gouge his customers. In fact, he’s worried that if gas prices go much higher, it might put him out of business.

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