Headlines About California Highways – October 2024

[cahwyguy]

October. The month where we go from the heat of the High Holy Days (Yom KIppur always seems to be the last heat spurt of the year) to the crispness of Fall.

October. The month where bands of people go house to house demanding either protection candy or political donations.

October. The month where we finally get registration for the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference open, and I start worrying about whether we’ll make our numbers for attendance, hotel rooms, and food and beverage minimums. If you work in computer security, come out to Hawaii in December and join us at the conference!

October. The month where I finally replenished the tea cabinet, with large orders from Upton Tea in Mass., and Sheffield Tea in Nevada.

This has been a stressful month. I’ve got loads of stress over the election, which will be pivotal for the nation. If you can legally do so, please go out and vote. 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); Part 4 (Judges) and Part 5, the summary. I encourage everyone to do the same: Be an informed voter. Investigate everything on the ballot and come to your own decisions. Hopefully, in a few days, we’ll know the results of the election, and we can start putting the intense political divisions in the closet again. The election has been dividing friends and families. Remember to see people as people, not political sides. Try to imagine them as little kids, playing and going to school… before you ask yourself where they went horribly wrong.

But this post isn’t about political pontification (which is why I try to be neutral above): It is about California’s Highways, and the headlines thereabout. As a reminder, 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 , 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 (episode 3.03 has been recorded and edited, and should be posted in a few days):

• CA RxR 3.02: Route 4: Hercules to Stockton.  In this episode, we commence a 3-part exploration of Route 4. This episode starts with all things Route 4: The 4th state route, DOH and Legislative Route 4, and pre-1964 Route 4, finally setting on today’s Route 4. We talk about the LRNs that make up today’s Route 4: LRN 106, LRN 75, and LRN 24. We focus on the first segment of the route, from I-80 in Hercules to I-5 in Stockton. We talk about Route 4 in cities such as Hercules, Martinez, Concord, Antioch, Brentwood, the wetlands, and the Port of Stockton. We also talk about freeway segments, projects, and names along the route. The subsequent two episodes continue Route 4, with 3.03 focusing on the Stockton Crosstown Freeway. (Spotify for Podcasters)

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

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

• The State Route 220 (SR-220) J-Mack Ferry will be Dry Docked for Required Hull Inspection Long-Term Closure Starting Sunday Night at Midnight, September 29, 2024  (Caltrans). Caltrans has scheduled a long-term closure of the State Route 220 (SR-220) J-Mack Ferry. The closure starts Sunday Night, September 29, 2024, and will continue for approximately 2-3 months. The closure is needed to perform repairs and federally mandated Coast Guard inspections. Per Coast Guard regulations, the J-Mack ferry cannot operate until the boat is dry-docked, the hull has been inspected at its 5-year interval, and the inspection is completed. The Delta’s companion ferry, the Real McCoy Ferry (SR-84) can be used for crossings, while the J-Mack Ferry is out of service.
• MOOMAT AHIKO WAY (Santa Monica) (FB/LA Street Names). It might look half Arabic and half Japanese, but Moomat Ahiko is all Native American. In 2004, the City of Santa Monica received 97 entries in an online survey to name the road that connects PCH to Ocean Avenue.
• Traffic Lanes to Switch Again on U.S. 395 Near Cartago Drivers are reminded the speed limit through the project area is 55 mph (Sierra Wave). There are changes coming next week to traffic flow on U.S. 395 through Olancha and Cartago. Southbound U.S. 395 traffic will switch onto the new southbound lanes of the Olancha Cartago 4-Lane Expressway Project starting October 7. With this switch, Caltrans will open a new road connecting the new southbound lanes to old U.S. 395 and State Route 190.
• One of SoCal’s most beautiful highways has been closed for decades (SF Gate). After winding beyond the city limits of Azusa, state Route 39 quickly transports drivers from Los Angeles County suburbia to a twisting, two-lane forest road that travels into the depths of the San Gabriel Mountains. The highway passes the San Gabriel Reservoir, travels alongside the San Gabriel River, and eventually reaches Crystal Lake and the Crystal Lake Cafe about 25 miles north of Azusa, where families flock in the winter months to play in the snow. And then, the highway just ends.
• ＄ San Rafael highway connector project study begins (Marin IJ). A project designed to unclog a key highway logjam in San Rafael is on the right track, county residents said at a meeting this week. The feedback came after a Transportation Authority of Marin “scoping session” on Tuesday revealed greater detail about potential connectivity improvements between northbound Highway 101 and eastbound Interstate 580. Residents said they liked that planners are focusing on improvements to Bellam Boulevard, the eastern San Rafael street that is routinely overwhelmed by the mixing of local and commuter traffic. “This represents a substantial change that they’re listening to the community, and they’re listening to San Rafael,” Jeff Rhoads, a San Rafael resident, said of project planners.
• ＄ Route 78-Interstate 5 interchange project stalls: ‘We have gone back to the drawing board again’ (MSN/San Diego U-T). A solution for the congestion that regularly clogs the state Route 78 access to Interstate 5 in Oceanside is more than a decade in the future, and North County drivers are not pleased. Preliminary planning began in 2012 for onramps to replace the traffic lights that back up traffic entering southbound I-5 from the westbound lanes of the 78 and from eastbound Vista Way. However, more public engagement, traffic studies, an environmental impact report and, perhaps most important, funding are needed, Caltrans officials said. Construction is tentatively set for 2033-2037. “This project has started and stopped a few times,” said Steve Welborn, public affairs manager and legislative affairs liaison for Caltrans, in a presentation last week to the Oceanside Chamber of Commerce. “We have gone back to the drawing board again.”
• Route 371 Complete Streets – Engagement Phase (Caltrans Engagement Portal). This project proposes to study multimodal transportation improvements, including but not limited to; a Class I two-way shared use path exclusively for bicyclists and pedestrians adjacent to SR-371 but separated from the roadway (including culvert repairs / extensions as needed); Class II bike lanes with painted buffer; sidewalks through the town of Anza; high visibility crosswalks where appropriate; and shoulder widening where needed to accommodate bike lanes. An existing marked crosswalk at Contreras Road will be upgraded for higher visibility, along with upgrading existing curb ramps to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. Additional improvements are proposed at existing bus stop locations as Caltrans intends to engage with partners to evaluate the viability of transit services to destinations along the route.
• I-5 North County Enhancements Project (LA Metro). Santa Clarita, which is now the third-largest city in LA County, is expected to increase its population by more than 25,000 people by 2035 as documented in the City of Santa Clarita’s One Vision One Valley Plan. To prepare for this increase and relieve congestion in the Santa Clarita Valley, Metro and Caltrans District 7, will be making operational and safety enhancements along the Interstate 5 (I-5) freeway in the northern part of LA County from the State Route 14 (SR-14) interchange in Santa Clarita to just south of Parker Rd in Castaic.

• Caltrans seeks input on project to remove racist Bay Area freeway (SF Gate). Caltrans reached its next steps to remove one of the worst freeways in the country and make right what Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee once called a “scourge on the East Bay.” The government agency is asking Bay Area residents to answer a survey about Interstate 980 and its impact on the community as part of its Vision 980 Study. The freeway is highly criticized for ostracizing residents in the predominantly Black neighborhood of West Oakland. For years, community organizations have called for its demolition. “Today, I-980 represents a painful physical monument to the segregation and discrimination of generations past,” Caltrans wrote in a statement.
• Caltrans report details strategy for wildlife connectivity (MSN). A recent report identified over 140 locations statewide where wildlife connectivity is in need of improvement, the California Department of Transportation announced Monday. Caltrans and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are attempting to help animals in the state’s very biodiverse environment with a strategy to reduce connectivity barriers throughout California’s sprawling network of roadways, walls and fences. “Caltrans is seeking opportunities to better integrate our highway system with the State’s diverse natural environment,” Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said in a statement. “It is our responsibility to improve passageways for wildlife that live and migrate along our shared ecosystem, and remediation efforts highlighted in this report will help honor our goal to provide a world class transportation system that serves all people and respects the environment.”
• UPDATE: Work to upgrade the Joshua Street Bridge in Hesperia has been canceled (Victor Valley News). UPDATE 10/14: Caltrans Officials announced that work to upgrade the Joshua Street Bridge in Hesperia has been canceled. There will be no freeway or road closures. Motorists are advised to stay tuned for future updates. HESPERIA, Calif. (VVNG.com) — Commuters will notice slowdowns on Interstate 15 (I-15) as Caltrans begins work to upgrade the Joshua Street Bridge in San Bernardino County. This work is part of a $6.6 million Bridge Maintenance Project funded through Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, that refurbishes and upgrades three existing bridges on the I-15 and I-40.
• Caltrans cancels Hesperia bridge project; I-15 to remain open (Victorville Daily Press). After the announcement of a full bridge and lane closures on Interstate 15 in Hesperia for the demolition and rebuild of the Joshua Street bridge, Caltrans abruptly canceled the project. Caltrans officials on Monday offered no reason when it announced the cancellation of the project scheduled to begin Friday, Oct. 18. After the announcement of a full bridge and lane closures on Interstate 15 in Hesperia for the demolition and rebuild of the Joshua Street bridge, Caltrans abruptly canceled the project. “Sorry for the inconvenience,” the agency stated. “Please stay tuned for future updates.” Planned bridge work would have fully closed the bridge and I-15 to traffic on certain days through late November.
• Caltrans awards millions to 28 Bay Area clean transportation projects (The Bay Link Blog). Caltrans will award $206 million for 149 local, clean transportation projects to reduce pollution, especially in disadvantaged communities across the state. The funding brings the state’s total investment for these types of projects to more than $1 billion in the last decade. “Thanks to California’s Cap-and-Trade Program, more clean transit is coming to communities impacted most by pollution, Gov. Gavin Newsom said. “With more than $1 billion invested in clean transit in our communities, we’re bettering the health and day-to-day lives of countless Californians.” Bay Area projects include:
• ＄ West Marin bridge plan heads to California Coastal Commission (Marin I-J). The California Department of Transportation has completed the final design of a long-planned project to replace the Lagunitas Creek Bridge in West Marin. The 95-year-old crossing on Highway 1 serves as the gateway to Point Reyes Station. The bridge, which is also known as “the green bridge,” crosses the creek just north of the Sir Francis Drake Boulevard turn toward Inverness and the coast. About 35 residents attended a recent meeting at the Dance Palace in Point Reyes Station to learn more about the project. Caltrans is now taking its plans to the California Coastal Commission for permit approval. “The bridge is not seismically fit, and retrofit is not an option because of its age,” said Matt O’Donnell, a Caltrans spokesperson. “It will be a complete teardown and rebuild. It will be much safer, and ADA-compliant once it’s finished.” ADA is the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• ＄ Best Project, Highway/Bridge: CA State Route 70 Stormwater and Safety Improvement project (Engineering News-Record). A half-mile corridor of CA-70 adjacent to the Feather River had long been prone to washout by high river flows during the rainy season. Scope of work on this $28.3-million stormwater and safety improvement project included a half-mile soldier-pile retaining wall that averages 17 ft in height with a 12-in.-thick cast-in-place wall facing. The wall, which also protects a newly realigned section of highway and prevents bank scour, features a rock pattern finish to match the native environment. The bidding process was delayed as a result of the second-largest wildfire in state history, the Dixie Fire, which burned nearly 1 million acres on and around the project location. That left the site unsuitable to visit for the contractor’s estimators, so the project’s scope couldn’t be evaluated as planned in July 2021 and instead had to be pushed to November. This forced the contract timeline to be pushed back to a less optimal midsummer 2022 start, shortening the time to perform work before winter.
• Tulare County Receives $98 Million as California U.S. Senator Alex Padilla Announces Over $200 Million for Highway Improvements in Bay Area and Central Valley (Gold Rush Cam).  On Thursday, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) announced that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will receive over $203 million for two highway infrastructure projects in Redwood City and Tulare, California. The federal investments will fund critical infrastructure upgrades for the State Route (SR) 84-U.S. 101 interchange and support roadway improvements for SR 99 and the Paige Avenue multimodal interchange. The grants come from the Department of Transportation’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) grant program, which received a substantial funding increase through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• California Allocates Nearly $1.2 Billion to Transportation Projects, Investments to Improve Infrastructure Across State (Caltrans). The California Transportation Commission (CTC) on Friday allocated approximately $3.8 billion for projects that will continue to refurbish the state’s transportation infrastructure, enhance safety and create more options for the traveling public. The projects will improve coastal rail lines, freight corridors, bridges, highway interchanges and system enhancements aimed to increase accessibility for multi-modal users. […] Among the projects approved include improvements for locations along the coastal LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo) rail corridor, four hydrogen fueling stations near the I-215/SR-60 interchange, a freeway-to-freeway connector linking southbound SR-99 to westbound SR-58 in Bakersfield, a Class 4 bikeway in Redding and a bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing in Berkeley. Other projects include:
• CA: Caltrans creates equity tool to learn from past infrastructure mistakes (Mass Transit). Mistakes of the past allowed freeways to run through minority neighborhoods, amplified racial inequities and created transit gaps, particularly in neighborhoods of color. A new tool developed by the California Department of Transportation seeks to ensure such errors in transportation planning and decisions don’t happen again. The Caltrans Transportation Equity Index is the result of the agency’s acknowledgement nearly four years ago that underserved neighborhoods and Black and Latino communities often experience fewer benefits and a greater share of negative impacts, such as air pollution and traffic congestion, associated with the state’s transportation system.
• California Invests Nearly $4 Billion to Improve State’s Rail Corridors, Bridges, Roadways, and Pathways (MSN/Times of San Diego). The state’s transportation infrastructure got a big financial boost Friday, when the California Transportation Commission announced that it had allocated about $3.8 billion in state and federal funds to improve coastal rails lines, bridges, and highway systems, and more. The project is intended to enhance safety and create more public travel options. The projects approved in San Diego include improvements for the 5 from the Camino de la Plaza to the Via de la Valle exits and the 805 from Telegraph Canyon Rd. to Federal Blvd., the rehabilitation of several pedestrian bridges, and the repair of cracked pavements and asphalt. It will also be used to improve locations along the coastal LOSSAN rail corridor.
• California Invests Nearly $4 Billion to Improve Train Corridors, Bridges, Roadways, and Walking and Bicycle Pathways (The Santa Barbara Independent). The California Transportation Commission (CTC) has allocated approximately $3.8 billion for projects that will continue to refurbish the state’s transportation infrastructure, enhance safety and create more options for the traveling public. The projects will improve coastal rail lines, freight corridors, bridges, highway interchanges and system enhancements aimed to increase accessibility for multi-modal users. […] Among the projects approved include improvements for locations along the coastal LOSSAN (Los Angeles-San Diego-San Luis Obispo) rail corridor, four hydrogen fueling stations near the I-215/SR-60 interchange, a freeway-to-freeway connector linking southbound SR-99 to westbound SR-58 in Bakersfield, a Class 4 bikeway in Redding and a bicycle/pedestrian overcrossing in Berkeley. The latest CTC-approved projects also include:
• Caltrans continues exploratory drilling on the Novato Creek Bridge Replacement project (MSN/Vallejo Times Herald). Caltrans is scheduled to continue exploratory drilling on the Novato Creek Bridge Replacement project on State Route 37 this week to help determine the replacement bridge’s foundation requirements. A full closure of Eastbound SR-37 began Tuesday and is scheduled to continue through Thursday morning. If additional drilling is needed, tentative work is scheduled from Monday through Thursday, Oct. 24. Caltrans will send out a new advisory if that work is needed. Drivers should take the US-101 off-ramp at Atherton Avenue. Take a right onto Atherton Avenue and follow Atherton until you re-enter SR-37 at Black Point.
• ＄ American Canyon looks to relieve Highway 29 traffic (Napa Valley Register). American Canyon officials don’t want the public to think the city has forgotten about the long-talked-about Newell Drive extension to help take traffic off congested Highway 29. The City Council heard an update last week. It became apparent the final link is nowhere near to a groundbreaking ceremony. “We are still working on it in the background, but there are some monumental issues that we have to overcome,” City Manager Jason Holley said. A Newell Drive extension east of Highway 29 would create a 2.5-mile parallel route for local traffic. A completed road would run from American Canyon Road north to Highway 29 near Green Island Road. “It’s really not just an American Canyon project, but one that will benefit the entire region,” Holley said. Currently, Newell Drive runs from American Canyon Road to the Watson Ranch community, where road segments are being built within city limits. The sticking point is a segment-to-be beyond the city boundary that would connect to the highway.
• Caltrans to Begin South Hayfork Culverts Project on State Route 3 (Redheaded Blackbelt). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans District 2) and Robert J. Frank Construction, Inc. are preparing to begin work on the South Hayfork Culverts Project on State Route 3 in Trinity County. The $416k project will provide culvert replacement at five locations near Hayfork, from 2 miles north of the junction with State Route 36 to 0.6 mile south of Morgan Hill Road. Construction activities are currently planned to start Monday, October 28th. Motorists will encounter one-way traffic control with approximately 5-minute delays, Monday through Friday between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. daily. Motorists 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 November, pending weather.
• Caltrans continues construction on Highway 32 (MSN/Chino Enterprise Record). Caltrans is continuing with a $24.8 million safety improvement project along Highway 32 in Chico. There will be delays for drivers in both directions in the construction zone. Traffic control occurs between 7 p.m. and 6 a.m. from Meridian Road to River Road. Construction dates are Oct. 21-25, Oct. 28 and Nov. 3-7. Caltrans says drivers should be careful in the construction zone. The goal is to have the work done before Thanksgiving and to improve safety and reduce the amount of collisions on Highway 32. The upgrades include enhanced lighting, a traffic signal at the Meridian Road intersection, extended deceleration lanes, new pavement and culvert repairs. These upgrades will provide safer travel for drivers, bicyclists and pedestrians.
• The highest point of California’s Highway 101 is slowly crumbling away (SF Gate). U.S. Route 101, California’s longest highway, stretches 808 miles from sunny Los Angeles to foggy Crescent City at the Oregon border. This iconic road is one of the original national routes established in 1926, much of which traces the path that connected California’s mission system. Just north of the Ukiah Valley in Mendocino County, travelers on U.S. 101 ascend nearly 1,500 feet to Ridgewood Summit, the highest mountain pass along this historic highway at 1,956 feet. The summit marks the gateway to the Mendocino mountain range, with the Russian River flowing to the south and the Eel River to the north — two crucial arteries for the North Coast’s ecosystem. The altitude and remoteness of the pass often bring severe weather and hazardous driving conditions, but below the asphalt of this dangerous pass lies a rich history, filled with tales of albino deer, a century-old mining operation, thoroughbred racehorses and notorious bandits.
• This busy Southern California freeway is about get a lot smoother (KTLA). Drivers through Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley have a new reason to celebrate. Caltrans has begun work to smooth the grooves that have irked motorists along the 101 Freeway for more than a year. The grooves, which look and feel like rumble strips, are relics from a multiyear project to replace the concrete median barrier along a 19.3-mile stretch of the freeway from Hollywood to Calabasas. The impact of crypto in the 2024 election Caltrans shifted traffic patterns during construction which required temporary lane stripes, spokesperson James Medina explained to KTLA.
• California Congressman Jim Costa Announces $98 Million for Tulare’s State Route 99 – Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (Gold Rush Cam). Congressman Jim Costa (CA-21) has announced $98 million to widen State Route 99 in Tulare County at the Paige Avenue multimodal interchange, relieving traffic congestion for San Joaquin Valley drivers. This funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) grant program and is significantly strengthened by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. “Thanks to the support of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are taking significant steps toward creating a more efficient and reliable transportation network for our community,” said Rep. Jim Costa. “This vital funding will directly benefit the people of Tulare County by reducing traffic congestion and improving access to local businesses and essential services.”
• Caltrans widening of Highway 29 may see diversion of big rig traffic from Hwy 20 (Lake County Record Bee). In an October 21 press release, Caltrans issued a memo that alerted District 1 communities of impending funding for various road improvement projects. District 1 Public Information Officer Manny Machado informed the Lake County Administration Office that $40.5 million including more than $22.2 million in federal IIJA (The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) support allocations shall go toward the construction of Segment 2B of the Lake 29 Expressway, to widen a 3-mile section of Highway 29 from two to four lanes and other improvements near Kelseyville in Lake County. In addition, Caltrans noted there is $1.4 million including $51,000 in California Senate Bill 1 funding in support allocations toward pavement repair, sign, guardrail, culvert and other roadway improvements on Highway 29 from Spruce Grove Road to Diener Drive near Clear Lake in Lake County.
• ＄ Agoura Hills wildlife crossing spans the 101, but much work remains (Los Angeles Times). It doesn’t take a hawk eye to recognize that the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills is not your normal Caltrans project. For one thing, there’s the color. Most Caltrans structures are the light gray of natural concrete. But to reduce reflectivity and help the crossing blend in more with the surrounding land, the new crossing’s 27 million pounds of concrete have been colored a shade dubbed “dusty mocha” by the project’s lead designer, Robert Rock, a landscape architect for Chicago-based Rock Design Associates. The official name, however, is Federal Standard Color 595-33105, a hue “inspired,” Rock said, by the soil around the crossing that will eventually provide wildlife safe passage between the Santa Monica Mountains to the south and the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains to the north when the project is completed.
• Granite secures $21 million contract for California highway (Investing.com). Granite Construction Incorporated (NYSE:GVA) has secured a contract worth approximately $21 million from the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) for the rehabilitation of a stretch of State Route 99 (SR 99) in Tulare, California. The project, which is expected to begin in November 2024, involves the refurbishment of three miles of the highway and is funded by federal sources. The contract outlines a comprehensive overhaul of both the northbound and southbound lanes, including the removal of the existing pavement by cold planing. The company plans to lay down 56,300 tons of hot mix asphalt (HMA) and a top layer of 7,200 tons of rubberized hot mix asphalt (RHMA). Additionally, thirteen ramps along the route will be repaved, and 2,500 cubic yards of jointed plain concrete pavement will replace concrete pavement at ten undercrossings.
• California doles out $3.8B for transportation improvements (Construction Dive). The California Transportation Commission allocated $3.8 billion in funding for bridge, highway, rail and freight corridor improvements, according to an Oct. 21 news release. Of the total, about $3.5 billion will flow from the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, with another $330 million coming from California’s Senate Bill 1, passed in 2017 to repair roads and other transportation infrastructure throughout the state. It provides approximately $5 billion in funding annually from a state gas tax.
• The history of the Grapevine and its predecessor — the Old Ridge Road (MSN/LAist). If you’ve ever driven up to Central or Northern California, you’ve most likely taken the Grapevine, the 40-mile stretch of the 5 Freeway between Castaic and Kern County. But before it was the Grapevine that we know today, there was another road known as the Old Ridge Route. The Ridge Route was built in 1915 as automobiles became the dominant mode of transportation. It was a treacherous road that hugged the mountains, and although certain sections of the pass have been closed over safety concerns, curious drivers can still travel parts of the Old Ridge Route today.
• SR 47 Interchange Project (Port of Los Angeles). The Port of Los Angeles and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) began work in March 2024 on a $130 million transportation project to reconfigure a major interchange at State Route 47/Vincent Thomas Bridge and Front Street/Harbor Boulevard in San Pedro. This interchange currently provides access to San Pedro, Wilmington, Terminal Island and services the West Basin Container Terminal. The reconfiguration will reduce travel times, alleviate congestion and improve motorist and pedestrian safety at this highly traveled roadway juncture. The reconfiguration will replace an existing southbound SR 47 off-ramp from the Vincent Thomas Bridge, currently located on the south side, with a new off-ramp located on the north side. Additional improvements include realigning the existing on-ramp to northbound I-110 connector; modifying the northbound SR 47 off-ramp onto Harbor Boulevard; and modifying the northbound SR 47 on-ramp onto the bridge toward Terminal Island.
• Should California give up on Highway 1? (University of California). Drive along California’s Pacific Coast Highway and you’ll catch some of America’s most iconic views. But you’re just as likely to catch yourself turning your car around and heading back the way you came. The 71-mile section of highway between Carmel and San Simeon is a legendarily scenic drive, but the dramatic topography also makes it hard to keep the road intact: landslides and washouts have closed Highway 1 through Big Sur dozens of times the road first opened in 1937. A landslide in Februrary 2024 covered the road at an area called Regent’s Slide; another stretch of road crumbled off a cliff at Rocky Creek a month later, temporarily stranding about a thousand people and their cars between the two landslides. Caltrans now estimates the highway won’t fully reopen until sometime in 2025.
• ＄＄ Caltrans begins Red Bluff bridges seismic retrofit project (Red Bluff Daily News). Text unretrieveable. 
• Improved Road Conditions Await Travelers on 32-Mile Stretch of U.S. 395 Near Coso Junction (Caltrans). Drivers will experience a smoother drive on U.S. 395 in southern Inyo County as Caltrans ended construction on the Dunmovin Thin Blanket Project. The primary focus of the $10 million-project was to improve the integrity and extend the life of the highway between Coso Junction and Haiwee Canyon Road. Contractors patched and repaired more than 32 lane miles of existing pavement before applying 33,025 tons of hot-mix asphalt overlay at a depth of 1.68 inches. The combined overlay and patch work will extend the highway’s service life by up to 15 years. In addition to the road repair the contractors also replaced 670 feet of guardrail with new end treatments and 43.5 miles of thermoplastic striping for enhanced night visibility. The Dunmovin Thin Blanket Project is the second of two SB 1 projects to complete construction in Inyo County this year. As winter approaches, drivers should notice that flood waters have all but disappeared on State Route 168, thanks to a series of innovative, low-water crossings Caltrans built in places where water historically flows during storms.
• Vincent Thomas Bridge over Los Angeles Harbor to close for 16 months (KTLA). The Vincent Thomas Bridge, a crucial traffic artery that provides connectivity between Los Angeles and its shipping centers, will close for over a year for critical deck replacements, Caltrans announced this week. The bridge will undergo a 16-month construction project to replace the bridge’s aging and deteriorating deck beginning in “late 2025 or early 2026.” The Vincent Thomas Bridge connects San Pedro with Long Beach as part of Highway 47 and is one of the busiest bridges in California. The bridge has been in service for 60 years, but its concrete deck is “rapidly” deteriorating due to the number of heavy vehicles that use it daily and the marine environment it crosses. The deck replacement will ensure that Los Angeles’ official “welcoming monument” remains structurally sound for continued use, Caltrans said.
• San Francisco’s surprisingly difficult quest to turn a century-old highway into a park (MSN/Grist). On a chilly weekend in mid-September, the wind-blasted dunes of San Francisco’s Ocean Beach loomed over the Great Highway — two lanes that run along the Pacific coast in either direction separated by a median of sand and ice plant succulents. In a section of the southbound lanes, the Autumn Moon Festival reverberated with a DJ’s tunes. Birds squawked in formation overhead, and squealing children tumbled down the dunes and scribbled the road with chalk. From the top of the sandy bumps, between clumps of beachgrass, you could see massive container ships sailing out of the Golden Gate and into that famous fog. The evening represented a compromise. In the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, the city of San Francisco closed the Great Highway and turned it into a promenade, much as other cities blocked off roads to let people roam freely and resist the urge to gather indoors. When lockdowns eased and life returned to a new kind of normal in 2021, the city reduced the closure of the highway to holidays and weekends, beginning every Friday at noon and ending on Mondays at 6 a.m. Drivers got to keep a traffic artery in western San Francisco, and pedestrians, rollerbladers, and cyclists got their weekend fun.
• Bay Bridge work focuses on suspension cables (The Bay Link Blog). Beneath the western approach to the Bay Bridge on San Francisco’s Rincon Hill, workers atop scaffolding in a makeshift, white-tarped tent are pounding wedges into the span’s main suspension cables to determine if corrosion has damaged the thousands of steel wires that comprise each cable. It’s the first time the insides of the cables have been inspected since the bridge opened in 1936. The $21.6 million investigation by Caltrans and the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) started last month and is expected to conclude in June of 2025. The project is funded with toll dollars.

Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer)

• Former California State Route 29 on Washington Street in Yountville. Yountville is a city located in Napa Valley along California State Route 29. When the highway was commissioned in 1934 it originally passed through the community via Washington Street. Yountville would be bypassed during 1959 when the first two lanes of the St. Helena Highway were completed. The current freeway grade of California State Route 29 in Yountville was built over the original alignment of the Napa Valley Railroad. Pictured as the blog cover is the 1888 Southern Pacific Railroad Depot which can be found on Washington Street.
• Grant Avenue in San Francisco and Chinatown’s Dragon Gate. The Dragon Gate is a structure found along Grant Avenue at the southern boundary of Chinatown approaching Bush Street. The structure is in the style of a traditional pailou and was dedicated during October 1970. Chinatown is one of the oldest neighborhoods in San Francisco and traditionally has been centered around Grant Avenue. Grant Avenue previously was known as Dupont Street and Calle de la Fundación.
• Mines Road. Mines Road is an approximately twenty-eight-mile highway located in the rural parts of the Diablo Range east of the San Francisco Bay Area. Mines Road begins in San Antonio Valley in Santa Clara County and terminates at Tesla Road near Livermore of Alameda County. The highway essentially is a modern overlay of the 1840s Mexican haul trail up Arroyo Mocho known as La Vereda del Monte. The modern corridor of Mines Road took shape in the early twentieth century following development of San Antonio Valley amid a magnesite mining boom.
• Marsh Creek Road. Marsh Creek Road is an approximately twenty-one-mile rural highway in the Diablo Range of Contra Costa County, California. The roadway begins in the city of Clayton near Mount Diablo and follows the namesake Marsh Creek to the outskirts of Discovery Bay. Since 2012 a portion of Marsh Creek Road between Vasco Road and Byron Road has been signed as part of California State Route 4. The highway is named after Alta California settler John Marsh who settled in the area during 1838.
• Echo Valley Road (Monterey County). Echo Valley Road is an approximately three mile connecting highway through the Gablian Range in the Prunedale area. The corridor begins at Monterey County Route G12 at San Miguel Canyon Road and extends east to an interchange located at US Route 101. Echo Valley Road originated near the founding of Prunedale during the 1890s but did not become a modernized roadway until the middle of the twentieth century.
• Former California State Route 41 over the 1910 Estrella River Bridge. The 1910 Estrella River Bridge is a truss span located in San Luis Obispo County which carried the original alignment of California State Route 41. The structure was added to the State Highway System in 1916 as Legislative Route Number 33 and was assigned to the corridor of California State Route 41 in 1934. The structure was bypassed in 1957 when the first unit of an expressway out of Paso Robles reached the Estrella River. During 2020 the 1910 Estrella River Bridge was restored and modernized by San Luis Obispo County.
• Abandoned Sylvan Road (Monterey, California). Sylvan Road is a corridor located largely in the hills south of downtown Monterey, California. The corridor was developed during the early 1940s as road which looped California State Route 1 from Munras Avenue to Fremont Avenue via the Del Monte Golf Course. Modern developments around La Mesa Village have led to two segments of roadway which once served as a through route being abandoned.

This entry was originally posted on Observations Along the Road as Headlines About California Highways – October 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.