Headlines About California Highways – September 2024

[cahwyguy]

September. The official end of summer. All the heat, with a hint of pumpkin spice. For me, September has been filled with finishing the highway page updates, and getting ready for the upcoming general election. For those that don’t know me, I do a deep dive every election through the ballot, examining every race and candidate. I post them, and encourage folks to share, excerpt, or tell me where I’m wrong. I’m not going to go further into them here, other than to note their existence: Part 1 (National and Statewide); Part 2 (Los Angeles Candidates); Part 3 (Propositions); and Part 4 (Judges). Part 5, the summary, will be posted when I get my sample ballot. I encourage everyone to do the same: Be an informed voter. Investigate everything on the ballot and come to your own decisions.

September, this year, also brings Elul and the preparation for the High Holy Days.  If I have offended you in some way, I apologize. Similarly, if you’ve done something offensive to me, don’t worry about it. I forgive you. One thing I won’t forgive, however, is being eligible to vote and then (a) not being an informed voter, and (b) not voting. Please make sure you are registered to vote. Here is my annual High Holy Day post.

But, of course, you come here for the headlines. This post focuses on 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.

The podcast continues apace. I’m finishing writing Season 3; all that is left are the episodes on US 6 and Route 7. 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 3.01: Route 3: Through the Mountains of Jefferson.  Welcome to Season 3 of California Highways: Route by Route. We promised that the season would start in September, and we’re making it by the wire. Season 3 covers Routes 3 through 7; this is the first episode covering Route 3, which is in Northwest California near Weaverville and Route 299. In this episode, we talk about all things “three”: The third state route, Legislative Route 3, Sign Route 3, and finally the current Route 3. For the current Route 3, we talk about the history of the route, projects currently ongoing on the route, and some naming along the route. We even have a digression on the proposed Interstate 3. We also talk about the state scenic highway system, and how routes earn the golden poppy. (Spotify for Podcasters)

Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for September. The summer doldrums appear to be here, as there aren’t as many articles as usual.

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. ↈ indicates a primarily video article. ]

Highway Headlines

• Caltrans to Begin $2 Million Repair Project on State Route 96 in Siskiyou County (Redheaded Blackbelt). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans District 2) and Abacus Construction, Inc. are preparing to begin work on a slip-out project in State Route 96 in Siskiyou County. The $2 million project will repair a section of roadway that was recently damaged by a slip-out caused by over saturation near Happy Camp, approximately 4.3 miles east of Gordon Ferrys Road. The project will place rock slope protection at the damaged riverside slope, install underdrains and outlets, repave, and restripe. Construction activities are currently planned to start on September 3rd. Once work begins, motorists should plan for one-way traffic control in the project area with up to 10-minute delays, Mondays – Fridays between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Travelers are urged to slow down and drive carefully in and around construction areas, follow speed limit reductions in place, and allot extra time for delays. The project is currently anticipated to be completed by the end of October.
• SR-14 North Los Angeles County Safety & Mobility Improvements Project (PA/ED) (LA Metro). Metro has a plan to enhance safety and improve mobility in north Los Angeles County. The SR-14 corridor is known for high accident rates and unpredictable travel times. Metro is collaborating with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the North County Transportation Coalition (NCTC) to explore various safety and mobility improvement options.
• What the rest of the country can learn from a dying Bay Area highway (SF Gate). A human-made border traces an imperfect line through the bog and grassy flats where the Bay Area’s northernmost counties intersect: Highway 37. It’s a vital corridor, transporting 40,000 vehicles a day between Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties. It’s also one of the region’s most vulnerable throughways, as it succumbs to nature’s battle for reclamation. It’s a fitting coincidence, since death and decay are baked into the highway’s DNA. For about half of its entire 21-mile span between Novato and Vallejo, where the highway shrinks into two lanes, it runs in tandem with the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The marshland is where the San Francisco Bay ends its northern expansion.
• Metro, Caltrans eye Highway 14 plans (MSN/The Signal). A little help with Highway 14’s “choke points” and maybe even a small wildlife corridor are among the possible suggestions being evaluated to alleviate east-side traffic concerns on the state route, officials said this week. Santa Clarita City Councilwoman Marsha McLean announced that the outreach is starting this week from the two main agencies involved — the California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, and the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or Metro. Metro, which created a website for the SR-14 North Los Angeles County Safety & Mobility Improvements Project, is holding two meetings in the region on Sept. 12 and Sept. 14, in Palmdale and Santa Clarita, respectively.
• California DMV gears up to allow driverless trucking amid calls to curb high-tech big rigs (NBC Bay Area). The California DMV has unveiled plans to eventually allow driverless trucks on highways across the state. As the NBC Bay Area Investigative Unit first reported last year, self-driving big rigs have already been tested in other states and internationally, but California banned the use of driverless vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds until it could establish rules for how to test and permit the vehicles.
• California Senate passes bill to put speed cameras on Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu (CBS Los Angeles). The California Senate passed a bill to increase safety along the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. SB 1297, authored by Senator Ben Allen and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, calls for the state to install five speed camera systems along the 21-mile stretch of PCH that passes through Malibu. “I’m not interested in punishing people,” Allen said. “I’m interested in compliance. So for me, its not about giving out tickets. For me, it’s about getting people to slow down.” Allen and Irwin said the cameras will be placed in the areas that recorded the most speed-related collisions and fatalities. The community called on lawmakers to increase safety along the highway for several years. The demands grew exponentially after four Pepperdine students were killed in October 2023. The driver charged for the deadly crash allegedly went 104 mph in a 45-mph zone and slammed into the women. [The bill was eventually signed]
• ＄ Bill would alert drivers who go 10 mph over the speed limit (Los Angeles Times). A bill awaiting approval from Gov. Gavin Newsom would require vehicles to include a warning system to alert drivers anytime they went more than 10 miles over the speed limit. If passed, the requirement would go into effect in the 2030 model year for all new vehicles, with exceptions for emergency vehicles, motorcycles, motorized bicycles, mopeds and passenger vehicles already equipped with a GPS or a front-facing camera. This would mark the first law of its kind in the U.S. and would rely on existing “intelligent speed adaptation” technology to try to curtail traffic fatalities and injuries. [The bill was ultimately vetoed]

• California may mandate speed warning chime in new cars by 2030 (Motor Authority). California is close to passing a law requiring all new vehicles sold in the state to feature a “brief, one-time” audiovisual warning every time the driver exceeds the posted speed limit by 10 mph. Senate Bill 961 introduced by Senator Scott Wiener has already passed the state senate and for the final step to becoming a law requires a signature from Governor Gavin Newsom. As The Drive notes, the legislature will have 60 days to try and override any move by Newsom to knock back the bill, should he veto it. Should the bill pass, all new vehicles sold or leased in the state, starting from the 2030 model year, would require the warning system. There would be exemptions for some trucks and motorcycles, however. Emergency vehicles would also be exempt.
• How long can Big Sur sustain itself with continued Highway 1 closures? (SF Gate). The summer that was for Big Sur: Traffic congestion returned to “America’s most beautiful cul-de-sac” but the volume of visitors and the influx of money into the local economy did not. For almost two years, the forested and fabled region has been affected by storm after storm, road closure after road closure on Highway 1, and unforeseen event after unforeseen event. It’s given those who would visit pause — and is causing many locals to question whether or not it’s viable to stay. “When I see and I hear testimony from people during the Labor Day, during the busiest time during summer weekends, about how exceptionally crowded it has become — people coming down the coast and turning around and coming back — that has increased the congestion,” said Magnus Toren, director of the Henry Miller Memorial Library in Big Sur, discussing the good and the bad of the situation. “When the highway is [completely open], 50 percent of that traffic would continue all the way through — so it stands to reason it would increase congestion.”
• CALTRANS COMPLETES IMPROVEMENTS TO STATE ROUTE 67 IN RAMONA (East County Magazine). Users of State Route 67 (SR-67) can now enjoy the benefits of the completed Pavement Rehabilitation Project, which stretches 18 miles within the San Vicente Corridor from Lakeside to the community of Ramona. The goals of the project were to repair distressed pavement and improve ride quality, restore the roadway to a state of good repair, reduce maintenance, extend the life of the existing pavement, and add safety improvements.
  The project, funded through the State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) and made available through Senate Bill 1, was originally estimated to cost $37 million, and was increased to $39.2 million to include assets like broadband infrastructure, that will allow for fiberoptic internet connectivity for residents of rural communities, and asphalt curbs to improve roadside drainage.
• ＄After freeway’s demise, L.A. renters are buying state-owned homes(Los Angeles Times). For nearly four decades, Patricia Payan has lived in a leased version of the suburban ideal, a two-bedroom, one-bathroom home on Sheffield Avenue in El Sereno. Payan rents the house from the state of California, one of hundreds publicly owned in the community because of a freeway that was planned but never built. Living there for so long, Payan has made countless memories and put personal touches on the property. Her son and daughter had their birthday parties in the same backyard where her grandchildren now do. She redid the floors in the kitchen herself and paid for her own gardener. The one thing missing for Payan was the home’s title. That’s now changing. Six years after the freeway was officially declared dead, Payan is in escrow to buy her house from the California Department of Transportation.
• ＄ Caltrans announces completion of $40M state Route 67 project (San Diego Union-Tribune). The nearly $40 million Pavement Rehabilitation Project on state Route 67 from Ramona to Lakeside has been completed, Caltrans officials have announced. Repairing the 18 miles of pavement was originally estimated to cost $37 million but increased to $39.2 million, Caltrans officials said in a Sept. 4 statement. The additional cost is attributed to roadway features such as broadband infrastructure, which will allow for fiber optic Internet connectivity for residents of rural communities, and asphalt curbs, which will improve roadside drainage, they said. Much of the work was done on areas of the roadway that impact rural residential communities. Caltrans reports that throughout the project community residents and groups such as the Ramona Leadership Council and Ramona Community Planning Group provided valuable feedback.
• Highway Update: Be aware: New state laws govern stop sign stops and railroad crossings (Valley News). Traffic safety violations are one of the major reasons, outside of speeding, that can bring an expensive traffic ticket to motorists. This year several new traffic laws were passed by the legislature that drivers should be aware of. New stricter provisions have been added to the California Vehicle Code, VC 22450, which prohibits rolling stops at street stop signs or at a railway grade before crossing the track. If those VC rules are violated, a larger fine may be imposed and it will show on the motorists driving record which could increase auto insurance rates. Here is what VC 22450 says in part: “The driver of any vehicle approaching a stop sign at the entrance or within an intersection shall stop at a limit line, if marked, otherwise before entering the crosswalk on the near side of the intersection.
• Metro and Caltrans 14 Freeway Expansion Project Meetings Delayed(Streetsblog Los Angeles). This is a story about Metro and Caltrans’ plan to widen the 14 Freeway from Santa Clarita to Palmdale. For starters, though, some context. This summer and fall, record heat has been killing people up and down California. This week, California – especially Southern California – is experiencing climate-change-driven record heat. Santa Clarita just finished a week when excessive heat advisories warned of “really dangerous temperatures… in the 115 degrees range.” Palmdale set a new nighttime heat record. Wildfires are widespread, as is unhealthy air quality; hot suburban North L.A. County experiences these issues more acutely than much of the rest of the state.
• Ħ Route Options for Foothill Freeway (FB/Robert Di Dio). Route options for the Foothill Frwy (San Gabriel Valley) & the final Preferred Route by the State Hwy Dept. (1958)
  (Monrovia Daily News Post 1958)
• A portion of I-5 South will temporarily close near Patterson (ABC 10). A portion of Interstate 5 Southbound at Ingram Creek Road will be fully closed for the weekend of Oct. 4. Detours will be required and motorists should expect delays of at least 30 minutes. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is closing the freeway for at least 55 hours to reconstruct the aging bridge deck. The closure is planned to begin at 9 p.m. and go until 4 a.m. on Monday, Oct. 7.
• California awards $32M in federal funding to deploy more than 450 fast chargers along interstates and highways (Green Car Congress). California Energy Commission (CEC) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) awarded more than $32 million in federal funds to install, operate and maintain 458 direct-current fast chargers (DCFC) along interstates and highways across the state. The funds come from the $5-billion National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program, which is part of the $1.2-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. California expects to receive a total of $384 million for the program over the next several years. Including projects expected to be approved before the end of the year, CEC proposed awards total $37.7 million, which will leverage an additional $53.2 million in private matching funds—nearly three times the minimum required by the NEVI program.
• Caltrans plans 5 partial overnight closures for Highway 1 project in Capitola, Santa Cruz (MSN/Santa Cruz Sentinal). A series of partial overnight closures along Highway 1 from 41st Avenue to Soquel Drive will begin Sunday in order for crews to begin the next phase of construction on a major highway project, according to a release from Caltrans. To provide workers with a safe buffer from traffic, the left lane in the northbound direction of the highway will be closed from 9 p.m. Sunday through 5 a.m. Monday. Similarly, the left lane in the southbound direction will shutter from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. the same days. This pattern of closures will continue for five consecutive nights and last through early Friday morning, according to the release.
• Ribbon Cutting Held For Soscol Junction Project In Napa County (Napa Valley, CA Patch). Caltrans and the Napa Valley Transportation Authority hosted a ribbon cutting Friday at The Meritage Resort and Spa in Napa for the State Route 29/221 Soscol Junction Interchange Project in southern Napa County. The three-year, $56.7 million project replaces the signalized intersection of State Route 29, State Route 221 and Soscol Ferry Road with an interchange composed of an overpass and two roundabouts, a configuration that will add fluidity to traffic flow and reduce congestion.
• Caltrans closing two sections of scenic Central Coast highway (MSN/SF Gate). A scenic state highway that runs parallel with Highway 101 on the Central Coast is closing for five weeks as Caltrans undergoes a storm damage repair project. Elsewhere on the highway, Caltrans began instituting one-way traffic control overnight for another section that needs resurfacing. State Route 192 carves along the foothills of the Santa Ynez Mountains above Santa Barbara for about 20 miles. The scenic road is a substitute for Highway 101 to connect drivers with either Highway 154 in the northern end or Highway 150 at the south. Following a series of storms earlier this year that flooded the Santa Barbara airport and soaked the mountains in March, the highway was marred in damage including a downed tree and the threat of mudslides.
• Vacaville gets $11 million for I-505 project | News | dailyrepublic.com (Daily Republic). The city has been awarded $11 million to enhance roadway safety on Vaca Valley Parkway as part of the Interstate 505 Multi-Modal Improvements project. The U.S. Department of Transportation named Vacaville on its 2024 Safe Streets for All awardees. Key highlights include: • Safer connections across I-505, • Improved traffic flow and congestion reduction, • New roundabouts and retroreflective backplates at intersections, • A dedicated bicycle/pedestrian path, • Equity analysis and ADA updates. Along with the $4 million award from Congressmen John Garamendi and Mike Thompson, the project has reached a pivotal funding milestone.
• Plans progress for Highway 46 overpass (KSBY). The City of Paso Robles announced it is moving into the design phase of its Intersection Improvements Project, a plan intended to improve traffic conditions along Highway 46. Driver Michael Camou drives Highway 46 every other month and believes an overpass at the Union Road intersection would help improve safety. “That Union Road needs to be fixed,” Camou said. “People don’t know how to drive. Another driver, William Donahoe, said he notices the most traffic on Sundays.
• Highway 101/Peninsula Avenue project in San Mateo scrapped (San Mateo Daily Journal). A long-standing effort to move the Highway 101 southbound off-ramps from East Poplar Avenue north to Peninsula Avenue has been officially scrapped, though plans to address congestion and mitigate collisions in the area are still being finalized. The off-ramps at East Poplar Avenue are a hot spot for high-speed drivers and heavy traffic, which have caused concern for many nearby residents and pedestrians, including young children. “These intersections on Poplar and Humboldt have been so bad that friends of mine with young children who live at Woodlake would literally not allow their children to go to school unattended to cross that intersection. That’s how bad it is,” Councilmember Amourence Lee said.
• Caltrans to start California-Oregon border highway project this weekend (KDRV). California Department of Transportation is getting ready for a road project along the Oregon state line. California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, will start repaving State Route 161 along the Oregon border this weekend. Caltrans said today crews will start work Sunday, September 22, to repave a two-mile section of State Route 161 west of Tulelake. The project runs from just west of South Merrill Road to just east of Hill Road in Siskiyou County. Caltrans says the $2.6-million repaving project will provide a smoother ride for drivers and freight haulers near the California/Oregon border.
• CalTrans 395 Fully Reopened (Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News). U.S. 395 has reopened between Burcham Flat Road and State Route 108 north of Bridgeport after crews installed two wildlife crossings as part of the Sonora Junction Shoulders Project. The highway shut down on September 4, allowing crews to completely dig up the road for each archway under crossing measuring more than 70 feet in length and standing between 9.5 feet and 11 feet tall. The project began construction in May to widen the shoulders of the highway to 8 feet, install rail-element retaining walls, and stabilize slopes with anchored mesh in addition to installing the wildlife crossings. The full closure was necessary to allow for the wildlife crossing installations, and to replace the asphalt concrete and roadway base of U.S. 395 through the project area as well as shift the centerline of the roadway by up to two feet in certain locations to accommodate the wider 8-foot shoulders. This allowed Papich Construction to quickly and safely remove the asphalt and roadway base to install the under crossings while changing the layout of the road.
• Caltrans to consider final funding for bridge fencing (TO Acorn). A major safety upgrade for one of the region’s most dangerous overpasses may soon become a reality. The California Transportation Commission is set to consider final funding next month to construct a safety barrier system on the Arroyo Simi Bridge, a notorious overpass that has seen multiple suicides. Located at the junction of the 23 and 118 freeways in Moorpark, the bridge can tower as high as 90 feet above Princeton Avenue, depending on the terrain. Since its completion in 1993, the Arroyo Simi Bridge has been the site of 14 suicides, with three occurring since 2018, according to the California Highway Patrol. In addition, several deaths have resulted from accidents or undetermined causes. In a bid to prevent further tragedies, the CTC is working on plans to install a protective barrier fence on the bridge.
• State Route 217 San Jose Creek Bridge Replacement Project Continues with Planned Overnight Closures for Bridge Girder Installation (Edhat). A project to replace the San Jose Creek Bridge on State Route 217 will result in a full closure of the highway in both directions between Hollister Avenue and Sandspit Road on Monday, September 23 and Thursday, September 26 during the overnight hours from 10 pm until 6 am. Travelers headed westbound will be able to detour via Hollister Avenue while travelers headed eastbound will detour via Sandspit Road. These closures are necessary to allow for the installation of girders for the new bridge.
• Caltrans shuts out some LA residents from homes sales (Cal Matters – Opinion). Years ago, as California stretched its freeways across cities and suburbs like so many ribbons of progress, it damaged and dissected many urban neighborhoods, buying up and tearing down thousands of homes, most occupied by Black or Latino families. It was a disgraceful chapter in this country’s long story of land grabbing, which for decades robbed people of color of their homes, livelihoods and future wealth. Today California, like other states, is trying to repair some of that damage. It’s restoring a few parks and streets linking neighborhoods. It’s encouraging the return of a few ill-gotten properties to their rightful owners — see the 2022 restoration of Bruce’s Beach land to a Black Los Angeles-area family more than a century after government officials stole it.
• Teardown plan of iconic San Francisco attraction is underway (SF Gate). Built in 1922, before the Golden Gate Bridge, the Hyde Street Pier — which sits at the west end of Fisherman’s Wharf, near the Dolphin Club — was once a busy ferry terminal that helped transport thousands of passengers and their cars across the bay to Marin County. It was so popular that up until 30 or so years ago, older people would still try to drive their way onto the pier, park staff told Spaces magazine. This likely isn’t the major cause of damage, as winter storms have beaten the pier and damaged pilings over the past century, and big changes lie ahead. Now, the pier is getting prepped for an epic restoration. On Sept. 11, the vessel C.A. Thayer, a wooden-hulled, three-masted schooner built in 1895, departed to a shipyard in Alameda for maintenance, according to Carlo Arreglo, management analyst for San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park. “Balclutha and Eppleton Hall will move to Mare Island later in the month, along with C.A. Thayer after maintenance work,” Arreglo told SFGATE in an email, referencing two other historic ships and adding that the paddle steamboat Eureka will go later.
• Rio Vista Bridge Scheduled for Multiple 55-Hour Closures (Caltrans). Caltrans is advising motorists of a scheduled closure of the Rio Vista Bridge (Helen Madere Memorial Bridge) on State Route 12 (SR-12) just east of the City of Rio Vista due to a paving project. The $11.24 million project through the Bridge Rehabilitation and Replacement Program will require multiple 55-hour weekend closures for the work to be completed. The project will make necessary bridge repairs and updates by rehabilitating the roadway surface, placing polyester concrete overlay on the bridge deck, replacing bridge rails, installing bridge approach slabs, and constructing Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant switchback ramps. These upgrades will improve motorist and non-vehicular bridge users’ safety, restore bridge deck integrity, comply with ADA accessibility requirements and expand access for pedestrians and non-motor vehicles, and improve the overall ride quality.
• Vision 980 Study (Caltrans). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is conducting the Vision 980 Study to hear from the community about ways to reimagine the Interstate (I-) 980 corridor. The I-980 freeway divides neighborhoods in West Oakland from downtown Oakland and is a barrier to travel and economic opportunities. The Vision 980 Study aims to improve the quality of life for impacted residents through a community-led and equitable visioning process that seeks to reimagine the freeway to create new opportunities for land-uses like housing, businesses, open space, recreational, and cultural facilities. Previous racially discriminatory decision making and redlining policies resulted in I-980 directly cutting through West Oakland. The freeway’s 1.6-mile-long connection between I-880 and I-580 displaced many West Oakland families and led to community disinvestment. Today, I-980 represents a painful physical monument to the segregation and discrimination of generations past. Some of the possibilities for the future of the corridor may include: …
• Caltrans paves the way for safe wildlife crossings (Caltrans). Caltrans District 2 is paving the way to safer crossings for our wildlife neighbors with several projects focused on the development and enhancement of wildlife crossings across Northern California. These initiatives are not just about protecting wildlife but also about ensuring the safety of motorists. Redding Environmental Office Supervisor Wes Stroud, an enthusiastic advocate for these crossings, said two major studies are in progress, one in Lassen County and the other in Siskiyou County. These studies aim to identify existing wildlife crossings and potential new sites where crossings could be beneficial.
• CT News 2024, Issue 4 (Caltrans). Caltrans News
• Locals to learn more about project to improve dangerous Los Olivos intersection (KSBY). Caltrans District 5 is hosting a public information meeting on Oct. 3 to educate community members about a project that will implement improvements at a dangerous intersection in Los Olivos. The project focuses on the intersection of State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road in west Los Olivos. Officials say the intersection is experiencing collisions at a rate higher than the statewide average for similar facilities. In the past few years, KSBY has reported on several collisions at the site that have resulted in serious injuries and one fatality.
• Caltrans Public Information Meeting Next Week for State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road Intersection Improvements Project (The Santa Barbara Independent). CaltransDistrict 5 will hold a Public Information Meeting regarding a project to implement improvements at the intersection of State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road in Los  Olivos. The public is invited to this meeting which will be held in an open house format at the St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church at 2901 Nojoqui Avenue in Los Olivos on Thursday, October 3rd at 6 pm. The public will be able to learn more about this project, view informational displays and ask questions of the project team, including staff from engineering, traffic operations and environmental. Caltrans considered current and future traffic volumes, collision data, and other factors to identify feasible safety enhancements that would address a pattern of collisions at the intersection and support safe and efficient travel for all users now and into the future. The preliminary evaluation indicates that a roundabout would be a feasible alternative at the intersection.
• Detours begin at Cholame “Y” as crews work on widening highway (KEYT). Drivers can expect construction and detours starting Monday as part of a major highway widening project at the Cholame “Y” in eastern San Luis Obispo County. Caltrans said widening work would be underway September 23 through 27. The agency will ultimately be widening Highway 41 into a four-lane expressway. Detours were set to start Monday on southbound Highway 41 and eastbound Highway 46, according to a social media post from Caltrans.
• Caltrans to repave Highway 161 along Oregon border (Lassen News). Caltrans recently announced crews will begin work on Sept. 22, to repave a 2-mile stretch of Highway 161 west of Tulelake, from just west of South Merrill Road to slightly east of Hill Road in Siskiyou County. Fully funded by Senate Bill 1, the $2.6 million repaving project will provide a smoother ride for motorists and freight carriers near the California/Oregon border. “This pavement project improves a section of Highway 161 that links Highway 139 and Highway 97 just south of the Oregon border in far northern California,” said Caltrans District 2 Director Dave Moore. “Starting the effort in late September affords the Department time to complete work and have this vital roadway repaved before winter arrives.”
• ＄ Newsom OKs speed cameras for dangerous stretch of PCH in Malibu (Los Angeles Times). Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday approved a measure that will allow five speed cameras to be installed along a particularly dangerous stretch of Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. This 21-mile stretch of PCH has long been known as a hot spot for crashes, including scores of fatalities, but it was the deaths of four Pepperdine University students almost a year ago that propelled renewed action to improve safety on the road. Senate Bill 1297, which Newsom signed into law Friday, builds on ongoing state and local efforts aimed at saving lives along this section of PCH. Sponsored by Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica), the law includes Malibu in a speed camera pilot program that will allow it to install up to five automated cameras to detect and fine speeding drivers.
• Highway 1 through Big Sur is not fully reopening this year (SF Gate). Continuous cracks on a troubled slope along Highway 1 are forcing Caltrans to delay the full reopening of the crucial link between communities on the Central Coast. In June, Caltrans predicted that the repairs on the Regent’s Slide near the Esalen Institute would finish in “late fall,” reuniting towns like Cambria and San Simeon with Big Sur. However, in August, Caltrans crews detected new surface cracks in the slope as they were excavating. In the weeks since, the agency observed further land movement and slope cracking. In the face of a shifting coastline, Caltrans announced Friday that Highway 1 will remain disconnected until at least 2025.
• ＄ California bill requiring speed-limit alerts is vetoed by Newsom (Los Angeles Times). Gov. Gavin Newsom has vetoed a bill that would have required new vehicles sold in California to be equipped with a warning system to alert drivers if they go over the speed limit by 10 mph. Newsom announced his decision to reject the bill Saturday, writing in a message to legislators that although he appreciates the intent to improve traffic safety, the legislation “presents several challenges.” The bill would have required that starting with 2030 models, every new car, truck or bus sold or leased in the state would need to have a so-called “passive intelligent speed assistance system.” The system would warn drivers with an audio and visual alert any time they go 10 mph over the speed limit.
• Governor Newsom Signs Complete Streets Bill (Streetsblog California). Finally, state law will require Caltrans to plan and build a transportation system for everyone who uses California roads. Yesterday, Governor Newsom signed Senator Scott Wiener’s Complete Streets bill, S.B. 960. This is a huge victory for proponents of safe and equitable streets, and the result of many years of advocacy. It’s the third such bill introduced by Senator Wiener, after pushback from Caltrans and Newsom’s veto of a previous version a few years ago despite overwhelming legislative support. S.B. 960 requires Caltrans to prioritize road improvements for pedestrians, bike riders, and public transit users whenever it performs maintenance or does road work. That can include sidewalks, bike lanes, bus-only lanes, comfortable and accessible public transportation stops, frequent and safe crosswalks, median islands, accessible pedestrian signals, curb extensions, narrower travel lanes, and more. The bill also requires a faster and more transparent decision process for interactions with local jurisdictions who want to make safety changes on state highways that run through their communities.
• Public Meeting for State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road Intersection Improvements Project (Edhat). Caltrans District 5 will hold a Public Information Meeting regarding a project to implement improvements at the intersection of State Route 154 and Foxen Canyon Road in Los  Olivos. The public is invited to this meeting which will be held in an open house format at the St. Mark’s-in-the-Valley Episcopal Church at 2901 Nojoqui Avenue in Los Olivos on Thursday, October 3rd at 6 pm. The public will be able to learn more about this project, view informational displays and ask questions of the project team, including staff from engineering, traffic operations and environmental. Caltrans considered current and future traffic volumes, collision data, and other factors to identify feasible safety enhancements that would address a pattern of collisions at the intersection and support safe and efficient travel for all users now and into the future. The preliminary evaluation indicates that a roundabout would be a feasible alternative at the intersection.
• A safer 23-118 freeway overpass (The Acorn). A major safety upgrade for one of the region’s most dangerous overpasses may soon become a reality. The California Transportation Commission is set to consider final funding next month to construct a safety barrier system on the Arroyo Simi Bridge, a notorious overpass that has seen multiple suicides. Located at the junction of the 23 and 118 freeways in Moorpark, the bridge can tower as high as 90 feet above Princeton Avenue, depending on the terrain. Since its completion in 1993, the Arroyo Simi Bridge has been the site of 14 suicides, with three occurring since 2018, according to the California Highway Patrol. In addition, several deaths have resulted from accidents or undetermined causes. In a bid to prevent further tragedies, the CTC is working on plans to install a protective barrier fence on the bridge.
• Hwy. 1 on Big Sur coast won’t fully reopen this year, Caltrans says. Here’s why (AOL/SacBee). Travelers won’t be able to take the scenic, oceanfront stretch of Highway 1 from Cambria all the way to Big Sur anytime this year, Caltrans announced Friday at Ragged Point. That’s because the agency has no timetable for when it will be able to clear a troublesome slide midway up the famed 100-mile coastline. More than a month ago, Caltrans halted excavation work at Regent’s Slide, after workers noticed surface cracking about 450 feet above the roadway, Caltrans officials said on Aug. 16. The location has been blocked to traffic since February, when a landslide dumped about 300,000 cubic yards of rock and dirt over the highway.
• Confused by the new lane signage on U.S. Highway 101? Here’s what you need to know (Palo Alto Online). The highway toll lanes that have been popping up in other parts of the Bay Area, notably Interstate Highway 880, debuted on the Peninsula on Feb. 11 after years of construction. Now, drivers are faced with a dizzying array of signs and lane markings on U.S. Highway 101 between state Route 237 in Mountain View and Whipple Avenue in Redwood City. Part of the Bay Area Express Lanes program, the newly designated toll lanes are the latest way that transportation agencies are trying to manage traffic congestion. From 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, these lanes can be used for free by carpools of three persons or more, vanpools, motorcyclists and buses. Vehicles with two passengers, who used to take advantage of carpool lanes, won’t get a free ride anymore — and neither will clean-air vehicle drivers. Those two groups will have to pay half of the toll price to use an express lane.
• This I-80 project was Caltrans’ lowest priority. A year later, it received a $100M grant (Yahoo/Fresno Bee). Documents shed light on how a Caltrans freeway-widening project lost a $100 million competitive grant and then won the same grant a year later without material changes to the project — or competing against other applicants. Caltrans District 3 lost to 26 other freight-oriented projects when the California Transportation Commission reviewed its staff’s recommendations in June 2023. The next year, District 3 submitted another application for the same Interstate 80 widening project outside the normal competitive grant process. The 2024 bid was approved for funding in May. In response to a California Public Records Act request, the commission — which awards the Trade Corridor Enhancement Program grants — released the 2022 application documents, as well as the 2024 application.
• CA: $54 million coming for high-speed rail project in Central California. Plan includes new station (Mass Transit). Plans for a new train station south of Madera serving Amtrak and future high-speed rail trains got a boost this week with a $54 million federal grant. The grant, announced this week by U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla, will help pay for the construction of a relocated train station near Avenue 12 in Madera County for Amtrak’s San Joaquin trains and high-speed rail service. Madera’s existing Amtrak station north of the city near Avenue 19 and Road 26 has a sheltered platform where passengers can board trains, but no ticket office or enclosed waiting area. The San Joaquin Joint Powers Authority, which oversees the Amtrak trains that run from Bakersfield to the Bay Area on the BNSF Railway freight tracks, is planning and designing a new station to be built about eight miles to the southeast.
• Napa’s Soscol Junction project underway (The Bay Link Blog). Caltrans and the Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) hosted a ribbon cutting for the State Route 29/221 Soscol Junction Interchange Project in southern Napa County last week. The three-year, $56.7 million project to replace the signalized intersection of State Route 29, State Route 221 and Soscol Ferry Road with an interchange composed of an overpass and two roundabouts, a configuration that will add fluidity to traffic flow and reduces congestion. This accounts for two decades of planning. The project also includes class I facility to accommodate bicycles and pedestrians through the intersection. MTC was instrumental in helping deliver funding to the project. “As a Napa native, I’ve seen a lot of changes over the years and I’m excited about these long overdue improvements to Soscol Junction,” said California State Senator Bill Dodd. “With the added bike lane and pedestrian access, this new interchange will serve as a gateway for ease of travel through Napa County.”
• ＄ Questions over express lane congestion impact (San Mateo Daily Journal). The Highway 101 express lane has generated a modest increase in revenue, but some board members and transit advocates are concerned it’s only worsened traffic congestion for those who are unable or unwilling to pay the toll. The express lane opened toward the beginning of last year and stretches 22 miles from the Santa Clara County line to Interstate 380. The tolls adhere to a variable pricing structure, in which costs fluctuate depending on traffic congestion. Average daily trips have increased from 52,000 to 56,000 between the first and fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 — which ended on June 30.
• New Wildlife Bridges Help Critters Cross the Road (KneeDeep Times). On the 101 Freeway near the Santa Monica Mountains in Los Angeles, the world’s largest wildlife crossing is taking shape. The $92 million project, officially named the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, is part of a growing movement across California — including in the Bay Area — to reconnect critical habitat sliced asunder by roads. For people, roads represent freedom, movement, a way to get from here to there. For wildlife, roads often mean death.
• ＄ Driving all of California’s Highway 1 won’t be possible until 2025 (Los Angeles Times). The drive up or down California’s Highway 1 through Big Sur features unparalleled ocean views from a roadway carved through multiple coastline cliffs — a precarious geography that has made it challenging to keep open the entire stretch of scenic highway. Since January 2023, several rockfalls and landslides have forced closures along sections of the highway. And despite the efforts of transportation officials, driving the full stretch of the roughly 100-mile roadway between Carmel and Cambria will not be possible until sometime in 2025. Repairs to one section of Highway 1 near the community of Lucia have been delayed because of new landslide movement, pushing back plans that would have allowed for uninterrupted travel across Highway 1, according to the California Department of Transportation.
• Carmageddon: Little agreement from supes, LAFCO on civil grand jury’s evaluation of roads (Lookout Santa Cruz). The Santa Cruz County civil grand jury released the county board of supervisors’ and the Local Agency Formation Commission of Santa Cruz County’s (LAFCO) responses to its evaluation of the county roads — and showed that the two groups largely disagreed with those findings. LAFCOs are regional service planning agencies located in all of California’s 58 counties. They have regulatory and planning powers as well as oversee government agencies and their service areas.

Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer)

• Clovis “Gateway To The Sierras” sign and Tarpey Depot. Within Oldtown Clovis a fixture of the original alignment of California State Route 168 can be found in the form of the “Clovis Gateway To The Sierras” sign. The sign was erected along Clovis Avenue in 1940 and was in use along California State Route 168 until the highway was relocated circa 1999-2001.
• Santa Fe Grade Road (Merced County, California). Santa Fe Grade Road of Merced County is an approximately thirty-mile mostly unsurfaced highway built on a repurposed railroad grade. Santa Fe Grade Road begins at California State Route 140 near Gustine and terminates to the southeast at the Fresno County line in South Dos Palos. The grade was constructed by the San Francisco & San Joaquin Railroad during the 1880s but was found to be consistently flood prone. The grade was later sold to the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad in 1898 which later abandoned it to Merced County.
• Del Puerto Canyon Road. Del Puerto Canyon Road is a twenty-four-mile highway which connects Patterson in Stanislaus County west to San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County. From Patterson sixteen miles west to Frank Raines Park the grade of Del Puerto Canyon Road was built atop the grade of the Patterson & Western Railroad. Said line had been completed in 1916 during World War I to the magnesite mine of Jones and was abandoned by 1920. Stanislaus County and Santa Clara County later facilitated repurposing the railroad grade into a public highway to San Antonio Valley. The completed Del Puerto Canyon Road would open to traffic during 1942.
• White Rock Road; the historic highway corridor serving Mariposa County since the 1850s. White Rock Road is a twenty-eight-mile-long highway corridor which begins at the Chowchilla River in Merced County and ends at Old Highway 18 in Mariposa County near the town site of Bridgeport. The portion of White Rock Road between the Merced County and Mariposa County line to Bridgeport (via the town site of White Rock) is one of the oldest continuously used highway corridors in California. Once known as the “Mariposa River Road” the corridor was developed in the 1850s as one of the two primary highways to the mining communities of Mariposa County.
• Former California State Route 41 past Bates Station. When California State Route 41 was commissioned during August 1934 it was aligned along the then existing Fresno-Yosemite Road north of the San Joaquin River. Within the Sierra Nevada foothills of Madera County, the original highway alignment ran past Bates Station via what is now Madera County Road 209, part of eastern Road 406 and Road 207. Bates Station was a stage station plotted during the early 1880s at what was the intersection of the Coarsegold Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road. The modern alignment bypassing Bates Station to the east would be reopened to traffic during late 1939.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Headlines About California Highways – September 2024 by cahwyguy. Although you can comment on DW, please make comments on original post at the Wordpress blog using the link to the left. You can sign in with your LJ, DW, FB, or a myriad of other accounts. Note: Subsequent changes made to the post on the blog are not propagated by the SNAP Crossposter; please visit the original post to see the latest version. P.S.: If you see share buttons above, note that they do not work outside of the Wordpress blog.