Observations Along The Road... at Dreamwidth

Now that 2025 is in the rearview mirror, it’s time for the last highway page update for 2025. This cycle, whose changes are detailed on the December 2025 Change Page with proper formatting, or just pasted below, covers November through December 2025. Enjoy, and as always, “ready, set, discuss”.

Next up: Continuing work on the California Highways: Route by Route Season 4 episodes. The background research is done, and next up is writing the last episodes of the season (the last two episodes on Route 12, Route 13, and Route 14). Episode 4.05, on the Santa Monica Freeway, is recorded and awaiting editing. Look for that episode to be posted at the end of next week.

On to the changelog:

This update covers the rest of October, November, and December 2025. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. 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 podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update in mid-October:

• November | CA RxR 4.02: I-8 and US 80 Between El Cajon and the Arizona Border. This is Episode 4.02, which continues our exploration of Route 8, better known as Interstate 8. In this episode, we focus on the portion of I-8 from La Mesa (just outside of San Diego) to the Arizona border. We look at not only current I-8, but the routing of the predecessor route, US 80. We discuss the communities of La Mesa and El Cajon, Alpine and Descanso, Boulevard, the Mountain Springs Grade, Jacumba, Ocatillo (with a digression on the Imperial Highway), El Centro, Holtville and the Algondenes Dunes (with a digression on the Plank Road), Winterhaven and Yuma. We also briefly talk about the interesting routing of US 80 within Arizona, and how it differs from I-8. We talk about historical routings, projects along the route, and some significant names. In the next episode, we’ll turn our attention to Route 9, which currently runs from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos, but which once ran all the way to Castro Valley. (Spotify for Creators)
• November | CA RxR 4.03: Route 9: Santa Cruz and Saratoga. Episode 4.03 starts a pair of episodes that explore Route 9, which in its post-1964 version runs from Santa Cruz to Saratoga and Los Gatos. Before 1964, Route 9 continued N up to the Mountain View area, and then across to Milpitas, and up to the Castro Valley. This episode (4.03) covers the current Route 9 from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos; the next episode (4.04) covers the remainder of pre-1964 Sign Route 9 through Mountain View, Milpitas, and up through Hayward and the Castro Valley. This episode also explores the 9^th State Route between Peanut and Kuntz (now Mad River), and LRN 9. LRN 9 ran all the way from Ventura to San Bernardino, and was Sign Route 118 from Ventura to Pasadena, and US 66 from Pasadena to San Bernardino. As always, we’ll talk about historical routings, projects along the route, and some significant names. As noted, the next episode explores the remainder of pre-1964 Sign Route 9 from Saratoga through Milpitas to the Castro Valley. (Spotify for Creators)
• December | CA RxR 4.04: Route 9: Pre-1964 – Milpitas to Castro Valley. Episode 4.04 is our second episode exploring Route 9, which in its post-1964 version runs from Santa Cruz to Saratoga and Los Gatos. Before 1964, Route 9 continued N up to the Mountain View area, and then across to Milpitas, and up to the Castro Valley. The previous episode covered post-1964 Route 9 (and the first segment of pre-1964 Sign Route 9) from Santa Cruz to Saratoga and then into Los Gatos, as well as all the 9^th State Route and LRN 9. This episode (4.04) covers the pre-1964 Route 9 portions N of Saratoga: Sign Route 9 through Mountain View, Milpitas, and up through Hayward and the Castro Valley. This portion of Sign Route 9 became Route 85, Route 237, Route 17/I-880/I-680 (in portions) and Route 238. The next pair of episodes will be covering I-10, with episode 4.05 covering the Santa Monica Freeway portion, and episode 4.06 covering the San Bernardino Freeway portion. (Spotify for Creators)

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers and my research for the fourth season of the podcast in October, November, and December 2025 (which are posted to the roadgeeking category at the “Observations Along The Road” and to the California Highways Facebook group) as well as any backed up email changes. I also reviewed the the AAroads forum (Ꜳ). This resulted in changes on the following routes, with credit as indicated [my research^(ℱ), contributions of information or leads (via direct mail or ꜲRoads) from Graham Bakulin⁽²⁾, DTComposer⁽³⁾, Tom Fearer⁽⁴⁾, Metro I-5 North County Enhancements Project⁽⁵⁾, Adrian Ople (City of Brawley)⁽⁶⁾, Mike Palmer⁽⁷⁾, Will Poundstone⁽⁸⁾]: Route 1^(ℱ), Route 2^(ℱ), Route 4^(ℱ,4), I-5^(ℱ,5), US 6^(ℱ), I-15^(ℱ), Route 16⁽⁴⁾, Route 22^(ℱ), Route 24⁽⁴⁾, Route 26^(ℱ), Route 27^(ℱ), Route 33⁽⁴⁾, Route 37^(ℱ), Route 38^(ℱ), Route 39^(ℱ), Route 41^(ℱ), Route 47^(ℱ,7), Route 49^(ℱ), US 50^(ℱ), LRN 50^(ℱ), Route 51^(ℱ), Route 52^(ℱ), Route 57^(ℱ), Route 59⁽⁴⁾, Route 64^(ℱ), Route 70^(ℱ,4), Route 78^(ℱ), I-80^(ℱ), Route 82^(ℱ), Route 84^(ℱ), US 99^(ℱ), Route 99⁽⁴⁾, US 101^(ℱ), Route 110^(ℱ), Route 116^(ℱ), Route 118^(ℱ), Route 120^(ℱ), Route 121^(ℱ), Route 131^(ℱ), Route 134^(ℱ), Route 135^(ℱ), Route 170^(ℱ), Route 180⁽⁴⁾, LRN 183⁽²⁾, Route 185^(ℱ), Route 187^(ℱ), Route 198^(ℱ), Route 217^(ℱ), Route 240^(ℱ), Route 247^(ℱ), Route 258^(ℱ), Route 260⁽⁴⁾, Route 275⁽⁴⁾, I-280^(ℱ), I-380⁽³⁾, US 395^(ℱ), I-405^(ℱ), I-580^(ℱ), I-605^(ℱ), I-680^(ℱ), I-710^(ℱ,8), I-780^(ℱ), County Sign Route J1⁽⁴⁾, County Sign Route J6⁽⁴⁾, County Sign Route J16⁽⁴⁾, County Sign Route J17⁽⁴⁾, County Sign Route S17⁽⁶⁾.
(Source: private email through 1/1/2026, Highway headline posts through and including the December 2025 Headline post, AARoads through 1/1/2026)

Continued work on Season 4 of the Route by Route podcast. Research for and preparation of the episodes for the back half of the season (covering Route 11 through Route 14) resulted in changes and updates to the following routes: Route 12, Route 13, Route 14, Route 24, Route 29, I-110, Route 116, Route 121, LRN 7, LRN 12, LRN 13, LRN 51, LRN 74, LRN 104.

Added an interesting link to the maps page: Old Insurance Maps. This can provide some interesting comparisons of highway routing to redlining.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site, for bills through 2025-12-29. As usual, I recommend to every Californian that they visit the legislative website regularly and see what their legis-critters are doing. As many people are unfamiliar with how the legislature operates (and why there are so many “non-substantive changes” and “gut and amend” bills), I’ve added the legislative calendar (updated for 2025) to the end of the Pending Legislation page. Noted the passage of the following bills / resolutions:

• SB 695 (Cortese) Transportation: climate resiliency: projects of statewide and regional significance.
  Existing law establishes the State Transportation Infrastructure Climate Adaptation Program, administered by the Department of Transportation, for purposes of planning, developing, and implementing projects adapting state transportation infrastructure to climate change. Existing law requires the department, in consultation with, among others, the Transportation Agency and the California Transportation Commission, to develop a program of its top priority climate adaptation projects and to submit projects in this program to the commission for adoption. Existing law requires the department, in developing the program of projects, to consider specified criteria, including, but not limited to, the benefits of the project to preserving or enhancing regional or statewide mobility, economy, goods movement, and safety, and other benefits associated with protecting the asset.

  This bill would require the department, in consultation with the commission and the agency, and on or before July 1, 2026, and annually thereafter, to create a prioritized list of projects of statewide and regional significance, as defined, to better prepare the state for extreme weather-related events, with priority based on specified criteria. The bill would require the department, on or before January 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, to submit to the Legislature a report containing the prioritized list of projects.

  10/13/25 Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 781, Statutes of 2025.

Reviewed the online agenda of the California Coastal Commission for the November and December meetings. There were no items related to state highways in the reviewed agendas.

November is now in the books. This means two things: It is now less than a week away before ACSAC (Annual Computer Security Applications Conference), and holiday movies and music have started. I’m looking forward to the former, for which I’m local arrangements and registration chair (although it is a lot of work); much less so to the latter (because if one doesn’t observe Christmas, the hoopla over the holiday becomes a bit obsessive). That said, whatever holiday you are observing during this month of holidays: I hope it is happy, meaningful, and celebrated with those you love and care about.

I’m continuing to work on podcast episodes. I’ve currently working on writing the first episode on Route 12, leaving two more on Route 12, one on Route 13, and one on Route 14 to go. I’ll be getting back to the last round of updates for 2025 as soon as I get back from the conference.

We’ve started Season 4 of the podcast, and we were able to use new recording software  (Zencaster) for episode. I think it sounds better, and I’m hopeful that the next episode will be even better as I now know how to adjust my microphone input better. Let us know what you think. It looks like the regular audience is between 60-70 folks, and I’d love to get that number up (as of today, we’re at 36 for 4.03, 63 for 4.01 and 4.02 and 70 for 3.15), 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. 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 episode has been posted this month:

• November | CA RxR 4.03: Route 9: Santa Cruz and Saratoga. Episode 4.03 starts a pair of episodes that explore Route 9, which in its post-1964 version runs from Santa Cruz to Saratoga and Los Gatos. Before 1964, Route 9 continued N up to the Mountain View area, and then across to Milpitas, and up to the Castro Valley. This episode (4.03) covers the current Route 9 from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos; the next episode (4.04) covers the remainder of pre-1964 Sign Route 9 through Mountain View, Milpitas, and up through Hayward and the Castro Valley. This episode also explores the 9^th State Route between Peanut and Kuntz (now Mad River), and LRN 9. LRN 9 ran all the way from Ventura to San Bernardino, and was Sign Route 118 from Ventura to Pasadena, and US 66 from Pasadena to San Bernardino. As always, we’ll talk about historical routings, projects along the route, and some significant names. As noted, the next episode explores the remainder of pre-1964 Sign Route 9 from Saratoga through Milpitas to the Castro Valley. (Spotify for Podcasters)
• November | CA RxR 4.02: I-8 and US 80 Between El Cajon and the Arizona Border. This is Episode 4.02, which continues our exploration of Route 8, better known as Interstate 8. In this episode, we focus on the portion of I-8 from La Mesa (just outside of San Diego) to the Arizona border. We look at not only current I-8, but the routing of the predecessor route, US 80. We discuss the communities of La Mesa and El Cajon, Alpine and Descanso, Boulevard, the Mountain Springs Grade, Jacumba, Ocatillo (with a digression on the Imperial Highway), El Centro, Holtville and the Algondenes Dunes (with a digression on the Plank Road), Winterhaven and Yuma. We also briefly talk about the interesting routing of US 80 within Arizona, and how it differs from I-8. We talk about historical routings, projects along the route, and some significant names. In the next episode, we’ll turn our attention to Route 9, which currently runs from Santa Cruz to Los Gatos, but which once ran all the way to Castro Valley. (Spotify for Podcasters)

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 November.

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

• Two Weeks After Anniversary of Fatal Malibu Crash, City Could Reject PCH Safety Improvements (Streetsblog Los Angeles). On Monday, November 3, the Malibu Planning Commission will hold a final hearing on the proposed Caltrans Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) Safety Project, a $55 million plan to repave and upgrade the western portion of PCH between Cross Creek Road and the Ventura County line. Find meeting details at the bottom of this article. This PCH project has been in the works for years. Then, after a fatal crash that killed four young women standing along PCH on October 17, 2023, advocates scrambled to get Caltrans to include safety improvements along with the repaving. The project now aims to improve safety and accessibility along the corridor via a range of infrastructure updates. Proposed features include 15 miles of new or upgraded bike lanes, nearly 7,000 linear feet of new sidewalks in high-pedestrian areas including near Pepperdine University, 42 dark-sky compliant light poles, 19 guardrails, 22 curb ramps, three retaining walls, and two realigned intersections. The plan also includes median reconstruction and law enforcement pull-outs at various locations.
• Freeway vs. Highway: Yes, the Difference Matters (Readers Digest). Some road names are regional, but it’s the definitions that matter most. Life is a highway, or so the snappy song by Canadian crooner Tom Cochrane tells us. But what is a highway, exactly? And when it comes to freeways vs. highways, is there a real difference? Living in New York City means I’ve driven on many high-speed roads in the tristate area, from parkways to expressways and everything in between. And I’m here to tell you they are indeed distinct from one another. But don’t take my word for it—I’m no driving expert. (I get more parking tickets than I should and occasionally use the bus lane to pass.) Instead, I’ve tapped Nathan Huynh, PhD, a highway expert and professor of civil engineering at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, to suss out these thoroughfare subtleties, explain regional name differences and tell us why road terms matter.
• ＄ Caltrans cuts ribbon on 395 Olancha-Cartago widening (Ridgecrest Daily Independent). There are safer travels ahead on U.S. 395 in the Owens Valley with the end of major construction on the Olancha-Cartago 4-Lane Expressway Project. This project constructed 12.5 miles of new pavement, replacing the previous two-lane highway with a split 4-lane expressway designed to eliminate cross-centerline crashes. This is the final stretch of U.S. 395 to be converted into a 4-lane expressway in most of Inyo County. “The Olancha Cartago 4-Lane Expressway Project underscores Caltrans’ safety and people-first philosophy,” said Acting District 9 Director Brandon Fitt. “Enhancing safety along this vital roadway improves the quality of life for residents of Olancha and Cartago and provides a better and more efficient travel experience for drivers.”
• Caltrans Commitment to Safety Highlighted in Completion of the Olancha-Cartago 4-Lane Expressway Project (Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News). There are safer travels ahead on U.S. 395 in the Owens Valley with the end of major construction on the Olancha-Cartago 4-Lane Expressway Project. This project constructed 12.5 miles of new pavement, replacing the previous two-lane highway with a split 4-lane expressway designed to eliminate cross-centerline crashes. This is the final stretch of U.S. 395 to be converted into a 4-lane expressway in most of Inyo County. “The Olancha Cartago 4-Lane Expressway Project underscores Caltrans’ safety and people-first philosophy,” said Acting District 9 Director Brandon Fitt. “Enhancing safety along this vital roadway improves the quality of life for residents of Olancha and Cartago and provides a better and more efficient travel experience for drivers.” The new lanes on U.S. 395 closed the gap between existing four-lane sections to the north and south. The upgraded facility will meet future transportation demands as vehicle and freight traffic through the region continues to increase.
• Construction continues for Fanny Bridge near Lake Tahoe; nearby construction also scheduled (2 News Nevada). The Fanny Bridge construction continues in Sunnyside, California, along Lake Tahoe while crews add a permanent sewer line scheduled for Friday, November 7. During this project, cars will detour onto Lake Boulevard bypass to access State Route 89 and State Route 28. According to Caltrans, West Lake Boulevard will remain open for business and for transit center access, with only the Fanny Bridge being closed. The walking and bicycle path across the Truckee River Dam will remain open throughout the project.
• Old Woman Springs Road officially designated “High Desert State Scenic Highway” (Z107.7 FM Joshua Tree). State Route 247, known locally as Old Woman Springs Road, now has a new name. The road that connects Yucca Valley to Barstow will now by known as “High Desert State Scenic Highway.” The Homestead Valley Community Council (HVCC) received word from Caltrans that the road was officially dedicated as “scenic” by the state’s road agency on October 4. The HVCC had been campaigning for the highway to be designated as scenic, and was informed of the designation by San Bernardino County’s Land Use Services on Thursday (October 30).
• Goleta’s San Jose Creek Bridge Set for Major Replacement Project (Edhat). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) will replace the San Jose Creek Bridge along State Route 217 in Goleta, the agency announced on social media on October 27, 2025. The work will require full overnight closures between Hollister Avenue and Sandspit Road on October 28, 2025, and October 30, 2025, from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. The road closures will allow for the installation of precast girders for the new bridge, the City of Goleta said in a statement. The bicycle lane will remain open during the overnight closures.
• Hwy. 1 slide update: Caltrans installs cable nets to prevent falling rocks (SLO Tribune via MSN). Crews continue making progress in stabilizing Regent’s Slide on Highway 1, Caltrans said Wednesday, giving an update on work at the troublesome cliff face that’s contributed to a nearly three-year closure along the Big Sur Coast. of that stretch of the All-American Road and National Scenic Byway. The state road agency still estimates a spring 2026 reopening for through travel from Cambria to the Monterey Bay area, maybe as early as late March. That timing depends on various influences, of course, the most significant of which is weather, because heavy rains can unleash more slides in the geologically unstable area.
• California’s Iconic, Major Interstate With Renowned Views Has Been Named America’s Busiest Highway (Yahoo! News). Similar to Interstate 95 (I-95), the East Coast’s major highway that’s considered one of America’s deadliest, the West Coast’s own Interstate 5 (I-5) stands out, not for danger, but for its sheer volume of traffic. Recently named America’s busiest highway by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), I-5 is more than just a road; it’s a lifeline connecting some of the country’s most vital regions. This 1,381-mile artery isn’t just about logistics, it’s a journey through the heart of the West Coast — and a scenic one at that. From sun-drenched beaches and bustling metropolises to sprawling farmland and snow-capped peaks, I-5 offers an unmatched visual narrative. Travelers along the Pacific Coast experience a true spectrum of the American landscape, especially between Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Santa Ana — the stretch of area under the spotlight in this recent study.

Another three months, another highway page update cycle completed, finishing just after the October 2025 CTC meeting. This cycle, whose changes are detailed on the October 2025 Change Page with proper formatting, or just pasted below, covers August through October 2025. Enjoy, and as always, “ready, set, discuss”.

Next up: Continuing work on the California Highways: Route by Route Season 4 episodes. I’ve written the episodes through 4.06, and recorded 4.01. So next is recording 4.02, writing 4.07, and doing the research for the rest of the season (on Route 12, Route 13, and Route 14).

Note that there’s lots of good stuff buried in the CTC notes, including:

• ♠ (Oct) (3) Approval of Project for Future Consideration of Funding: 01-Men-1, PM 43.3/44.2. Albion River Bridge Project. Replace the Albion River Bridge on Route 1 in Mendocino County near Albion from 3.0 miles north of the Route 128 junction to 0.2 mile north of the Albion River. (FEIR) (PPNO 4490) (SHOPP)
  (Related Items under Ref. 2.5b.(2) and 2.5b.(3))
• ♠ (Oct) (4) Approval of Project for Future Consideration of Funding: 03-Sacramento County. I Street Bridge Replacement Project. New two-lane bridge to replace existing two-lane vehicle crossing.  (FEIR) (PPNO 1809)  (LPP) [Note: This is former Sign Route 24]
• ♠ (Oct) (6) Approval of Project for Future Consideration of Funding: 07-LA-39, PM 40.0/44.4. California State Route 39 (San Gabriel Canyon Road) Reopening Project. Restore and reopen a segment of Route 39 as an evacuation route and for use by the Department, United States Forest Service, and emergency-response personnel. (FEIR) (PPNO 5381) (SHOPP)
  (Related Item under Ref. 2.5b.(2))
• ♠ (Oct) (7) Approval of Project for Future Consideration of Funding: 10-Stanislaus County. 7^th Street Bridge Project. Replace existing structurally deficient two-lane bridge with a four-lane bridge.  (FEIR) (PPNO 1809) (LPP) [Note: This is former US 99]

And, of course, all the financial allocations. It is worth reading through them.

On to the changelog:

This update covers the rest of August, September, and October 2025. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. 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 podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update in early August:

• August | CA RxR 3.14: Freeway Exit (Bonus). Bonus Episode 3.14 continues our inter-season gap between Seasons 3 and 4. This episode we’re sharing an episode of the excellent Freeway Exit podcast from KPBS San Diego. Freeway Exit, hosted by Andrew Bowen, is an exploration of San Diego’s freeways, their costs, and how they can be part of the solution. It covers the forgotten history of the urban freeway network, and how decades after that network was finished, some communities are still working to heal the wounds that freeways left behind. The episode we’ve chosen to share focuses on the Cabrillo Freeway, Route 163, through Balboa Park, and explores the question: Is it time to remove the freeway? After the episode, we have a discussion with Andrew about the podcast, the the San Diego freeway system, and how highways fit into the bigger picture. Oh, and we discover what he is doing next with the podcast, and try to convince him to do one on the Route 710 gap. This episode is also a test of using Zencaster to record the podcast. Hopefully it sounds better, and next time I’ll move my microphone a bit further back. Zencaster also gives us the ability to have transcripts. Would folks want them included in the post? One more bonus episode is in the works: An interview with the LA Metro Archivist. We’ll pick up in the October with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14.  PS: Support KPBS, or your local PBS/NPR Station (Spotify for Podcasters)
• September | CA RxR 3.15: LA Metro Archives (Bonus). A New Year’s Gift for you: Our last Bonus Episode of Season 3. Episode 3.15 features an interview with Claire Kennedy, Archivist for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency (LA Metro). In this role, Claire manages the LA Metro Archives, which date back to the 1800s and the earliest horse-drawn transportation in the city. These archives cover not only the wide variety of transit agencies in Los Angeles, but also the highway and road system as Metro is the Regional Transportation Agency. These archives are a public resource, and are open by appointment; information on how to make an appointment is in the podcast (and below). Note that we had some trouble with Zencastr this episode; we fell back to FreeConferenceCall.com. We’ll pick up in the October with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14. (Spotify for Podcasters)
• October | CA RxR 4.01: I-8, Former Route 109, Route 209, and US 80 in San Diego. Welcome to Season 4 of CA Highways: Route by Route. Episode 4.01 is the first half of our exploration of Route 8. This episode covers the 8th State Highway, which became LRN 36 and later Route 194. It covers LRN 8, which ran from Ignacio (Novato) to Cordelia via Napa, and became parts of Route 37, Route 121, Route 12, and Route 29. We look at Sign Route 8, which became today’s Route 26. And lastly, we look at I-8 in San Diego, including its historical ancestor US 80. This includes former Route 209 to Point Loma, which was part of LRN 12 and possibly US 80, and former Route 109, which became the portion of Route 8 W of I-5 (and you’ll learn why that is not I-8). Episode 4.02 will pick up the story and explore the rest of I-8/US 80 between San Diego and the Arizona Border, including a discussion of the Imperial Highway. (Spotify for Podcasters)

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers and my research for the fourth season of the podcast in June and July 2025 (which are posted to the roadgeeking category at the “Observations Along The Road” and to the California Highways Facebook group) as well as any backed up email changes. I also reviewed the the AAroads forum (Ꜳ). This resulted in changes on the following routes, with credit as indicated [my research^(ℱ), contributions of information or leads (via direct mail or ꜲRoads) from Nathan Edgars (NE2)⁽²⁾, Tom Fearer⁽³⁾, Ann Maris⁽⁴⁾, Adrian Ople/City of Brawley⁽⁵⁾, Plutonic Panda⁽⁶⁾]: Route 1^(ℱ,3), Route 2^(ℱ), Route 3⁽²⁾, Route 9^(ℱ), Route 11^(ℱ),  Route 17^(ℱ), Sign Route 18^(ℱ), Route 28^(ℱ), Route 29^(ℱ), Route 36⁽²⁾, Route 38^(ℱ), Route 47^(ℱ), Route 49^(ℱ,3), Route 57^(ℱ), Route 59 (Atwater-Merced Expressway)⁽³⁾, Route 60^(ℱ), Route 61^(ℱ), LRN 69^(ℱ), Route 71^(ℱ,6), I-80^(ℱ), US 80^(ℱ), Route 89^(ℱ), Route 91^(ℱ,6), US 97^(ℱ), Route 99^(ℱ), US 101^(ℱ), LRN 105^(ℱ), LRN 107^(ℱ), Route 120^(ℱ), Route 131^(ℱ), Route 133^(ℱ), Route 166^(ℱ), Route 180⁽³⁾, Route 185^(ℱ),  LRN 226^(ℱ), Route 227⁽³⁾, LRN 228^(ℱ), Route 238^(ℱ,4), LRN 252^(ℱ), Route 260^(ℱ), I-580^(ℱ), I-680^(ℱ), I-710^(ℱ), I-880^(ℱ), Imperial County Sign Route S31⁽⁵⁾.
(Source: private email through 10/19/2025, Highway headline posts through and including the September 2025 Headline post, AARoads through 10/18/2025)

Continued work on Season 4 of the Route by Route podcast. It is surprising how pulling the thread on one particular route’s page touches a large number of routes, and often results in a reorganization and deep review of information on the page that may have gotten stale in the light of subsequent research. This resulted in changes and updates to the following routes: Route 3, I-5, Route 9, I-10, Route 11, Route 17, Route 18, Route 26, Route 30, Route 36, Route 38, Route 74, Route 110, Route 118, Route 138, Route 172, Route 195, Route 206, Route 236, Route 248, Route 259, Route 262, US 40, US 48, US 60, US 70, US 66, US 91, US 99, US 395, LRN 5, LRN 9, LRN 26, LRN 31, LRN 35, LRN 42, LRN 43, LRN 44, LRN 59, LRN 154, LRN 161, LRN 171, LRN 172, LRN 173, LRN 186, LRN 190, LRN 191, LRN 205, LRN 240.

As the Maps page is rapidly turning to a “research starting point” page, added a link to the AASHTO Route Numbering Archive, which is a great starting point for researching the history of US and Interstate numbering. Adding this, in preparation for the bonus podcast episode on the LA Metro Archives, led to updating and correcting a number of links on the map pages that had gone stale, and adding in a few more links, especially some meta links like the Digital Library Directory.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site, for bills through 2025-10-19. As usual, I recommend to every Californian that they visit the legislative website regularly and see what their legis-critters are doing. As many people are unfamiliar with how the legislature operates (and why there are so many “non-substantive changes” and “gut and amend” bills), I’ve added the legislative calendar (updated for 2025) to the end of the Pending Legislation page. Noted the passage of the following bills / resolutions:

Two months into retirement. I may be starting to get the hang of this. I’m working on podcast episodes, and doing deep dives into areas as a result of that. However, given that I just did a highway page update, you won’t be seeing the results of some of those deep dives until the next round of updates (and that includes the dives related to Route 9 and Route 10). I also got a chance to go visit the LA Metro Archives, will will results in yet another podcast bonus episode.

Speaking of the podcast: We’re experimenting with a new approach to recording, as FCC was sounding increasingly muddled. We started using new recording software  (Zencaster) for the bonus episode posted in August. It seems to be better, although I still need to adjust microphone distance. That’s what bonus episodes are for—a place to experiment a little to improve the podcast, while giving some breathing space to write the next batch of episodes. I have two written related to Route 8, and when I get back from vacation I’ll be writing the episodes related to Route 9 and Route 10, and starting the deep dive for Route 11 (which will likely include I-110 as well). The Route 8 episodes will go over all things Route 8 and US 80, both within San Diego and Point Loma (Ep. 4.01) and from La Mesa to the Arizona border, with a discussion of the Imperial Highway (Ep. 4.02). But first, we’ll have one more bonus episode featuring an interview with the LA Metro archivist. That’ll be recorded when I get back, and drop before the end of September.

It looks like the regular audience is between 60-70 folks, and I’d love to get that number up. You can help. 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 episode has been posted this month:

• CA RxR 3.14: Freeway Exit (Bonus). Bonus Episode 3.14 continues our inter-season gap between Seasons 3 and 4. This episode we’re sharing an episode of the excellent Freeway Exit podcast from KPBS San Diego. Freeway Exit, hosted by Andrew Bowen, is an exploration of San Diego’s freeways, their costs, and how they can be part of the solution. It covers the forgotten history of the urban freeway network, and how decades after that network was finished, some communities are still working to heal the wounds that freeways left behind. The episode we’ve chosen to share focuses on the Cabrillo Freeway, Route 163, through Balboa Park, and explores the question: Is it time to remove the freeway? After the episode, we have a discussion with Andrew about the podcast, the the San Diego freeway system, and how highways fit into the bigger picture. Oh, and we discover what he is doing next with the podcast, and try to convince him to do one on the Route 710 gap. This episode is also a test of using Zencaster to record the podcast. Hopefully it sounds better, and next time I’ll move my microphone a bit further back. Zencaster also gives us the ability to have transcripts. Would folks want them included in the post? One more bonus episode is in the works: An interview with the LA Metro Archivist. We’ll pick up in the October with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14.  PS: Support KPBS, or your local PBS/NPR Station (Spotify for Podcasters)

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 August.

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

• SR-99 In Northern Madera County EIR/EA (FB/Caltrans District 6). Madera County: Caltrans would like the public’s input on a project on SR-99 in northern Madera County. The project is still years away but we have set up two public meetings. The first is a virtual meeting on Tuesday, August 19th starting at 6:00 pm. The other is being held at Fairmead Elementary on Thursday, August 21st, starting at 6:30 pm. Hopefully you can attend because we want to hear from you.
• ＄ Marin agency approves contracts for Highway 101 bus lane project (Marin I-J). A plan to construct a part-time transit-only lane on a congested stretch of Highway 101 between Novato and San Rafael is gaining momentum. The board governing the Transportation Authority of Marin has approved contracts to perform engineering and environmental review of the project on an approximately 10-mile southbound segment of the freeway. Approvals include a $910,000 contract with Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc., which will lead the planning, and $200,000 with Caltrans, which owns the highway property and will provide oversight. The contracts were approved at the July 24 board meeting. “The addition of part-time transit lanes is a forward-thinking initiative to help speed up bus travel on Highway 101,” said Nancy Whelan, general manager of Marin Transit, the county’s local fixed-route bus provider. The project area is between De Long Avenue in Novato and North San Pedro Road in northern San Rafael. The estimated $7 million project would create a lane on the highway shoulder and merging lanes, allowing public buses to bypass traffic jams, shaving minutes off commute times.
• ＄ Marin highway repair projects get $47M from state (Marin I-J). Caltrans has been awarded more than $47 million in state funding to advance three repair projects at critical passages on highways in Marin County. The largest allocation is a $45 million award to support the rehabilitation of the Petaluma River Bridge on Highway 37 on the outskirts of Novato. Another $1.3 million will go toward a slope repair on a storm-damaged section of Highway 1 in the Woodville area of western Marin. A $920,000 allocation will pay for another slide repair along Highway 101 near Marin City. The funding comes from the State Highway Operation and Protection Program, which is supported with a mix of revenue from Senate Bill 1 gas tax funds and federal sources.
• ＄ Richmond bridge bike path plan gets key support (Marin I-J). A plan to convert the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge bike path to a part-time feature has received a recommendation of approval, with conditions. A public hearing set for Thursday could mark the conclusion of a series of meetings on what to do with the route, which is on the westbound upper deck. Caltrans, which owns the bridge, and the Bay Area Toll Authority, which funds the operations and maintenance of the span through toll revenue, want to limit path access to the period from 2 p.m. Thursdays to 11 p.m. Sundays. For the remainder of the week, the moveable barrier would be pushed to the side, enabling the shoulder to be used as a vehicle breakdown and emergency lane during heavy commuting hours. It would also give the agencies time to study the potential use of the shoulder as a part-time commuter lane for carpools and transit. In its recommendation, the staff of the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission, or BCDC, said the state agency is charged with ensuring “maximum feasible public access consistent with the project,” and the three-year pilot project achieves that.
• Interstate 80 express toll lanes could officially launch in Solano County before year’s end (CBS Sacramento). On at least one stretch of Interstate 80, Sacramento area drivers are seeing fewer orange cones. It’s good news for those used to construction-related traffic delays up and down the corridor. A Caltrans project in its final stages is set to launch new FasTrak express lanes on I-80 in both directions from Vacaville’s 505 interchange to Fairfield, as soon as December. In late June, Caltrans wrapped up construction of a brand new express lane in Vacaville that stretches down to Fairfield, where an existing HOV lane was converted to an express lane. The project took about a year and a half to complete.
• All Hail the Humble Speed Hump, the Best Cheap Traffic-Safety Fix (Bloomberg). You can find lots of things on the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts: an abundance of bike lanes, shops hawking Harvard merch, and empty Sam Adams bottles. But you won’t find the raised, rounded protrusions of asphalt that are widespread throughout many other municipalities. “We’ve never done speed humps in Cambridge,” said Brooke McKenna, the city’s transportation commissioner. “We’ve gotten so many requests, and we’ve always said, ‘I’m going to refer you to our traffic calming program.’” There, staff consider full-fledged roadway overhauls, which can take years to implement.
• Lake Tahoe Construction Project Updates (Caltrans). Caltrans is advising motorists of various lane closures next week due to multiple construction projects in the Lake Tahoe region. Along State Route 28 (SR 28) in Placer County, drainage and electrical work continues in preparation for a $31.7 million Caltrans pavement project. In Tahoe City along SR 28, work is scheduled around the clock from Sunday, August 3 at 7 p.m. through Friday, August 8 at 7 a.m. between Mackinaw Road and Jackpine Street. The paving portion of this project in Tahoe City is scheduled to begin Sunday evening, August 10. Specific locations will be announced Friday, August 8. Fanny Bridge in Tahoe City will be closed to traffic Monday, August 4 through Friday, August 8 from 7 p.m. until 9 a.m. in preparation of the Fanny Bridge Replacement Project.
• Caltrans may remove shoulder parking along State Route 79 in Descanso (Fox 5 San Diego). Business owners in the small community of Descanso are pushing back against a proposed plan from Caltrans that would remove shoulder parking along State Route 79, spaces they say are critical for their businesses survival. Caltrans says the move is part of an effort to improve safety for drivers and pedestrians. But for restaurant and shop owners, the plan could mean losing customers. “Descanso means a place of rest, and that’s kind of what it is to me,” said Brett Cooker, owner of the local restaurant Descanso Junction. “It’s a very peaceful area, great people, great community
• Major East Bay Highway To Close For 55 Hours (Fremont, CA Patch). The northbound side of Interstate 680 at the Mission San Jose (State Route 238) overpass in Fremont will be closed for 55 hours for critical bridge and pavement repair work, and Caltrans is warning drivers to be prepared for delays. The closures will affect Interstate 680’s northbound lanes starting Friday at 8 p.m., when lane reductions will begin. At 10 p.m., work is scheduled to start, and the northbound side of Interstate 680 will be fully closed. The work is scheduled to last until Monday at 5 a.m., according to Caltrans.

So I’m now retired. You think it would give me time to work on the highway pages, right? July started with two funerals (my M-I-L, and my stepmother (who married my dad when I was in my 30s). Writing podcast episodes and trying to find a better way to record them. A trip to Las Vegas (see my recommendations). Lots of theatre. Lots of trying to figure out the rhythm of retirement. Oh, and a little highways work. But, as I noted last month, the rhythm of life goes on, reminding us to move forward. One of those reminders is the monthly highway headlines post, because work on California’s highways never finishes.

The podcast continues, albeit on a slightly slower schedule while I work on Season 4. In July, we got out our first bonus episode at the end of Season 3. The second bonus episode will be a share of the first episode of the Freeway Exit podcast on Route 163, together with an interview with the host. It should be … provocative … as the episode discusses whether Route 163 in Balboa Park should go away. Before we record it, I want to try some new recording software  (Zencaster) to see if I can improve the sound. There might be a third bonus episode, depending on who gets back to me from my inquiries. The first episodes of Season 4 should be a bear: We’re going over all things Route 8 and US 80, both within San Diego and Point Loma (Ep. 4.01) and from La Mesa to the Arizona border, with a discussion of the Imperial Highway (Ep. 4.02). Something to look forward to in the fall.

It looks like the regular audience is between 60-70 folks, and I’d love to get that number up. You can help. 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 episode has been posted this month:

• CA RxR 3.13: Fresno Flats (Bonus). Episode 3.13 is our first bonus episode, bridging the gap while we write Season 4. This bonus episode is a presentation that our co-host, Tom Fearer, gave at the Fresno Flats museum back in May 2025. The presentation focuses on the highways of the Oakhurst area, and was described as: “Since the establishment of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road in 1853 the Sierra Nevada foothills of what is now Madera County has been a hub of highway development. Much of the existing infrastructure in the area was established by the late 1880s with the plotting of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road and Yosemite Stage Road. The area was of great interest during the early State Highway era due to the desirable access it could provide for logging interests and automotive based recreational travel to Yosemite National Park. Even Minaret Summit was briefly considered for a proposed extension of Interstate 70 into California before the era of environmental impact assessment began.” We’ll pick up in the fall with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14. I’m also looking into better software for recording the podcast: In particular, does anyone have opinions on Zencaster, Riverside, or Squadcast? (Spotify for Podcasters)

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 July.

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

• Ħ End of Sepulveda Blvd (FB/Photo Collection – Los Angeles Public Library). [1963] “Sylmar’s notorious ‘Boulevard of Death’ – killer of more than 30 persons in the last 11 years – has been closed forever. Traffic on the strip of Sepulveda Blvd. from San Fernando Rd. to Rinaldi St. has been diverted onto the northbound lanes of the San Diego and Golden State Freeway route now being constructed. The feared Sepulveda Blvd. link will be buried under tons of earth laid down as a road bed for the southbound lanes of the freeways. The new 2 1/2-mile freeway…
• CTC Backs Doomed Highway Project (CalBike). Meetings of the California Transportation Commission (CTC) usually fly under the radar with few, if any, members of the public aware they’re happening, much less showing up to comment. But a raft of grants proposed for contested highway projects, including the Highway 99 interchange in Fresno and State Route 37 widening, drew opposition from transportation advocates and attention in the press. CalBike Executive Director Kendra Ramsey joined a number of other advocates in attending the June 26, 2025, CTC meeting. She testified against funding to add lanes to SR 37, which is already subject to flooding and will be permanently underwater, due to sea level rise, by the middle of the century.
• $39.9M grant approved for new Centennial Corridor interchange between 99, 58 freeways (Bakersfield Now). The California Transportation Commission has approved a $39.9 million grant to Caltrans and the Kern Council of Governments for the construction of the Centennial Corridor’s southbound Highway 99 to westbound Highway 58 connector ramp. The funding marks the final piece of the Centennial Corridor Project, which is supported by the Thomas Roads Improvement Program [TRIP] —a collaboration among Caltrans, the Kern Council of Governments, the City of Bakersfield, and Kern County.
• State Route 1 Pilarcitos Creek Bridge Project in Half Moon Bay (Caltrans). The Pilarcitos Creek Bridge on State Route 1 near State Route 92 in Half Moon Bay has been identified as a “scour critical bridge” which requires installation of additional protection for the foundation. Erosion around its supports —known as scour—poses a risk to the structure’s long-term stability, particularly during high-flow events such as floods. Caltrans has initiated a project to restore and protect the bridge. Construction will require intermittent closures of the right-hand turn ramp from northbound SR-1 to eastbound SR-92. During the construction phase, the bike/pedestrian path running under SR-1 from San Mateo Road to SR-92 will be closed.
• Caltrans details Last Chance Grade diversion plans (Eureka Times-Standard via MSN). Last Friday, the office of California Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire (D-North Coast) announced “a $40 million investment approved by the California Transportation Commission today to jump-start the design phase of the long-awaited Last Chance Grade Project.” The investment will move forward a plan selected by Caltrans in early June (previously called “Alternative F”) for “a 6,000-foot tunnel that bypasses area landslides and realigns the highway.” In a press release issued on June 13, the agency called the plan “essential to advancing the Last Chance Grade Project efficiently.”
• This 31-Mile Highway In California Is So Gorgeous, You’ll Wish It Never Ends (Family Destinations Guide). Some roads were built for getting from point A to point B, but the Avenue of the Giants in Northern California was clearly designed by someone who understood that the journey itself can be the destination. This magnificent 31-mile scenic byway winds through Humboldt Redwoods State Park like a ribbon threading through nature’s most impressive cathedral, where the towering coast redwoods serve as living pillars that have been standing since before your great-great-great-grandmother was even a twinkle in someone’s eye.

The end of May has arrived, and we’re transitioning into June and the summer months. For me, this means one thing: Retirement! I’ve done a long post on the subject, exploring why I’m retiring and why the process has me both happy and scared. I’d love opinions on the post from those that have gone through the transition. For those who aren’t there yet, NOW is time time to start planning: building your retirement nest egg, and properly structuring your retirement accounts. The process is confusing, and you don’t want to wait until the last minute to figure it out.

Speaking of waiting until the last minute, the podcast continues on a slightly slower schedule because of travel and such. In May, we recorded the episode on US 6, and we’re going to be scheduling the episode on Route 7 next. Then I’ll take some time to write the next season, while we do some inter-season bonus episodes. We’re thinking of one based on Tom’s talk to the Fresno Flats Museum on the history of the highways around Oakhurst, and one talking about the Caltrans History Library. The first episode of Season 4 should be a bear: Route 8, which means with dealing with the history of I-8 and the former US 80.

It looks like the regular audience is between 60-70 folks, and I’d love to get that number up. You can help. 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 episode has been posted this month:

• CA RxR 3.11: US 6: A Major Route no More. With Episode 3.11, we turn our attention to Route 6, better known as US 6. As is our tradition, we start by looking into the 6th state highway, and the LRN 6, and then the route that was originally signed as Sign Route 6. We then turn our attention to US 6, looking at the history of the route, and the historical routings in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newhall, the Antelope Valley, the Eastern Sierras, and Bishop. We also talk about El Camino Sierra, the Midland Trail, and the proposals for trans-Sierra highways that would have included US 6. Lastly, we look at US 6 today: the portion between Bishop and the Nevada State line. Next up: The last episode of Season 3, where we talk about Route 7: both the current short route near the border, and the more interesting historical routings of LRN 7, Sign Route 7, and the original 1964 Route 7. (Spotify for Podcasters)

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 May.

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

• SR-133/SR-241 Silverado Fire Restoration Project (Caltrans). The California Department of Transportation (Department) District 12 initiated a major damage permanent restoration improvement and promoting resilient operations project to repair severely damaged Transportation assets caused by the 2020 Silverado Fire and to improve the resilience of other existing roadway assets considered to be within a fire hazard severity zone. The improvements will be in Orange County, California on State Route 133 (SR-133) from Post Mile (PM) 11.4 to PM 13.6, and on State Route 241 (SR-241) from PM 24.5 to PM 35.7 in the cities of Irvine, Orange, and Orange County, Unincorporated. The proposed project build improvements would include improvements along SR-133 south of Irvine Boulevard (Blvd) Over Crossing (OC) to Junction (Jct.) SR-241 and on SR-241 south of Portola Parkway (Pkwy) OC to NB off- ramp Toll Plaza. Two alternatives are being considered, The Build and No Build Alternative.
  The proposed improvements of the build alternative include necessary repairs on the fire damaged guardrails, drainage facilities, roadway signs, and electrical systems. Moreover, the build alternative also aims to improve the existing infrastructure by making it more resilient to extreme weather and natural disasters. The project’s proactive approach includes drainage improvements, upgrade traffic safety devices, replacement of pavement sections impacted by the culvert replacement, landscaping replacement, electrolier replacement, and conductor loop replacement.
• Changes to Marin-Sonoma carpool lane hours finalized (MSN/Marin IJ 0430). Caltrans has decided on new carpool lane restrictions on Highway 101 between Mill Valley and Windsor, but Marin planners worry the change could create traffic chokepoints in the county. Last week, the board governing the Transportation Authority of Marin voted unanimously to send a letter to Caltrans accepting the new commuter lane hours of operation. However, the letter states that a recent analysis shows the new restrictions “would introduce additional local auto and transit impacts, by increasing queue length and duration of congestion” during the morning commute in San Rafael and in the afternoon commute in Corte Madera.
• ‘Blindsided’: Press Democrat staff stunned as hedge fund takes over (SF Gate). Journalists at the Santa Rosa Press Democrat were preparing for one future — but then were handed another. On Thursday afternoon, newsroom employees received an email where they learned that Sonoma Media Investments, or SMI, parent company of the Press Democrat and six other North Bay publications, had been sold not to Hearst, which had been in negotiations to purchase the paper, but to MediaNews Group, a subsidiary of investment firm Alden Global Capital. (Hearst is SFGATE’s parent company.) [Ed: This is significant, as the Santa Rosa Press Democrat is one of the sources for this list, and was formerly not paywalled. The MediaNews Group — BANG in Northern California, SCNG in Southern California — are the folks behind the LA Daily News, the Mercury News, and others, and are typically paywalled after 1-2 articles.]
• $100M Berkeley I-80, Gilman interchange work is finally done (Berkleyside). After four years of on-and-off road closures in Northwest Berkeley, Caltrans and the Alameda County Transportation Commission have declared construction work finished on the Interstate 80-Gilman Street interchange. The $100 million overhaul of the once chaotic and widely hated interchange includes two new roundabouts, one on either side of the interstate, feeding traffic onto and off of Eastshore Highway, Gilman, West Frontage Road and the interstate itself. Just south of Gilman, the first phase of construction included a new bicycle and pedestrian overpass, connecting to Eastshore on the east and the San Francisco Bay Trail to the west.
• ＄Eminent domain for Highway 101 upgrade in Redwood City (San Mateo Daily Journal). As Redwood City looks to make significant improvements to the Highway 101/Woodside Road interchange, it must first acquire access to nearby property before it can move forward, but some property owners are objecting to the effort. At the upcoming council meeting, April 28, a public hearing will be conducted to discuss the needed acquisition and collect responses from interested parties before the city council will vote whether to adopt a resolution declaring the procurements’ necessity. The city must obtain permanent right-of-way, access rights, and temporary right-of-way construction easements at 11 separate properties, which is estimated to cost $2.8 million, according to a staff report.

Whew! It’s been busy, as I’ve been getting ready for retirement come July 1. But I’ve been able to squeeze in some time to finally finish the highway page updates. Consider it your Easter present, if you so observe. I promise there aren’t any rotten eggs here.

This update covers January, February, and March 2025. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. 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 podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update just before the end of December:

• December | CA RxR 3.05p2: I-5: San Diego to Los Angeles (Part 2). In this episode, we continue our exploration of I-5, the central spine of California. We’re splitting the discussion over 6 episodes, some of which are two-parters. This first episode (a two-parter) looks at the former US 101 segment, from the Mexico Border to Downtown Los Angeles. Part 2, this part, looks at the projects along this segment of I-5, as well as some of the more significant names. Go back to part 1 for a discussion of all things 5: Maritime Highway M-5, the 5^th state highway, Legislative Route 5, Sign Route 5, and then I-5. For I-5, we look at the history of the route, and the pieces that led to first the US 101 Bypass and then I-5 in this area. Subsequent episodes will be looking at (3.06) from Downtown LA to Wheeler Ridge, where Route 99 splits, including the Ridge Route; (3.07) the Westerly Routing; (3.08) the planned I-5W; (3.09) the former US 99W portion from Sacramento to Redding; and (3.09) the portion from Redding to the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)
• January | CA RxR 3.06p1: I-5: Whatever Became of the Ridge Route? (Part 1): Our I-5 exploration continues, with a focus on the segment of I-5 from the US 101 split in Downtown Los Angeles to the Route 99 split in Wheeler Ridge. This episode, Part 1 of 3.06, after a recap on LRN 5 and Sign Route 5, focuses on the history of I-5 from Downtown LA (DTLA) to and through the Newhall Pass. We explore the history of LRN 4 and LRN 161, the timeline of freeway construction to and through Burbank, the history of Route 5S (Colorado Blvd), and a dive into the history of routings through the Newhall Pass and in Saugus. We also talk about the Interstate number submissions for I-5, and have some updates on the projects we discussed in Episode 3.05p2. Our special guest this episode is Sydney Croasmun of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization. Sydney brings her expertise to our discussion in Part 2, when we’re going in detail over the Ridge Route. Part 2 also discusses projects and naming in this section, especially the history of the “Grapevine” name. Subsequent episodes will be looking at (3.07) the Westerly Routing; (3.08) the planned I-5W; (3.09) the former US 99W portion from Sacramento to Redding; and (3.09) the portion from Redding to the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)
• January | CA RxR 3.06p2: I-5: Whatever Became of the Ridge Route? (Part 2): Our I-5 exploration continues, with a focus on the segment of I-5 from the US 101 split in Downtown Los Angeles to the Route 99 split in Wheeler Ridge. This episode, Part 2 of 3.06, completes the history from Part 1 with a detailed dive into the history of the Ridge Route. After that, we discuss major projects in this segment of I-5, as well as historical and memorial names. This includes our second deep dive into the history of the “Grapevine” name. Our special guest this episode is Sydney Croasmun of the Ridge Route Preservation Organization. Sydney brings her expertise our Ridge Route discussion, and also discusses the goals and activities of the RRPO. Subsequent episodes will be looking at (3.07) the Westerly Routing; (3.08) the planned I-5W; (3.09) the former US 99W portion from Sacramento to Redding; and (3.09) the portion from Redding to the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)
• February | CA RxR 3.07: I-5: The Central Valley: Next up in our exploration of I-5: the segment between the I-5 / Route 99 split and where I-5 meets former US 99W (now Route 113) in Woodland. Generally known as the “Westside Highway”, this was mostly a completely new routing for I-5 along LRN 238, although some portions paralleled former US 50 between Stockton and Sacramento, and Sign Route 16 between Sacramento and near Route 113 in Woodland/Yolo.  As usual, we cover the history of the route, naming, and projects. Subsequent episodes will be looking at (3.08) the planned I-5W; (3.09) the former US 99W portion from Sacramento to Redding; and (3.09) the portion from Redding to the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)
• March | CA RxR 3.08: I-5: Whatever Happened to I-5W. Episode 3.08 continues our exploration of I-5 with a slight digression: A discussion about I-5W. In the late 1950s, I-5W was proposed as a spur route from I-5 running along what is today Route 132, I-580 (both the Tracy Diagonal and the former US 50 portion between the I-205/I-580 junction and Oakland/Berkeley), I-80 between Berkeley and near Vacaville, and I-505 between Vacaville and I-5. This short episode explores these pieces and their history. In Episode 3.09, we return to I-5 proper when we explore the former US 99W section of I-5 between Woodland and Red Bluff. (Spotify for Creators)
• April | CA RxR 3.09: I-5: Former US 99W. Episode 3.09 continues our exploration of I-5 with the segment from Sacramento to Red Bluff, which primarily incorporates the former LRN 7 / US 99W routing between Woodland and Red Bluff, and a new routing that roughly followed LRN 238, then LRN 50 and LRN 232 between Sacramento and Woodland (near former Sign Route 16 and Sign Route 24). We talk about this history of this segment, as well as some discussion of historical routings in Natomas, Woodland, Williams, Willows, Corning, and Red Bluff. Our exploration of I-5 finishes in Episode 3.10, where we explore the former LRN 3/US 99 segment between Red Bluff and the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers and my research for the podcast in January and February 2025 (which are posted to the roadgeeking category at the “Observations Along The Road” and to the California Highways Facebook group) as well as any backed up email changes. I also reviewed the the AAroads forum (Ꜳ). This resulted in changes on the following routes, with credit as indicated [my research^(ℱ), contributions of information or leads (via direct mail or ꜲRoads) from Bickendan⁽²⁾, DTComposer⁽³⁾, Tom Fearer⁽⁴⁾, Mark Furqueron⁽⁵⁾, Mike Palmer⁽⁶⁾, Plutonic Panda⁽⁷⁾, Huntington W. Sharp⁽⁸⁾, Voyager⁽⁹⁾]: Route 1⁽⁴⁾, I-5^(ℱ), US 6⁽⁵⁾, Sign Route 7^(ℱ), Route 37^(ℱ), US 50^(ℱ,4),  Route 51/Business Route 80^(ℱ), Route 54^(ℱ), Route 55^(ℱ), Route 57^(ℱ), Route 67^(ℱ), Route 68⁽⁴⁾, Route 70^(ℱ), Route 71^(ℱ), Route 72^(ℱ,6), Route 74^(ℱ),  Route 90⁽²⁾, Route 91^(ℱ), Route 92⁽⁶⁾, Route 99^(ℱ,4), US 101^(ℱ,5,3,6), I-105⁽⁷⁾, Route 108⁽⁹⁾, Route 118^(ℱ), Route 120^(ℱ), LRN 126⁽⁴⁾, Route 138^(ℱ), Route 145⁽⁴⁾, Route 152^(ℱ), Route 156^(ℱ),  LRN 158^(ℱ), LRN 159⁽⁵⁾, Route 170⁽⁵⁾, Route 180^(ℱ,4), Route 198^(ℱ), I-210^(ℱ), Route 216^(ℱ), Route 217^(ℱ), Route 275⁽⁸⁾, I-280^(ℱ),  US 395^(ℱ,4), I-580^(ℱ), I-680^(ℱ), I-710^(ℱ). Added the 1925 Highway Advisory Committee Report⁽⁴⁾ to the Chronology pages. Added a lot of information from “The Implications of Freeway Siting in California: Four Case Studies on the Effects of Freeways on Neighborhoods of Color“, UCLA Inst. for Transportation Studies, 2023 to a number of pages (I-210, Route 118, I-5, US 50, Route 99, Route 51, I-280, I-680). I mention the report in particular because it contains a lot of useful historic information on the freeway planning and construction. The report is also at risk from the current political administration, as due to their hatred of anything DEI, it is subject to removal. Whether or not you agree with the administration, historical information such as this (as well as related articles and sites) should be preserved.
(Source: private email through 4/26/2025, Highway headline posts through the March 2025 Headline post, AARoads through 4/22/2025)

Made more updates to pages based on podcast research, and the various rabbit-holes that research takes me down: LRN 4, US 6, LRN 6, Sign Route 7, LRN 7, LRN 8, Route 14, Route 21, LRN 23, LRN 26, Route 29, Route 37, US 40, LRN 74, LRN 79, US 99, US 101, Route 103, Route 121, Route 126, Route 134, Route 141, LRN 161, Route 163, Route 170, Route 190, Route 221, LRN 240, LRN 265, US 395, I-680, I-710, I-780.

Added back links to Mark Furqueron’s pages, which are still out on the Internet Archive. Did some additional updates to the map page links, as I discovered some sources have gone away or changed URLs.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site, for bills through 2025-04-05. As usual, I recommend to every Californian that they visit the legislative website regularly and see what their legis-critters are doing. As many people are unfamiliar with how the legislature operates (and why there are so many “non-substantive changes” and “gut and amend” bills), I’ve added the legislative calendar (updated for 2025) to the end of the Pending Legislation page.We’re early in the legislative session, when legislators justify their pay by introducing lots of legislation, most of which goes nowhere. They also introduce lots of “non-substantive changes” legislation, which allows them to amend the legislation later in the session, after the deadline to introduce new bills have passed. By the way, this is what makes monitoring legislation hard: by the end of a session, a bill may have changed into something completely unrelated to the original bill introduced. More significantly, a non-transportation or non-substantive transportation bill may have morphed into something of interest. So far, in this session, it is just deciding what to monitor.

Reviewed the online agenda of the California Coastal Commission. There was no meeting in January. In the February and March meetings, the only item of interest related to Route 1 in Big Sur.

I checked California Transportation Commission page for the results of the January 2025 meeting of the California Transportation Commission. As always, note that I tend not to track items that do not impact these pages — i.e., pavement rehabilitation or replacement, landscaping, drainage, culverts, roadside facilities, charging stations, or other things that do not impact the routing or history, unless they are really significant. As such, the following items were of interest:

Twenty-Eight Days. February may be a short month, but it sure seems long. I truly miss the days when I didn’t have to ask every day (or more frequently, it seems) what crap is coming out of Washington DC now. Hard to believe that was less than two months ago. Prices are up, Stocks are down. Good people, including many I know, have lost jobs. NSF and research funding impacts threaten ACSAC. All of this on top of the fires of January, and 2025 has been a very stressful year.

There is a little good news. I plan to put in retirement papers to my employer next week, with a target date on July 1. My daughter has accepted a postdoc at Washington University in St. Louis—my mother’s alma mater. I think she would be proud. The postdoc starts in August; until then, she’s teaching at both Ripon College and UW Madison. The theatre schedule is heating up, meaning at least I have distractions over the weekend.

In terms of other activities: I’ve been a long-time judge at the California Science and Engineering Fair (and also here). I’m now part of the Judges Advisory Committee, and we’re gearing up for an in-person fair on April 13 (alas, the first day of Pesach). WE NEED SCIENCE FAIR JUDGES. If you work in STEM field, and can be in Southern California the weekend of April 13, please sign up to be a judge (I might even be able to provide a seder Saturday night and a guest room). Information on 2025 CSEF Judging is here; please sign up for the alert list. I will likely be the panel chair for the J-MA—Junior Mathematics—again.

The craziness of my schedule, combined with the craziness of Tom’s schedule, means that the podcast release schedule has slipped a bit. We’re scheduled to record episode 2.08 on Tuesday 3/4, after I teach a class on the RMF (NIST 800-37 Rev 2), but I likely won’t have time to edit the episode until sometime the following week, meaning a potential release date of 3/16 (over a month since the last episode). I apologize for the delay.

Retirement will allow me to spend more time on things I enjoy doing, such as working on the highway pages and the podcast. 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.

I only was able to release one episode of the podcast in February: the episode on the Westside Freeway. It looks like the regular audience is between 60-70 folks, and I’d love to get that number up. You can help. Please tell your friends about the podcast, “like”, “♥”, or “favorite” it, and give it a rating in your favorite podcatcher. 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 episode has been posted this month:

• CA RxR 3.07: I-5: The Central Valley: Next up in our exploration of I-5: the segment between the I-5 / Route 99 split and where I-5 meets former US 99W (now Route 113) in Woodland. Generally known as the “Westside Highway”, this was mostly a completely new routing for I-5 along LRN 238, although some portions paralleled former US 50 between Stockton and Sacramento, and Sign Route 16 between Sacramento and near Route 113 in Woodland/Yolo.  As usual, we cover the history of the route, naming, and projects. Subsequent episodes will be looking at (3.08) the planned I-5W; (3.09) the former US 99W portion from Sacramento to Redding; and (3.09) the portion from Redding to the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)

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

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

• Granite inks $88M deal to pave, widen SoCal highway (Construction Dive). Granite Construction has inked an $88 million contract to improve a stretch of winding, mountainous highway in Southern California. The Watsonville, California-based contractor announced the award from the California DOT on Jan. 23 to make safety enhancements on State Route 74 near the city of Lake Elsinore.
• California Transportation Commission Allots $1 Billion for Highway System (Roads and Bridges). On Friday, the California Transportation Commission (CTC) allocated nearly $1 billion for projects aimed at solving mobility challenges and aiding California’s continued effort to make the highway system more resilient to climate change. […] Among the projects approved include $15 million for the installation of electric charging infrastructure to power electric buses at San Mateo County’s SamTrans system, $9.5 million to help pay for new bike lanes, crosswalks, pedestrian push buttons, signal heads and other safety upgrades on an 8-mile segment of SR-82 in Santa Clara County and $6 million for the city of Sacramento to help build a new light rail station serving Sacramento City College.
• City of Fresno wins lawsuit to rename 10-mile stretch of road (CBS 47). New street signs for a 10-mile stretch of road in Fresno were installed Tuesday after the city prevailed in a lawsuit brought on by the community. The city says Kings Canyon Road, Ventura Avenue, and California Avenue now bear the name Cesar Chavez Boulevard. City Hall says the change honors labor rights leader “Cesar Chavez’s enduring legacy” and “aligns with our community’s shared values of justice, equality, and community empowerment.”
• Dixon’s Parkway Boulevard overcrossing project aimed at improving public safety (Yahoo News/KXTL). As the city of Dixon continues to grow, new changes will soon be coming. A new overpass project is underway to connect the city’s east and west sides, which are divided by railroads. The city recently received a $25.2 million federal grant to aid in completing the project. The idea to connect one side of town to the other is over two decades old.
• Bay Area city council supports removing bike lanes, restoring parking (SF Gate). Building more bike lanes has become a major priority for communities across California, but one Bay Area community is going in the opposite direction, potentially spending over $600,000 to rip out recently built bike lanes. The San Mateo City Council unanimously agreed earlier this week to support the removal of controversial bike lanes on Humboldt Street, the longest bike lanes in the city. The immediate removal of the lanes is estimated to cost $620,000, but the entire plan could cost close to $2 million. The contentious meeting, which drew significant public comment, ran until 11 p.m.

The last highway page update for 2024 is done. This covers September, October, November, and all of December except for the headlines post (which will happen Wed 1/1/2025) and the podcast episode post (which will happen Mon 12/30/2024). Here’s the changelog — for a nicer version, see the webpage version.

This update covers September, October, and November 2024, and part of December 2024, depending on how long it takes me to finish the last little bits. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. 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 podcatcher or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update:

• September | 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. [Note: Internally, I’m going to a new numbering system this season, as we’re going to have some two part episodes, and the episode numbers require integers. Episode 3.01 will be 3010 (e.g., 3.01.0, without the dots). This allows a part 2 to be 3.01.1] (Spotify for Creators)
• October | 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 Creators)
• November | CA RxR 3.03: Route 4: Stockton. In this episode, we continue our a 3-part exploration of Route 4. This episode focused on the Stockton Crosstown Freeway: A short freeway segment of Route 4 that bisects the city of Stockton, essentially running from I-5 to Route 99. We talk about the LRNs that made up this segment: LRN 75, and LRN 24. We spend much of the episode talking about the impact the construction of the route had on Stockton, including an interview with Dr. Paul Ong of UCLA, lead author of a paper (“Stockton’s Crosstown Freeway, Urban Renewal, and Asian Americans: Systemic Causes and Impacts“) that explored the impact of the construction of the Stockton Crosstown Freeway on the Asian-American community. We also talk about the project to complete this freeway, and the names given to the freeway. Our last episode on Route 4 will focus on the segment of Route 4 from Stockton to near Markleeville, including the segment through Ebbetts Pass. (Spotify for Creators)
• November | CA RxR 3.04: Route 4: The Sierras. In this episode, we complete our exploration of Route 4, covering the segments from Stockton and Route 99 through Angels Camp, and then on over the Sierras to Route 89 near Markleville. This includes segments that go through Gold Country, as well as the Ebbetts Pass segment that includes some very steep grades. Along the way, we look at the history of the route in these areas, projects along the way, and naming of the route. As always, we conclude with a discussion of this segment of the route after the credits. Next up: The first of six episodes (some with two parts, making it really eight episodes) covering Interstate 5. Episode 3.05 looks at the former US 101 portion from the Mexico border to downtown Los Angeles. (Spotify for Creators)
• December | CA RxR 3.05p1: I-5: San Diego to Los Angeles (Part 1). In this episode, we start our exploration of I-5, the central spine of California. We’re splitting the discussion over 6 episodes, some of which are two-parters. This first episode (a two-parter) looks at the former US 101 segment, from the Mexico Border to Downtown Los Angeles. Part 1, this part, starts with a discussion of all things 5: Maritime Highway M-5, the 5^th state highway, Legislative Route 5, Sign Route 5, and then I-5. For I-5, we look at the history of the route, and the pieces that led to first the US 101 Bypass and then I-5 in this area. We’ll finish the discussion in Part 2, where we look at projects along the route and names along the route. Subsequent episodes will be looking at (3.06) from Downtown LA to Wheeler Ridge, where Route 99 splits, including the Ridge Route; (3.07) the Westerly Routing; (3.08) the planned I-5W; (3.09) the former US 99W portion from Sacramento to Redding; and (3.09) the portion from Redding to the Oregon Border. (Spotify for Creators)
• December | CA RxR 3.05p2: I-5: San Diego to Los Angeles (Part 2). This will posted on Monday, 12/30/2024

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers and my research for the podcast in Sepbemter, October, and November 2024 (which are posted to the roadgeeking category at the “Observations Along The Road” and to the California Highways Facebook group) as well as any backed up email changes. I also reviewed the the AAroads forum (Ꜳ). This resulted in changes on the following routes, with credit as indicated [my research^(ℱ), contributions of information or leads (via direct mail or ꜲRoads) from Tom Fearer⁽²⁾, Mike Palmer⁽³⁾, Will Poundstone⁽⁴⁾, kkt⁽⁵⁾, Joel Windmiller⁽⁶⁾: Route 1^(ℱ), Route 4⁽²⁾, I-5^(ℱ), Route 14^(ℱ,4), Route 27⁽⁴⁾, Route 29^(ℱ,2), Route 35^(ℱ), Route 36^(ℱ), Route 37^(ℱ), Route 41⁽²⁾, Route 43⁽³⁾, Route 46^(ℱ,2), Route 47^(ℱ), Route 49^(ℱ), Route 51⁽⁶⁾,  Route 78^(ℱ), Route 84^(ℱ,5), Route 89^(ℱ),  Route 99^(ℱ), US 101^(ℱ), I-105⁽⁴⁾, Route 116^(ℱ), Route 118^(ℱ), Route 121^(ℱ), Route 130⁽²⁾, Route 142^(ℱ), Route 152^(ℱ), Route 154^(ℱ), Route 168⁽²⁾,  Route 170⁽⁴⁾, Route 187^(ℱ), I-210^(ℱ), Route 217^(ℱ), Route 220^(ℱ), Route 221^(ℱ), Route 258 (Whitnall Parkway)⁽⁴⁾, Route 268⁽⁴⁾, Route 371^(ℱ), US 395^(ℱ), I-505^(ℱ), I-580^(ℱ), I-980^(ℱ), County Sign Route G19⁽²⁾.
(Source: private email through 9/2/2024, Highway headline posts through the August 2024 Headline post, AARoads through 9/2/2024)

Updated a number of links to New York area websites, thanks to input from Valerie Deane, who does the excellent New York State Roads website.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site, for bills through 2024-12-26. As usual, I recommend to every Californian that they visit the legislative website regularly and see what their legis-critters are doing. As many people are unfamiliar with how the legislature operates (and why there are so many “non-substantive changes” and “gut and amend” bills), I’ve added the legislative calendar (updated for 2025) to the end of the Pending Legislation page. This review covered the end of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session and the start of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session. For the 2025-206 session, a few bills have been introduced. In additional to the “normal” bills, there seem to be a number that either (a) are intended as “protective” bills to protect the state from anticipated actions by the Trump administration, or (b) punitive bills against the perceived liberal legislature/pro-Trump agenda bills by pro-Trump assembly/senate-critters. I’m monitoring a few of the latter. After an extraordinary session, the legislature does not reconvene according to the calendar until 01/06/2025. Noted the passage of the following bills and resolutions from the end of the 2023-2024 Legislative Session:

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.