Category: roadgeeking

Ah, 2023. You’ve started out wet and snowy. We needed the water, and you’ve provided it … except perhaps in the areas that feed the Colorado River basin. But being inside has afforded me the time to work on the highway pages. Loads of email from Joel Windmiller was another reason — you’ll find loads of new route adoption and route proposal maps, thanks to Joel. So here are your updates to start the new year:

This update covers January and February 2023. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. Episodes are regularly posted around the middle of the month. You can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on anchor.fm, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Anchor.FM) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update:

• January | CA RxR 1.07: Highway Numbering: State Highways and Post Miles (featuring an interview with Andy Richardson, a Caltrans retiree and a Subject Matter Expert on GIS and the Post Mile system).
• February | CARxR 1.08: Highway Numbering: U.S. Highways (Part I) (no interview; when arranged, that will be Part II)

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers in January and February 2023 (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 Bigmikelakers⁽²⁾, Peter Bryan⁽³⁾, Concrete Bob⁽⁴⁾, Duke87⁽⁵⁾, Tom Fearer⁽⁶⁾, Steve Riner⁽⁷⁾, Chris Sampang⁽⁸⁾, William Sanford⁽⁹⁾, Edward Weiss⁽¹⁰⁾, Joel Windmiller⁽¹¹⁾: Route 1^(ℱ,11,8),  Route 2⁽¹¹⁾, Route 4⁽⁹⁾, I-5^(ℱ,2,11), Route 9^(ℱ,11),  I-10⁽¹¹⁾, Route 12⁽¹¹⁾, Route 14⁽¹¹⁾, I-15⁽¹¹⁾, Route 16⁽¹¹⁾, Route 17⁽¹¹⁾, Route 18⁽¹¹⁾, Route 20⁽¹¹⁾, Route 21^(ℱ,11), Route 24^(ℱ,11), Route 29⁽¹¹⁾, Route 30⁽¹¹⁾, Route 32⁽¹¹⁾, Route 36^(9,11),  Route 37^(ℱ,11), Route 38⁽¹¹⁾, Route 39^(ℱ,11), Route 44⁽¹¹⁾, Route 47⁽¹¹⁾, Route 48⁽¹¹⁾, Route 49^(6,11), US 50^(ℱ,11), Route 51⁽¹¹⁾, Route 57^(11,10), Route 58^(ℱ,9), Route 61⁽¹¹⁾, Route 64^(ℱ,11), Route 65⁽¹¹⁾,  US 66⁽¹¹⁾, Route 68⁽¹¹⁾, Route 70^(ℱ,9,11), US 70^(ℱ,7), Route 71⁽¹¹⁾, Route 77^(ℱ), Route 78⁽¹¹⁾, I-80^(ℱ,9,11), Route 82^(ℱ), Route 84⁽¹¹⁾, Route 85⁽¹¹⁾, Route 87^(ℱ), Route 88⁽¹¹⁾, Route 89⁽¹¹⁾, Route 90⁽¹¹⁾, Route 91^(ℱ), Route 92⁽¹¹⁾, Route 96⁽⁶⁾, Route 99^(ℱ,11), US 101^(ℱ,6,11),  I-105⁽¹¹⁾,  Route 108^(9,11), Route 113⁽⁴⁾, Route 114⁽¹¹⁾, Route 116⁽¹¹⁾, Route 120^(9,11), Route 121⁽¹¹⁾, Route 126⁽¹¹⁾, Route 128⁽¹¹⁾, Route 132⁽¹¹⁾, Route 138⁽¹¹⁾, Route 141⁽¹¹⁾, LRN 141⁽⁶⁾, Route 142⁽⁶⁾, Route 143⁽¹¹⁾, Route 145⁽¹¹⁾, Route 152⁽¹¹⁾, Route 159⁽⁶⁾, Route 160^(ℱ,11), Route 166⁽¹¹⁾, Route 170⁽¹¹⁾, Route 172⁽¹¹⁾, Route 178⁽¹¹⁾, Route 183⁽¹¹⁾, Route 193⁽¹¹⁾, US 199⁽¹¹⁾, I-210⁽¹¹⁾, Route 237⁽¹¹⁾, Route 245⁽¹¹⁾, Route 250⁽⁶⁾, Route 251⁽¹¹⁾, Route 275^(ℱ), I-280^(ℱ,5,11), Route 299^(9,11), FAI I-305^(ℱ), Route 371⁽³⁾, I-380⁽¹¹⁾, I-405^(2,11), Route 480^(ℱ), I-505⁽¹¹⁾, I-580⁽¹¹⁾, I-605⁽⁶⁾, I-680⁽¹¹⁾, I-710^(ℱ,11), I-880⁽¹¹⁾, I-980^(ℱ), County Sign Route J22⁽⁶⁾, County Sign Route S25^(ℱ). In particular, note the contributions of Joel Windmiller this cycle; Joel contributed loads of route adoption, route proposal, and route rescission maps to the pages.
(Source: private email through 3/5/2023, Highway headline posts through the February Headline post, AARoads through 2/25/2023)

Added links for maps and GIS resources to the main Maps page. Hat tips to Nathan Edgars II (in an email from 2008 that I just got to), as well as the January episode of California Route by Route. Updated the history of Sacramento with a 1958 planning map, courtesy of Joel Windmiller.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site, for bills through 2023-02-24. 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 to the end of the Pending Legislation page. This is the start of a new legislative session, so at this point mostly bills are being introduced. Welcome to the 2023-2024 session, folks.

Reviewed the online agenda of the California Coastal Commission. There was no January meeting, and no items of interest from the February meeting.

I checked California Transportation Commission page for the results of the January 2023 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:

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Two months down. Alright, who had “Snow in the Hollywood Hills in February” on their climate bingo card? Anyone. We were on vacation in Escondido at the end of February, and the drive back had us seeing snow on the mountains between Riverside and Orange counties, snow on the mountains of San Diego, snow above La-Canada Flintridge and Sylmar, and even snow in the Santa Susanna Mountains above Porter Ranch. But don’t worry, soon it will be back over 100 in Northridge again. Vacation gave me time to process loads of great email I’ve been sent by Joel Windmiller — expect to see loads of information on freeway proposals, adoptions, and rescissions in the next highway page update. But before I can finish that off, I need to post the February headlines so I can process them.

The podcast continues. For our most recent episode, someone from AASHTO said he would do an interview… and then stopped responding to emails. So we posted Part I, and if he ever responds it will be Part II. We do have the interview lined up for 1.09, and I’m still working on someone for 1.10 and 1.11. Want to help? Here’s what I’m looking for:

• For 1.10: We’re looking at the county sign routes. I’m looking for someone from a County Public Works department to talk about their involvement with the County Sign Route system, as Caltrans seems to have forgotten about it.
• For 1.11: I’d like an Assemblycritter to talk about naming resolutions. I’ve sent out a few queries, but no bites as of yet.
• For 1.12 (the last episode of the season): I’m working on getting someone from the CTC to talk about what they do.

If you or someone you know would be interested in helping this project, please contact me.

As for the February headlines: The ones that caught my eye were very light this month. The winter weather was part of it; part of it is that I don’t really care about resurfacings or temporary closures (except for larger problems like sinkholes). So not only was February a short month, it was a light headline month. Plus, the tool I use for grabbing headlines (Eversync) seems to have been acting up and not always synchronizing. As a result, some of these headlines might be duplicated from January, and if I missed an article of interest, please let me know.

Enough of this shameless self-promotion. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for February:

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.]

California Highways: Route by Route Podcast

• CARxR 1.08: Highway Numbering: U.S. Highways (Part I).In this episode, we continue our exploration of numbering of state highways by turning our attention to the U.S. highway system. These are the white shields with black numbers. It is the second episode in a four part miniseries on highway numbers in California. In this episode we talk about the history of the US highway system, how the US highways are numbered, how things have changed in the post-Interstate era, and we wax rhapsodic on the nostalgia of US highways. The remaining episodes in the miniseries will explore the numbering of and the history of California’s Interstates, and the signed county route system.Our interview for this episode was to be with Jim McDonnell of AASHTO on AASHTO’s role in assigning US and Interstate numbers. But we’ve run into scheduling difficulties and haven’t been able to coordinate a recording time by our scheduled drop date. So consider this Part I of the episode. When we can get things coordinated with Jim we’ll record and release Part II.

Back episodes are available at the Podcast’s forever home, as well as on its anchor.fm home. The anchor.fm also has links to the podcast’s page on most major podcasting services.

Highway Headlines

• Highway 92 Closed in San Mateo County (NBC Bay Area). Highway 92 in San Mateo County continues to be shut down in both directions and authorities early Friday had no estimated time lanes would reopen. The county sent an alert at about 3:30 a.m. Thursday indicating the closure from upper Skyline Boulevard to Pilarcitos Creek Road. It did not initially specify a reason for the complete closure but later said the hazard was classified as a sinkhole. Motorists were urged to take alternate routes. Caltrans recommended drivers take Highway 1 via Pacifica to get to and from Half Moon Bay. There is another sinkhole on Highway 1 at Pescadero that has traffic down to one lane in that area.
• A trip down the most mysterious road in California (SF Gate). A crucifix-shaped swimming pool crumbles in the desert sun. Alongside it, five decrepit concrete baths once filled with the promise of cleansing sins. Warm mineral water, tapped from what was said to be a holy underground river, drew desperate salvation searchers to this remote California wasteland. Today, part of the pool sinks into the banks of the ancient lakebed upon which this strange settlement was built.
• DOT provides $29.4M to repair California roads damaged by floods (Transport Dive). The Federal Highway Administration is providing $29.4 million in emergency funding to repair California highways, roads, bridges and other infrastructure damaged in flooding in December and January, the agency announced Tuesday. The money is immediately available for use by the California Department of Transportation and four federal land management agencies following severe storm damage that affected as many as 40 of the state’s 58 counties. At least 22 people died as a result of the storms, The Los Angeles Times reported.
• Hwy 70 through Feather River Canyon remains closed indefinitely; new slides occurring (Plumas News). Caltrans District 2 released the latest information on Highway 70 through the Feather River Canyon, this morning, Jan. 26. There continues to be new slide activity, including an event that came down on equipment operating in the area. Luckily, the operator was not injured in the incident. Following is the update: Highway 70 remains closed to through traffic between Jarbo Gap (west of Pulga) and the Greenville Wye (junction with State Route 89) due to continuing slide activity.
• Caltrans announces new repair projects on Highway 101 near Willits (The Ukiah Daily Journal). The California Transportation Commission recently allocated more than $988 million to repair and improve transportation infrastructure throughout the state, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) reported. “The CTC’s investments will help rebuild California’s transportation infrastructure while increasing transit and active transportation options,” Caltrans Director Tony Tavares was quoted as noting in a press release, which also pointed out that the “funding (being allocated) includes more than $450 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, and more than $250 million from Senate Bill (SB) 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Local projects [near Ukiah/Willits] recently approved include:
• California Transportation Commission approves millions in Northern California transportation projects (Lake County News). The California Transportation Commission, or CTC, has allocated over $988 million to repair and improve transportation infrastructure throughout the state. This funding includes more than $450 million from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, or IIJA, and more than $250 million from Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. “The CTC’s investments will help rebuild California’s transportation infrastructure while increasing transit and active transportation options. These projects reflect the CTC and Caltrans’ commitment to safety and meeting future challenges,” said Caltrans Director Tony Tavares. Projects the CTC approved [in Lake County] include:

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Ah, a new year. Hopefully, 2023 will see you all happy, healthy, and safely on the roads. On my side, we got a new episode of the podcast up, focusing on the numbering on state highways — both the signed numbers and post miles. It’s a really interesting episode. We’re working on the next one — on the history of US highways and their numbering — right now.

As always, I’m looking for interviews:

• For 1.08: We return to the US highway system, so I’m looking for someone from AASHTO on the process for getting highway numbers approved. I’ve got a lead on this…
• For 1.09: We return to the Interstates. We’ll be talking to Andy Field, who did some of the first Interstate highway pages for California and is one of the “A”s behind AARoads.
• For 1.10: We’re looking at the county sign routes. I’m working with the Caltrans Local Assistance Programs office, as well as the LA Department of Public Works.
• For 1.11: I’d like an Assemblycritter to talk about naming resolutions. I’ve sent out a few queries, but no bites as of yet.

If you or someone you know would be interested in helping this project, please contact me.

The headlines for January were lighter. Work slows down in the winter, plus we had all the rains. I’ll note that work for the next round of highway page updates will commence once these headlines are posted. I know I’ve got the January CTC meeting, plus Joel Windmiller has been sending me loads of newspaper articles to go through. I figure I’ll be doing a bunch of work over President’s Day weekend.

Enough of this shameless self-promotion. 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.]

California Highways: Route by Route Podcast

• CARxR 1.07: Highway Numbering: State Highways and Post Miles.In this episode, we explore numbering systems in state highways. It is the start of a four part miniseries on highway numbers in California. Specifically, this episode explores the rhymes and reason for the assigning of signed route numbers to highways with the state shield. This includes looking at the patterns in those numbers, and how the numbering system stands today after the Great Nenumbering. The subsequent episodes in the miniseries will explore the numbering system of US Highways, the numbering of and the history of California’s Interstates, and the signed county route system.The episode also explores another numbering system on state highways: Post Miles. As opposed to sequential mileage numbers as is found in other states, California uses a system called post miles that identifies points along a highway using a combination of a county and a mile point from the southern/western county line, possibly with clarifying prefixes or suffixes. We discuss this system is good detail.Our interview is with Andy Richardson, who retired from Caltrans as a Subject Matter Expert in Geographical Information Systems, Linear Referencing Systems, and Postmiles. Andy worked as a GIS specialist for the State of California since 1988, including Caltrans between 2001 and his retirement in 2021. In his last years at Caltrans, he implemented the Department’s current Linear Referencing System.

Back episodes are available at the Podcast’s forever home, as well as on its anchor.fm home. The anchor.fm also has links to the podcast’s page on most major podcasting services.

Highway Headlines

• ＄Band of bighorn sheep could stop Caltrans from reopening part of Highway 39 (San Gabriel Valley Tribune). What would prevent Caltrans’ from pursuing its latest attempt to rebuild part of State Route 39 high up in the San Gabriel Mountains, washed away by Mother Nature 44 years ago? The list of possibilities includes more rock slides, giant falling boulders, snowy weather and the cost, which could climb to $57 million or more. But the biggest obstacle standing in the way of Caltrans’ project to repair an official state highway built in 1957 by order of President Dwight D. Eisenhower is a skittish population of protected sheep known for their crowns of curled horns.
• AGC: Billion-Dollar Funds Will Fix Golden State Spans (Construction Eqpt. Guide). As part of the Federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, California is receiving approximately $4.2 billion over five years to address the repair and replacement of highway bridges. This translates into $849.4 million in initial funding for the five-year bridge repair program. The bridge formula program represents the largest federal investment ever made to repair and upgrade bridges — dedicating $26.5 billion to states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico and $825 million for Tribal transportation facilities. The $849.4 million that California is receiving represents more than double the amount of any other state. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and local transportation agencies in the state will target the funds to improve the nearly 1,500 bridges rated to be in “poor” condition in the state.
• ＄How Disney’s Sierra Nevada ski resort changed environmentalism forever (Los Angeles Times). Let’s start 2023 by looking six decades into the past. That’s how long it’s been since Walt Disney proposed building a massive ski resort at Mineral King, a gorgeous mountain valley in California’s Sierra Nevada bordered on three sides by  Sequoia National Park. The ensuing controversy — and Sierra Club lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service — played a significant role in shaping the modern environmental movement. It’s a story that Daniel Selmi, an emeritus law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, deftly brings to life in a book released last year, “Dawn at Mineral King Valley: The Sierra Club, the Disney Company, and the Rise of Environmental Law.”
• ＄Widening Highways Doesn’t Fix Traffic. So Why Do We Keep Doing It? (The New York Times). Interstate 710 in Los Angeles is, like the city itself, famous for its traffic. Freight trucks traveling between the city and the port of Long Beach, along with commuters, clog the highway. The trucks idle in the congestion, contributing to poor air quality in surrounding neighborhoods that are home to over one million people. The proposed solution was the same one transportation officials across the country have used since the 1960s: Widen the highway. But while adding lanes can ease congestion initially, it can also encourage people to drive more. A few years after a highway is widened, research shows, traffic — and the greenhouse gas emissions that come along with it — often returns.
• More than $405 million in transit related projects included in FY23 congressionally directed spending (Mass Transit). President Joe Biden signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, into law on Dec. 29, 2022, to fund government activities through Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. The act includes $21.2 billion for public transit and $16.6 billion for passenger and freight rail. The bill also includes specific funding for projects designated as “community project funding/congressionally directed spending,” a designation that returned under the FY22 appropriations process. The omnibus package included more than $406 million for more than 140 transit, passenger rail, transit access and transit-oriented development projects. The three accounts under the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) projects received designated funding includes Highway Infrastructure Programs, which included transit access projects, Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) and Transit Infrastructure Grants, which accounts for $360.5 million of the total transit related project spending. More than $13 million in funding for projects related to transit was included in the designations under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Development Fund.

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Another year has come to a close. It’s been a tiring one — I could list my reasons, but I’m sure you have a list of your own. All we can hope is that 2023 uses lube. But still, there were a few good things that happened. I got the new podcast off the ground, and we’ve had some real interesting interviews. I just need to learn how to edit the sound a bit better (and get a better microphone setup). I’ve kept the site up to date with updates, and people still seem to appreciate the work. So, in that vein, here are the updates for the California Highways website for November and December:

This update covers November and December. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. Episodes are regularly posted around the middle of the month. You can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org/ , the show’s page on anchor.fm, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Anchor.FM) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update:

• December | Episode 1.06: Chronology – CEQA and Reality (featuring an interview with Gary Ruggerone, a Caltrans retiree and a Subject Matter Expert in CEQA and NEPA).

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers in November and December 2022 (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⁾, Joel Windmiller⁽³⁾: I-5⁽³⁾, I-10⁽³⁾, Route 16^(ℱ), Route 20^(ℱ), Route 30^(3,2), Route 39^(ℱ), Route 41^(ℱ), Route 46^(ℱ), Route 49⁽²⁾, Route 67^(ℱ), Route 70^(ℱ), I-80^(ℱ), Route 99^(ℱ,2), US 101^(ℱ,2), Route 106⁽²⁾, Route 156⁽²⁾, Route 210⁽²⁾, Route 211⁽²⁾, I-280^(ℱ), Route 330⁽²⁾, I-580^(ℱ).
(Source: private email, Highway headline posts through the December Headline post (as indicated), AARoads through 12/29/2022)

Reviewed the Traversable Highways report from 2013 (hey, I just discovered it). Updated the following pages: Route 1, Route 12, Route 13, Route 14, Route 18, Route 24, Route 37, Route 39, Route 47, Route 48, Route 54, Route 56, Route 61, Route 64, Route 65, Route 74, Route 77, Route 81, Route 84, Route 87, Route 90, Route 91, Route 92, Route 93, Route 100, Route 102, Route 104, Route 108, Route 109, Route 118, Route 122, Route 125, Route 128, Route 130, Route 142, Route 143, Route 148, Route 152, Route 162, Route 164, Route 169, Route 170, Route 178, Route 179, Route 180, Route 181, Route 190, Route 211, Route 217, Route 227, Route 234, Route 235, Route 238, Route 239, Route 249, Route 251, Route 257, Route 258, Route 270, Route 276, Route 280, Route 281, Route 285, Route 380, Route 605, Route 710.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site. 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 to the end of the Pending Legislation page. This is the start of a new legislative session, so there wasn’t much activity. The major change to the page was updating the legislative calendar, and deleting the bills from the 2021-2022 session. Welcome to the 2023-2024 session, folks.

Reviewed the online agenda of the California Coastal Commission. There was no December meeting.

I checked California Transportation Commission page for the results of the December 2022 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:

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December was an interesting month. It started with the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC). That — combined with a post-conference cold and difficultly coordinating an interview — led to a delay in getting Episode 1.06 up. But it’s there for your listening pleasure now.

I appreciate much more what a podcast producer does, especially the hard job of scaring up interviews. I think I’ve got a lead for 1.07; I’m still working on 1.08 and beyond. I’m looking for someone who is willing to talk for 30 minutes or so on the following:

• For 1.08: We return to the US highway system, so I’m looking for someone from AASHTO on the process for getting highway numbers approved.
• For 1.09: We return to the Interstates, so I’m looking for someone with some interesting insights on California’s interstate submittals.
• For 1.10: We’re looking at the county sign routes, so I’m look for someone from the Caltrans Local Assistance Programs office, or someone from a County public works department.

If you or someone you know would be interested in helping this project, please contact me.

The headlines for December were light. Perhaps fewer piqued my interest this month, but I do think the pace has turned to a focus on resurfacing and disaster repairs, and that’s of less interest for the pages. Speaking of the pages: I’m working on the last round of updates to the California Highways pages for 2022, which should be up slightly after this post.

Enough of this shameless self-promotion. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for December:

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.]

California Highways: Route by Route Podcast

• CARxR 1.06: Chronology – CEQA and Reality.In this episode, we conclude our exploration the history of the State Highway System with the last episode in this 6-part miniseries. This episode focused on the post-1969 era in the stat highway system: the changes in the highway system after 1969; the impact of the environmental quality acts, and the growing involvement of the regional transportation agencies. We also explore the changes in governance of state highways. Our interview is with Gary Ruggerone, who was the Caltrans District 5 Environmental Branch Chief from June 1980 until December 2010 when he retired from Caltrans. He started as as an Environmental Planner in D7 in March 1979, one of 5 environmental planners hired off the very first Environmental Planner Civil Service Exam. He was directly involved with Caltrans during the early days of CEQA and NEPA and is joining us to provide valuable insight on the impact of the CEQA. Gary is currently the Owner/Principal Environmental Planner of Piedra Environmental Consultants, a local environmental planning firm specializing in CEQA and NEPA analysis and regulatory permit compliance for transportation-related projects. A life-long resident of California, Gary earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and a Master of Arts in Population Aquatic Biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

Back episodes are available at the Podcast’s forever home, as well as on its anchor.fm home. The anchor.fm also has links to the podcast’s page on most major podcasting services.

Highway Headlines

• The future of Bay Area freeways could have per-mile tolling (SF Gate). Transportation officials for the Bay Area are in the middle of a planning exercise to adapt the region’s freeway system for the next generation of drivers.  One proposition in the early stages of consideration is to treat freeways as a public utility, therefore subjecting them to operation costs that would be accrued through tolling. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission is starting to envision a future of Bay Area travel where per-mile tolls appear on freeways and highways across the region.
• Lawmaker May Take SF Out of Its Freeway Removal Slump (San Francisco Standard). A state lawmaker asked the state’s transportation department to figure out what it would take to remove what’s left of San Francisco’s Central Freeway and to look into what can be done with two other freeways. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) formally asked the California Department of Transportation to study the cost and logistics for taking down the Central Freeway, the Bayshore Viaduct of Interstate 80 between 17th Street and the Bay Bridge, and Interstate 280 north of U.S. 101.
• Transportation officials consider plan for Bay Area commuters to pay tolls on busy freeways to reduce traffic, emissions (ABC7 San Francisco). The future of Bay Area commuters could include tolls, not only at bridges but also on freeways. Transportation officials are considering the proposal as part of an effort to ease traffic congestion and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Officials say congestion is mounting, partly because they’ve kept the user price of driving on freeways down. Officials are considering the Plan Bay Area 2050, a joint project between the MTC and Association of Bay Area Governments. They say the tolling idea would include all lanes of certain freeways-not just the express lanes.
• Contractor: Golden Gate Bridge suicide net will cost $400M (AP News). A suicide prevention net on San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge that is already years behind schedule will cost about $400 million, more than double its original price, because of problems sparked by the government agency that manages the span, the lead contractors allege. The allegations filed Monday in state court by Shimmick Construction Co. and Danny’s Construction Co. say that changes to and flaws in the government’s net design and the lack of transparency about the deterioration of the bridge’s maintenance platforms have raised the construction price from $142 million to at least $398 million.
• Modesto’s State Route 132 West Project | What to know (ABC 10). The State Route 132 West project has been a goal for the city of Modesto for 60 years. Highway 132 currently runs through streets in Modesto, causing issues with congestion, shipping, and even pollution due to idling vehicles. The project is supposed to make the area safer and keep trucks moving by relieving some of the traffic on Maze Boulevard. The long-anticipated $100 million project received over 70% of funding from the state and federal government, with a majority from the state. The local region funded about 30% of the project.
• ＄City’s path followed Agoura Road (The Acorn). The vintage, late-1940s postcard shown above provides a glimpse of Agoura Road when it was part of the main route from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara long before the 101 Freeway was built. The tall “Agoura” sign at the upper right of the picture—possibly dating back to the 1920s—welcomed travelers to a little hamlet where they could grab gas and food. But it was more than that. Known now as the Historic Quarter of Agoura Hills, the area south of the 101 Freeway off the Chesebro Road exit along Agoura Road, can also be thought of as the closest thing to a downtown the city has ever had.

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And I thought October was busy! November was equally busy with theatre, recording and producing Episode 1.05, and getting the updates to the highway page done. December is starting with the Annual Computer Security Applications Conference (ACSAC), with may mean a delay of a week or two in getting Episode 1.06 up.

I’ve come to learn that one of the hardest parts of podcasts is scaring up interviews. We’re still finalizing the interview for Episode 1.06, and I’m still open on upcoming episodes. I’m looking for someone who is willing to talk for 30 minutes or so on the following:

• For 1.07: The California Post-Mile System: Its origin, its use, and why California sticks with it.
• For 1.08: We return to the US highway system, so I’m looking for someone to discuss some of the history of the numbers of US highways in the state; or, alternatively, someone from AASHTO on the process for getting highway numbers approved.
• For 1.09: We return to the Interstates, so I’m looking for someone with some interesting insights on California’s interstate submittals.

If you or someone you know would be interested in helping this project, please contact me.

The updates to the California Highway pages were posted last week; the next update round will be between Christmas and New Years. I’m finishing off the last podcast script for Season 1 this week.

Enough of this shameless self-promotion. 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.]

California Highways: Route by Route Podcast

• CARxR Ep. 1.05: Chronology – The Great Renumbering and New Freeways. In this episode, we’re continuing to explore the history of the State Highway System, focusing on the construction boom in the 1960s under the administration of Pat Brown. This period saw the great renumbering, as highways were unified under a combined legislative / sign route system (as opposed to the separate systems that existing previously). It also saw a tremendous expansion of the freeways as construction worked hard to meet the construction deadlines. The period ended with the passage of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the election of Ronald Reagan, and the Freeway Revolts. Our interview is with Arturo Salazar, a retired District 7 Caltrans engineer and moderator of the Freeways of Los Angeles Facebook group.

Back episodes are available at the Podcast’s forever home, as well as on its anchor.fm home. The anchor.fm also has links to the podcast’s page on most major podcasting services.

Highway Headlines

• Highway 101 project in Salinas is set to begin on Nov. 6 (KSBW 8). Caltrans will begin a six-month project in Salinas starting on Nov. 6 at Highway 101 North and Kern Street. This project will include widening, and extending the E. Market St. onramp to northbound U.S. 101 by 1,500 feet, repaving of the roadway, and construction of a concrete barrier and a retaining wall. When construction begins there will be a closure of the East Market Street onramp to northbound Highway 101for six months.
• Why is Highway 101 in the middle of Santa Rosa? (Press Democrat). Having Highway 101 run north and south smack through the middle of Santa Rosa may be convenient, but the divide it creates between east and west is mostly unfortunate. Some Santa Rosans in the 1940s thought the Highway 101 route could be placed around the town instead of through it and proposed routes further east or west, possibly along Fulton and Wright roads, to ease truck traffic in the city. But some businessmen worried about potential customers being rerouted too far from shops lobbied to have it close to downtown, and ultimately the city council agreed.
• Express lanes on Highway 101 starting to open (San Mateo Daily Journal). The Highway 101 express lane section from Whipple Avenue in Redwood City to Interstate 380 in South San Francisco is now open to the public, with transit authorities declaring it a soft opening. The express lanes will be open to vehicles with three or more passengers and motorcycles only from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Friday. The new express lanes will be open to all vehicles during all other times. Full operations will start in early 2023 once crews complete construction for signal operations. SamTrans spokesperson Dan Lieberman said by email tolling will not start until the official opening in 2023, with the lane still operating as a HOV 3+ lane, rather than a general purpose lane. SamTrans spokesperson Mahmoud Abunie said the soft opening would allow transit officials to examine traffic flow and signal runs for carpoolers while also allowing the public to use it. Abunie said the public desire to see it opened also played a role in the soft opening.
• ＄New Bay Area express lanes on Hwy. 101 are opening. Here’s how you can buy your way into them (San Francisco Chronicle). Drivers with two or more passengers in their cars can pull into the new express lanes on Highway 101 along much of the Peninsula, even as engineers and contractors finish installing and testing toll equipment. The lanes, which stretch nearly 16 miles from Whipple Avenue in Redwood City on the south to Interstate 380 on the north, will be a combination of a toll lane and a carpool lane when they fully open early next year, offering free rides to carpoolers and allowing anyone to buy their way in.
• Bay Area city moves to ban all right turns on red lights (SF Gate). “I don’t want to move to a city where the only cultural advantage is being able to make a right turn on a red light,” Alvy Singer famously said about moving from New York to California. That incentive may no longer be true of Berkeley, after the first steps in a proposal to ban right turns on red lights citywide was approved last week. “From the way we design our roads to the rules we set for them, cars are given priority in the public right of way at the express detriment to pedestrians and cyclists,” Berkeley councilmember Terry Taplin wrote in the budget proposal, first shared by Berkeleyside, that was approved on Thursday. “One such example is the de facto right given to cars to turn ‘Right on Red’ at signalized intersections.”

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I know what I’m thankful for this weekend: Finishing these updates. Between the podcast, these updates, theatre, moving stuff from my office back home (a side effect of the ranch moving to a “hoteling” model if you aren’t in 4 days a week or more), and getting ready for ACSAC, it’s been hard to find the time to get these done. But done they are, so you can enjoy them as you get into the holiday season.

This update covers August, September, and October. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. Since July, we’ve kept up the schedule of regular posting of episodes. You can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org/ , the show’s page on anchor.fm, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Anchor.FM) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update:

• August | Episode 1.02: Building a State Highway System: The 1920s (featuring an interview with Joel Windmiller of the Lincoln Highway Association on the history of the US highway system)
• September | Episode 1.03: Building a State Highway System: The 1930s (featuring an interview with Morgan Yates, archivist of the Auto Club of Southern California on the Auto Club’s role in signing highways)
• October | Episode 1.04: Building a State Highway System: Expanding the State Highway System after WWII (featuring an interview with Dr. Jonathan L. Gifford (George Mason University) on the impact of the Interstate System)
• November | Episode 1.05: Chronology – The Great Renumbering and New Freeways (featuring an interview with Arturo Salazar, a retired District 7 Caltrans engineer and moderator of the Freeways of Los Angeles Facebook group)

We’re still looking for interviews for upcoming episodes in Season 1. Please let me know if you have any leads for the following episodes:

• For 1.06: Someone familiar with CEQA and its impact on the highway construction process; also the impact of regional transportation planning agencies
• For 1.07: Someone familiar with California’s state highway numbering, and in particular, with how post miles are used in California.
• For 1.08: Someone familiar with AASHTO’s role in highway numbering.

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers in August, September, and October 2022 (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 FredAkbar⁽²⁾, Tom Fearer⁽³⁾, Matthew Goetz⁽⁴⁾, kernals12⁽⁵⁾, Jim Ross⁽⁶⁾, Chris Sampang⁽⁷⁾, Joel Windmiller⁽⁸⁾: Route 1^(3,5), Route 11^(ℱ), Route 12^(ℱ), Route 14^(ℱ), Route 17^(ℱ), Route 20^(ℱ), Route 24⁽⁷⁾, Route 29^(ℱ), Route 30^(ℱ), Route 36^(ℱ), Route 37^(ℱ,4), Route 46^(ℱ), Route 49^(ℱ,3,8), US 50^(ℱ), Route 52^(ℱ), Route 56^(ℱ), Route 58^(ℱ), US 66^(3,6), Route 60^(ℱ), I-80^(ℱ), Route 81⁽³⁾, Route 86⁽³⁾, Route 88⁽⁸⁾, Route 99^(ℱ,3), US 101^(ℱ,2,3), Route 106⁽³⁾, Route 108^(ℱ), Route 128^(ℱ), Route 132^(ℱ,3), Route 135^(ℱ), Route 140⁽⁸⁾, Route 156^(ℱ), Route 170^(ℱ), Route 198⁽³⁾,  I-210^(ℱ,3), Route 215^(ℱ), Route 248⁽³⁾, Route 256⁽³⁾, Route 259^(ℱ), I-405^(ℱ), I-605^(ℱ), I-680^(ℱ), I-805^(ℱ), County Sign Route J14⁽³⁾, County Sign Route S31^(ℱ).
(Source: private email, Highway headline posts through the October Headline post (as indicated), AARoads through TBD)

Added some images of proposed State Route signage to the State Route numbering page. Images courtesy of the ACSC and Morgan Yates.

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site. 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 to the end of the Pending Legislation page. We’re near the end of the session, so here’s what made it out of the process:

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October was another busy month. This time, it was more theatre, combined with finishing and posting Episode 1.04 of the California Highways – Route by Route podcast (Anchor.FM Home, with links to most major podcatching services), getting ready for Episode 1.05 (we start recording as I post this), and getting out my detailed ballot post. Oh, and I’ve been working on the next round of highway page updates (which has resulted in some delayed theatre reviews).

I’ve come to learn that one of the hardest parts of podcasts is scaring up interviews. I finally got someone for Episode 1.05, and now for the upcoming episodes, I’m looking for someone who is willing to talk for 30 minutes or so on the following:

• For 1.06: The impact of CEQA on road construction in California — including the process both before and after CEQA — as well as the impact of the growing importance of regional transportation agencies on the State Highway System.
• For 1.07: The California Post-Mile System: Its origin, its use, and why California sticks with it.
• For 1.08: We return to the US highway system, so I’m looking for someone to discuss some of the history of the numbers of US highways in the state; or, alternatively, someone from AASHTO on the process for getting highway numbers approved.

If you or someone you know would be interested in helping this project, please contact me.

With respect to the main highway pages: I’ve processed the August and September headlines, as well as all the legislative actions (there were lots of naming resolutions). Once this is posted I’ll get to work on the October headlines and AARoads, and then it is on to the CTC minutes. The goal is still to have those updates done in November. Podcast scripts are written through 1.10; all that remains is the naming and transportation organizations episode.

Enough of this shameless self-promotion. 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.]

California Highways: Route by Route Podcast

• CARxR Ep. 1.04: Expanding the State Highway System after WWII. In this episode, we’re continuing to explore the history of the State Highway System, focusing on the period as WWII was ending, the Interstate system was emerging, and the construction boom was starting. This is part of our first season of California Highways: Route by Route, where we are exploring the background needed for our route by route journey. In this episode, we see the birth of the Freeway System in California, starting with the Collier-Burns act increasing state funding for highways, and State and Federal recommendations for higher-capacity systems. We see the growth in cities and urban areas pushing demand for the same, leading to the definition of the Freeway and Expressway System. We cover the passage of the 1956 Interstate Highway Act, and the subsequent freeway conversion and construction boom. Our guest interview is with Dr. Jonathan L. Gifford of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is also the director of the Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy. His doctoral dissertation examined the history and development of the interstate highway system from its origins in the 1930s through its design and deployment in the 1960s and beyond.

Back episodes are available at the Podcast’s forever home, as well as on its anchor.fm home. The anchor.fm also has links to the podcast’s page on most major podcasting services.

Highway Headlines

• Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. Reconstructs Highway in Mojave Desert (Construction Eqpt. Guide). U.S. Highway 395 is a priority interregional highway in the Caltrans Interregional Transportation Strategic Plan, part of the National Network of truck routes, and included in the Caltrans Highway Freight Network. “The highway is vital to the economy of the Eastern Sierra region and is one of five major recreational corridors identified for Southern California,” states the project web page. Crews from Fisher Sand & Gravel Co. began construction on the last stretch (12.5-mi., postmile 29.2 to postmile 41.8) of U.S. Highway 395 last January, to update this section to two lanes in each direction with a 10-ft. shoulder on each side.
• ＄ Ramona officials urge Caltrans to repair intersection after two fatal collisions (Ramona Sentinel). The death of a 68-year-old Ramona woman in a Sept. 19 rollover crash has renewed calls for road improvements at the Mussey Grade Road and state Route 67 intersection. The intersection has been the site of two other serious accidents in recent months, including one in which a 90-year-old man died in a head-on collision that pushed his vehicle backward and into the path of another vehicle, and another that left a woman with serious injuries. The Sept. 19 collision occurred about 3:40 p.m. as the woman stopped her 2005 Dodge Ram on westbound Mussey Grade Road, then turned left onto south SR-67. When she made the turn, she drove into the path of a northbound 2004 Toyota Prius, which broadsided the pickup, said California Highway Patrol Officer Matthew Baranowski. The truck overturned and landed on its roof.
• Caltrans to make safety improvements on stretch of State Route 36 (Times-Standard). Caltrans is planning safety improvements to reduce the frequency and severity of collisions on a two-mile stretch of State Route 36 between Hydesville and Carlotta. A public meeting to talk about the project’s environmental document and gather input from the community was held on Sept. 28 at Cuddeback Elementary School, and more than 50 people attended. “Our project team was encouraged by the community’s interest as they provided needed insight and information that we will incorporate into our design,” said Caltrans District 1 Project Manager Marie Brady. “The community also brought up other areas of interest, near and within the project limits, for further investigation, which is exactly what we look for when engaging with folks.”
• Our Future 101 – Ventura County’s Highway 101 HOV Project (VCTC). Commuters? Travelers? No, it’s us, Ventura County drivers. We tend to use the 101 like a main street. We jump on the freeway to cross town to take our kids to school, go to the farmer’s market, and commute to and from work daily, within the county. There are few alternatives for the 101 and the improvements over the years have not kept up with the demands we place on the 101. Congestion is projected to more than double in the next 20 years. Fortunately, help is on the way. The Ventura County Transportation Commission (VCTC), working in partnership with Caltrans and the local cities and the County of Ventura, has taken the lead to identify improvements along this important connection to all we do.
• Caltrans completes Dry Creek Bridge project (Yahoo!News). After more than two years of construction, the Dry Creek Bridge renovation project in Yuba County has been completed, offering drivers more space on a previously narrow road and bridge. Officials with Caltrans held a ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday to commemorate the completion of the project on Highway 20 in Browns Valley, along with other road projects that concurrently developed. The Browns Valley project is the last of five major projects to be completed along Highway 20, said Caltrans Project Manager Johnny Tan. The five-mile section between Marysville Road and Timbuctoo Place was renovated and rehabilitated in order to provide wider lanes and shoulders to give commercial and recreational drivers more space to travel and pull off from the road.
• Caltrans Breaks Ground on Chumash Museum Highway Beautification Project (Noozhawk). Caltrans broke ground this week on the Chumash Museum Highway Beautification project along a stretch of State Route 246 near Santa Ynez. The project is made possible through Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative, a sweeping, $1.2 billion, multiyear clean-up effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs and join with communities throughout the state to reclaim, transform and beautify public spaces. The $1.3 million Chumash Museum Highway Beautification project — the first of 12 Clean California-funded Central Coast beautification projects to break ground — will improve a half-mile section of the highway by installing artistic fencing, native plant landscaping, upgraded irrigation using recycled water, decorative crosswalks for pedestrians and bicyclists, and better directional signage.
• PCH projects will protect vulnerable highway – Santa Monica Daily Press (Santa Monica Daily Press). Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) could be getting some much needed attention just north of Santa Monica with two Caltrans projects on the way that could shore up the delicate coastal thoroughfare. One of the projects dates back to 2016, when high surf swept away a portion of the highway’s shoulder, exposing a high pressure gas pipeline in the Tuna Canyon area not far from Malibu’s southern border.

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