🛣️ Headlines About California Highways – June 2019

Yes, I have been doing something other than the Hollywood Fringe Festival (FB) during June. I’ve been collecting highway headlines, as always. I’ll note that the current plan is to start work on the next round of updates to the highway pages on 7/4/2019; I’m not sure how long it will take. Until then, as we say, ready, set, discuss.

💲🧱 indicates an extremely restrictive paywall, one impervious to incognito browsing. 💲🕶 indicates a paywall for which incognito browsing works.

Idyllwild Businesses Suffer As Highways 74, 243 To Remain Closed All Summer. Two major arteries into the San Jacinto Mountains community of Idyllwild will likely remain shut down all summer due to ongoing stormy weather which has prevented repair work to move forward. Highway 243 and Highway 74 have been shut down since February after historic rains washed away large portions of both roadways.
Caltrans to Begin $731,000 SB 1 Culvert Replacement Project on State Route 108 in Tuolumne County. Drainage Project to Provide Safer, More Comfortable Ride for Tourists, Residents and Big Rigs. Next week, Caltrans will begin work to replace four culverts on rural State Route 108 in the Sierra Nevada. The $731,000 project is funded through Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The six-month project will replace a culvert near Donnell Lake and three others by the Tuolumne/Mono County line. The work will improve Caltrans’ ability to safely and efficiently transport water and debris away from the highway to minimize flooding and provide more comfortable trips for travelers. “Highway 108 is a popular route for spring and summer travelers who want to explore the mountains,” said Caltrans Director Laurie Berman. “By supporting tourism, we strengthen California’s economy as well as the quality of life in many small towns and communities.”
The slow climb for State Route 60: all signs show start in June. Construction has begun this week on two truck lanes that will widen four-and-a-half miles of State Route 60, between Gilman Springs Road and Jack Rabbit Trail. Cheryl Donahue, public affairs manager for the Riverside County Transportation Commission, and construction manager Bryce Johnston gave a presentation about the project at the May 21 Beaumont city council meeting. The project will include construction of an eastbound truck climbing lane and a westbound truck descending lane that will be 11 feet on the interior shoulder and 12 feet on the outside shoulder.
Hardest cycling climbs. Useful Tool for inclines on state highways.
Heads up: Construction of 3 Napa roundabouts ready to start. Construction of three planned roundabouts along a heavily traveled couple of blocks west of downtown Napa should begin in earnest next week, launching months of roadwork-related traffic shifts. Transportation officials during a Monday ceremony broke ground on what will be roundabouts at First Street/Highway 29, First Street/California Boulevard and California Boulevard/Second Street.

Caltrans Beginning Construction on State Route 49 Rehabilitation Project Using SB 1 Funds. Caltrans will begin construction Monday, June 17 on a $40.5 million project along State Route 49 in Auburn with funding provided by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The project, which stretches 4.4 miles from the I-80/SR-49 interchange to Dry Creek Road, will rehabilitate existing pavement and drainage, improve operational features and upgrade pedestrian and bicycle facilities. Class II bicycle lanes will be installed northbound and southbound on SR-49 between Elm Avenue and Dry Creek Road, with bike timing loops at each signal to assist bicyclists traveling the four-mile stretch.
CCTA, Caltrans Work on $136M Project Near San Francisco. Work is under way on a $136 million interchange improvement project at the Interstate 680 and the State Route 4 Interchange in Contra Costa County near San Francisco. It is the first phase of the project. The Contra Costa Transportation Authority (CCTA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) are plugging away on the first phase of a multi-phased project to improve safety and help reduce congestion. The initial phase of construction involves widening a 4-mi. segment of SR-4 in both directions between Morello Avenue in Martinez and SR-242.
SR-120/Yosemite Junction project. Caltrans District 10 on Twitter: “District 10 broke ground on the SR-120/Yosemite Junction project in April & work is scheduled to be completed this summer. The project will add traffic signals to the intersection, which is a key path on the route to Yosemite National Park. For more, ….
$581M Freeway Project Begins in Orange County, Calif. The Orange County Transportation Authority and Caltrans broke ground today (Thursday, June 6) on an Interstate 5 freeway construction project that will improve traffic flow on 6.5 miles of one of Southern California’s most heavily traveled sections of freeway. Transportation and community leaders gathered overlooking Interstate 5 to commemorate the beginning of construction on the $581 million project that will add a regular lane in each direction, extend a second carpool lane, and improve interchanges and streets.
Is there hope for fixing 215 Freeway potholes, rough spots between Riverside and Perris area?. 💲🧱 Q: C. Richard Writer, of Menifee, wrote to share his observation and inquire about the poor freeway paving on the 215 Freeway from the Ramona Expressway to the 60 interchange. He said the 215 has “the worst paving job” across all northbound and southbound lanes. “The holes are two inches to four inches in depth and from a small diameter to a large diameter and long lengths.” Writer said the paving is hard on the suspensions and alignment of his cars and he won’t drive his Corvette up the 215 any more because of this. He asked how to contact Caltrans to complain.
Skanska picked for Californian highway. The US$101m (£80m) contract with California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is for a four-lane highway with freeway connectors on State Route 905. The scheme is located at Otay Mesa, one of three ports of entry in the San Diego-Tijuana Mexico metropolitan region. Construction work includes two freeway-to-freeway flyover bridges that will connect three highways (SR 125, SR11 and SR 905), as well as a 1.25-mile greenfield extension of SR11 to the east toward a future port-of-entry.
Skanska builds highway project in San Diego, California USA, for about USD 101 M. Skanska has signed a contract with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) to construct a four-lane highway with freeway connectors on State Route 905 in San Diego, Calif., USA. The contract is worth about USD 101 M, about SEK 950 M, which will be included in US order bookings for the second quarter 2019. Located at Otay Mesa, one of three ports of entry in the San Diego-Tijuana Mexico metropolitan region, the project includes two freeway-to-freeway flyover bridges that will connect three highways (SR 125, SR11 and SR 905), as well as a 1.25-mile green field extension of SR11
GSA to Open Four Additional Southbound I-5 Lanes at the San Ysidro Port of Entry. The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is pleased to announce the opening of the last four additional lanes on the newly constructed southbound Interstate 5 (I-5S) on June 11, 2019, at 7 a.m. south of the Camino De La Plaza Bridge. These additional lanes are part of the San Ysidro Land Port of Entry (LPOE) Modernization and Expansion project. In order to transition vehicle traffic to the new lane configuration, GSA will be implementing alternating, temporary overnight lane closures on the I-5S and southbound Interstate 805 (I-805S) between June 10 and June 14 during the hours of 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.
Sound the horn for a new BART and bridge across bay. 💲🧱 Q: Based on the congestion in the Bay Area, we need a new bridge across the bay. While several proposals exist, I prefer extending Interstate 380 at SFO to Interstate 238 in San Leandro, as does Sen. Dianne Feinstein. I know that you have said that it would take time and money. So did the eastern span of the Bay Bridge. So did the BART extension to Fremont and San Jose. If we want it, we will find a way to do it. What we need is a cheerleader with a megaphone. That’s you, Mr. Roadshow. Time to get on board. Now!
Richmond-San Rafael Bridge congestion relief lauded as planning continues. 💲🧱 Efforts to ease commuter traffic congestion on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge were recently honored with an award, but some local officials see the work as only being half-completed. Damon Connolly, a Marin County supervisor who sits on both the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, or MTC, and the Transportation Authority of Marin board of directors, was a strong advocate for opening the third eastbound land and is advocating for a westbound lane as well. “The improvements made in the eastbound direction have made a significant impact on people’s lives in terms of reducing traffic,” Connolly said. “It demonstrates what can be accomplished when agencies work together toward achieving a public need. There continues to be, in light of the success of the eastbound lane, impetus for westbound relief in the view of many members of the public.”
Update provides timelines, locations for Highway 25 bypass work. In May 2019, Caltrans initiated construction on a roadway safety improvement project to correct the super elevation and widen the existing shoulders along Highway 25 from Sunnyslope/Tres Pinos Rd. to San Felipe Road in Hollister. Caltrans notes that the state-funded project will improve alignment consistency, traffic flow, and safety. Improvements will include: constructing a curve correction, widening shoulders, flattening and seeding embankment slopes, improving drainage facilities, adding sidewalks and reconstructing curb ramps, and replacing signal loop detectors.
STATE ROUTE 59/W. OLIVE. AVE. Caltrans is preparing to begin a project that will enhance the intersection of northbound and southbound State Route 59 (SR-59) and W. Olive Avenue to create a safer and smoother commute for motorists. This project, which is scheduled to break ground the week beginning Monday, June 17, 2019, will do the following: …
Ruling blocks Caltrans from altering Richardson Grove with Highway 101 plan. Another judge weighed in last week on Caltrans’ plan to reshape the portion of U.S. Highway 101 that extends through Richardson Grove State Park, a ruling environmental agencies are hailing as a victory for the ancient old-growth redwoods surrounding the narrow highway passage. Humboldt County Superior Court Judge Kelly Neel blocked Caltrans from “any and all” activities that could “physically alter” the Richardson Grove area, finding the state agency’s decisions prevented the public from providing input on the project’s impacts.
The future of America’s worst freeway. On June 17, 1994, some 20 police cars chased O.J. Simpson’s white Ford Bronco down Los Angeles’ 405 freeway. It proved to be an especially bizarre pursuit, set in motion after the Los Angeles Police Department told Simpson to surrender in connection with the murder of two stabbing victims, one of whom was his ex-wife. The Bronco, driven by Simpson’s friend while the football star hunkered down in back, traveled almost leisurely down the emptied lanes, as if it were cruising along a residential boulevard. Helicopters buzzed overhead, Angelenos peered down from fenced overpasses, and the rest of the world watched the slow-motion chase on television.
Commission plans construction for Gilman Street, Interstate 80 intersection. The Alameda County Transportation Commission, or Alameda CTC, entered into a partnership with the city of Berkeley and Caltrans to improve the Gilman Street intersection with Interstate 80, according to Alameda CTC Deputy Executive Director of Planning and Policy Tess Lengyel.
Mouseplanet – The Story of Mineral King. Walt Disney said in 1965, “When I first saw Mineral King five years ago, I thought it was one of the most beautiful spots I had ever seen and we want to keep it that way.” Harrison “Buzz” Price stated, “Like everyone who had worked on this stunning project, we believed that Mineral King would have been the greatest winter resort in the world bar none.” How did Walt Disney who produced movies and animation ever get interested in building a unique ski resort?
Caltrans Awarded for Innovation, Creativity, Transportation Choices. The Western Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials honored two projects in California for its 12th annual regional America’s Transportation Awards competition. The two projects honored were: ⭐ The Interstate 880 Safety and Operational Improvements at 23rd and 29th Avenues, which benefits the community’s economic growth and its citizens well-being. ⭐ The Highway 1/Mud Creek Emergency Restoration, (pictured above) which innovatively collected and collaboratively analyzed data to create a resilient solution to the slide plagued route.
Santa Rosa shifts money to build new bridge over Highway 101 at Hearn Avenue. Santa Rosa wants regional transportation officials to steer nearly $10 million in county sales tax money away from improving a major intersection on the city’s western edge and spend it on rebuilding a key bridge over Highway 101, a first-of-its-kind request as the city struggles to raise funds to build a bigger bridge. The City Council last week voted to ask county transportation officials to reroute $9.5 million in regional sales tax revenue toward rebuilding the Hearn Avenue crossing over Highway 101 in south Santa Rosa, a $28 million project that would double the number of lanes on the bridge and include new turn lanes, bike lanes and sidewalks.
Why no one has approved a second Bay bridge for 70 years. San Francisco structural engineer Roumen V. Mladjov noted last year in a Chronicle opinion piece that there are 700,000 people per bridge in the Bay Area compared to only 171,000 for New York City. The demand on the Bay Bridge alone results in gridlock even on weekends and weekday rush hour starting at 5 a.m., all while the region’s population is expected to increase from the current 7.7 million to 9.3 million in 2040.
The untold story: How a South Pasadena-based group successfully fought the 710 Freeway extension — twice. 💲🧱 Visuals always drove the fight against the 710 Freeway extension. It began with a line drawn on a map. Caltrans showed it reaching Pasadena by way of El Sereno and Alhambra, through the heart of South Pasadena and the historic southwest neighborhoods of Pasadena, connecting the 10 Freeway with the 210/134 freeways, said Clarice Knapp, one of a dozen or so “Freeway Fighters” the city of South Pasadena recently honored for stopping the freeway extension. Joanne Nuckols picked up the story from there: “When the freeway goes through, they actually discussed dis-incorporation of our city. Our town would be given to Los Angeles, Pasadena, San Marino and Alhambra,” she said during a group interview Tuesday at the South Pasadena Library.
Wider Highway 101 in California redwood grove is blocked by judge. A longtime state proposal to widen a 1-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 in Richardson Grove State Park in Humboldt County to make room for bigger trucks has hit a roadblock in federal court, where a judge says Caltrans lacks adequate plans to protect ancient redwoods that soar 300 feet above the highway.
Los Angeles is building an urban wildlife crossing. Caltrans authorities working in Los Angeles County are pushing toward creating a $60 million wildlife crossing that will allow urban animals to roam throughout the region’s mountainous geographies. The 165-foot by 200-foot crossing would span over US Highway-101 and Liberty Canyon in the city of Agoura Hills. “Freeways are unique in that they can kind of divide up habitat and territory in a way that other infrastructure cannot, and I think that Caltrans wants to play a role in rectifying that problem in the future,” Caltrans structural engineer Ulysses Smpardos told KCRW’s DnA.
Wrongheaded High Desert Freeway Named a Top National Boondoggle. A new report out today names southern California’s planned High Desert Freeway as one of the United States’ top nine highway boondoggles. The Highway Boondoggles 5: Big Projects. Bigger Price Tags. Limited Benefits. report was published by CALPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group. The report emphasizes that these projects cost multiple billions – to build and maintain – while worsening congestion and harming communities and the environment.
D Street ramps shut down. The D Street on and off-ramps on both northbound and southbound of Interstate 15 will be closed until Monday due to the ongoing construction project there, a Caltrans official said. Commuters are currently being directed to exit on E Street since the closures which first occurred early Friday.
California Highway Patrol kicks off Highway 154 Corridor Safety Campaign. The California Highway Patrol is kicking off a new campaign to make Highway 154 safer. The goal is to reduce the number of victims in traffic collisions. CHP Officer Kevin McCool gave ride-alongs to show why this safety campaign is so needed.
$5.7 million project to improve Merced intersection. The California Department of Transportation announced that it is preparing to begin a project that is slated to enhance the intersection of northbound and southbound Highway 59 and West Olive Avenue in Merced. The $5.7 million project awarded to George Reed Construction Inc., out of Modesto,broke ground Monday. The goal is to create a safer and smoother commute for motorists, according to a news release.
Crag View Drive project funded by state commission. 💲🕶 The commission allocated more than $402 million for 74 State Highway Operation and Protection Program projects throughout California, including $320.2 million for 29 fix-it-first projects funded by Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. Bridges on Interstate 5 at the Sims Road Undercrossing in Shasta County and the Crag View Drive Undercrossing in Shasta and Siskiyou counties will be replaced thanks to a $24.8 million project using funding from the California Transportation Commission.
Diverging Diamond in Ceres. State Route 99 in Ceres will have a very different look in just a few years, when Caltrans breaks ground on an innovative Diverging Diamond interchange at Service Road. Currently, there is no interchange at Service Road – but the project to build the Diverging Diamond is scheduled to launch in 2022.
Marin transportation funding clears another legal test. Marin transportation officials were cautiously optimistic Monday after a recent court ruling upheld a major funding source for several local highway projects, but the funding could be in limbo because of appeals. “We have tremendous congestion and these projects are congestion relievers,” said Dianne Steinhauser, executive director of the Transportation Authority of Marin. “We hear from the public constantly about how bad the congestion is right now. We’re hoping that this money starts flowing. It’d be great to see it by the end of 2019.”
Napa County makes a transportation wish list for the decades ahead. Napa County has chosen major transportation projects it wants included in a Bay Area spending master plan, among them a major makeover for the south county stretch of Highway 29. The $615 million in transportation funds that could be available to the county isn’t in the bank. And, given the timeline through 2050, many of today’s drivers might not still be driving by the time all of the planning becomes a reality, if it does.
Here’s What a Normal Commute From Los Angeles Was Like in 1988. We may feel like we remember the past, but I think we only really to record highs, lows, and a few posed pictures in between. That’s why looking back on a long-forgotten moment of mundanity can be so fascinating. Or at least, that’s the best theory I could come up with as to why I was engrossed by this clip of some random dude’s uneventful commute in 1988.
Public meeting on State Route 25 Roundabout Project planned for June 25. Caltrans District 5 will hold a public information meeting/open house about a proposed safety roundabout project for the intersection of State Route 25 and State Route 156. The meeting will be held at the Veterans Memorial Building at 649 San Benito Street in Hollister on Tuesday, June 25 from 6-8 p.m. According to a recent release, the public is invited to this meeting to learn more about the existing signalized intersection being replaced with a two-lane roundabout. Design concepts, displays and project team members will be available to discuss concerns and answer questions. The meeting will be an open house format, with a brief presentation at 6:30 pm.
I-5 Freeway Project Expected to Improve South OC Congestion. OCTA and Caltrans broke ground June 6 on an I-5 freeway construction project to improve traffic flow on 6.5 miles of freeway between SR-73 and El Toro Road in south Orange County. Transportation and community leaders gathered in Mission Viejo overlooking Interstate 5 to commemorate the beginning of construction on the $581 million project that will add a regular lane in each direction, extend a second carpool lane between Alicia Parkway and El Toro Road, and improve interchanges and streets. The project is scheduled to be completed in 2025 and will be built in three segments.
Caltrans Maintains California’s “Golden Chain”: State Route 49 from Oakhurst to Vinton. Caltrans maintains the historic route that allows travelers to step back in time to the Gold Rush era on State Route 49 (SR-49), the “Golden Chain Highway” that links the small mining towns that sprouted up during the gold rush of 1849.Crews from the Coulterville yard have been picking up litter and mowing shoulders along both SR-49 and SR-132 in Tuolumne and Mariposa counties. The work helps protect waterways from unwanted debris and gives motorists a safe place to pull off the road. Crews mow in the early morning hours when temperatures are low and humidity is high for the lowest possible fire risk.
California gas tax goes up July 1, but leaders say road repairs need even more money. California is poised to charge the highest taxes and fees on gas in the country when an increase kicks in July 1, but officials say the state is still billions of dollars short of what’s needed to properly fix the roads and are considering additional charges.
The gasoline tax is set to climb by 5.6 cents per gallon, the second in a wave of increases approved by state leaders two years ago to raise billions of dollars for road and bridge repairs and mass transit.
Tioga Road in Yosemite CA will reopen with limited access. The scenic Tioga Road – Yosemite National Park’s only road over the Sierra Nevada – will reopen Friday, with limited access. Vehicles and bicycles can access Tioga Road (Highway 120 East) from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. starting Friday each day until further notice, park officials announced Wednesday. The road will remain closed outside of these times to allow for continued roadwork and snow clearing.
Essential California: For whom the mission bell tolls. The dangling silhouette of the mission bell has become a defining element of California iconography. You’ve seen them in history books, countless souvenirs and on highway markers commemorating the “Historic El Camino Real” across the state.
To some, those mission bells conjure the romance of California’s Spanish past — a paternal Mission pastoral punctuated by elegant archways, vine-covered ruins and ornate pageantry. To others, like tribal leader Valentin Lopez, those bells represent unimaginable suffering and destruction.
Highway 101 in Marin lined with bins for road project. The California Department of Transportation has lined Highway 101 in Marin with large blue bins as part of a lane striping project. “The project is from Marin County to Sonoma County,” said RocQuel Johnson, an official with Caltrans District 4. Road crews plan to grind out the white lane lines and the reflector dots, the Marin office of the California Highway Patrol said. The reflector dots, known as Botts Dots, are named for Sacramento inventor Elbert Botts, according to the Sacramento Bee.
Big Sur Highway 1 Sustainable Transportation Demand Management Plan. This website is dedicated to the Big Sur Highway 1 Sustainable Transportation Demand Management Plan. Here you’ll find everything from information on the project, presentations, and opportunities to provide input.
UC Santa Cruz removes bell marking Catholic missions. UC Santa Cruz on Friday removed a bell marking the 18th century Catholic missions. The university invited community members to campus to witness the removal Friday of the El Camino Real Bell, which Native American critics say glorifies racism. Named after the route taken by Franciscan priests, the bell was one of hundreds displayed across the state, from San Diego to Sonoma. Many Native Americans say the missions cut their ancestors off from their traditional languages and cultures and enslaved those who converted to Christianity.
Lovingood right to call for I-15 bypass. Recently, San Bernardino County First District Supervisor Robert Lovingood wrote an op-ed column for the Daily Press, calling for the completion of a bypass route to Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass. We wholeheartedly support Lovingood in this effort, and are glad local state legislators Jay Obernolte, Scott Wilk and Mike Morrell joined Lovingood in supporting this plan.
Highway 37 could see $10 million in new state funding toward long-term solution. Local and state officials said they will be closely watching a vote by a state transportation panel next week that could unlock $10 million for environmental and engineering studies needed to advance a long-term solution to flooding on a stretch of Highway 37. The allocation would not support short-term work to address the troubled section of highway in Marin County just east of Highway 101, but it would be geared to longer-term fixes meant to raise the roadway to safeguard it from tides and rising sea levels.
Why not restripe 210 Freeway in San Bernardino County to add lanes?. 💲🧱 Q: Considering that local traffic is getting worse, Christian Lee asked if Caltrans could re-stripe the 210 Freeway in the Inland Empire to make it four lanes plus an HOV lane in each direction instead of the current three lanes. “If you drive the 210 you can see there is more than enough room to add a lane in each direction with simple re-striping,” Lee said. “Seems like this could be a fairly easy fix.”
Caltrans invites public input for Big Sur Coast Highway management plan. Caltrans is conducting two public events focused on developing a Sustainable Transportation Demand Management Plan for the stretch of Highway 1 from points in Monterey County to San Luis Obispo County. A 100-mile stretch of the Big Sur Coast Highway from Carmel to Hearst Castle is experiencing “travel pressures” that could damage the scenic qualities and natural beauty that make the area so precious, said a press release from the state agency.
Golden Gate Bridge tolls going up July 1. Get ready to pay more to drive across the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco starting July 1. Regular tolls for 2-axle vehicles will go from $8 to $8.35. FasTrak users will get a bit of break, from $7 to $7.35, and Pay-As-You-Go users will pay $8.20, from $8. Carpoolers will pay $5.35. The increase was approved by the Golden Gate Bridge Board of Directors in March to help reduce a $75 million budget shortfall and is part of a 5-year plan.
The spectacularly doomed plan to fill the bay with a 36-lane freeway. In 1946, the Bay Bridge wasn’t even 10 years old and already people were complaining about the traffic. “The present facility is not adequate. It is already carrying more vehicles than many thought it would. And each year the volume of traffic increases,” Marvin E. Lewis, San Francisco city supervisor and the head of a powerful planning group lobbying for a new crossing, said at the time.
Newly completed Highway 4/Balfour Road interchange should ease traffic. East County drivers should see less traffic congestion and fewer accidents where Highway 4 meets Balfour Road with this week’s official opening of a new interchange where a four-way, signalized intersection used to be. State, regional and local officials gathered Monday near the site to celebrate the $42 million project, which is expected to ease traffic flow in the busy south Brentwood stretch of Highway 4.
Mark Thomas – Mark Thomas Designs California’s First Diverging Diamond Interchange. The City of Manteca recently broke ground on construction of California’s first Diverging Diamond Interchange, at SR 120 and Union Road. The Diverging Diamond Interchange, commonly abbreviated DDI, is a cutting-edge design that reduces conflict points between vehicles and moves traffic more efficiently through the interchange. DDIs have been gaining popularity throughout the United States since the early 2000s, but until now, one had not been constructed in California. The DDI is unique in that traffic on the freeway overpass is shifted to the left side of the road, before being shifted back to the right. The graphic below illustrates this movement.
Route to Idyllwild to Stay Shut for Months Due to Storm Damage. A scenic highway leading to the Southern California mountain resort of Idyllwild will remain closed for months as crews repair collapsed lanes caused by winter and spring storms, officials said. The California Department of Transportation said there’s no projection for when the heavily damaged State Route 243 will reopen, and it could stay shut until next year, the Press-Enterprise reported Monday.
$142 million to be approved for I-680 paving: Roadshow. 💲🧱 Q: I work in Livermore so I travel Interstate 680 often. I just want to thank the night crews for the work being done and completed each morning before the commute starts over the Sunol Grade on the new northbound express lane. Seems like more asphalt gets laid every day. I’ve worked the night shift before and know it can strain families with members that do not have a normal work schedule, so thanks to you all.
Proposed roundabout in Windsor at the center of a petition movement to rescind the budget. An online petition started by a group of Windsor residents is calling for the Town Council to rescind its $134 million budget, fueled by anger over its decision to include funding for a third roundabout near the Town Green. The petition, titled “Windsor: more than just another wine stop,” has attracted over 600 signatures since Friday on the popular petition-sharing website Change.org. Nearly 100 people who have signed the petition have also commented on it, with most claiming that council members are not listening to the needs of the wider community.
Repair of a quake-broken plaque completes restoration of historic Napa bridge. The Milliken Creek Bridge is again intact, having recovered from a car wreck and an earthquake. Stephen Simich put the finishing touch on the comeback for the historic bridge while also honoring a pioneer-era founder of his own Napa Marble & Granite Works. Simich restored the stone dedication plaque for the 1908 stone arch bridge at Trancas Street and Silverado Trail near the city of Napa. The plaque had been dashed into pieces by the August 2014 South Napa earthquake.
$305 Million in Federal Funding Transportation & Infrastructure in the Inland Empire. Today, U.S. Representative Norma J. Torres (CA-35) announced House passage of more than $305 million in federal funding she requested for transportation and infrastructure improvements in the Fiscal Year 2020 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Funding Bill. The California State University-San Bernardino (CSUSB) 2018 Inland Empire Annual Survey found that San Bernardino and Los Angeles County residents spend a mean of 38 miles and 62 minutes commuting round trip to work per day, averaging a yearly cost of $11,138.
Caltrans completes Highway 46 east widening project through Shandon. Caltrans has completed a widening project on Highway 46 East from McMillan Canyon Road to Lucy Brown Road through Shandon. “I am very pleased that we have completed another segment of widening this important east-west corridor. This project will result in a safer trip for the thousands of people who travel along Highway 46 East,” said Caltrans District 5 Director Tim Gubbins.
Tioga Road in Yosemite to fully reopen with no restrictions. The scenic Tioga Road – Yosemite National Park’s only route over the Sierra Nevada – will reopen Monday with no restrictions. Tioga Road (Highway 120 outside the park) reopened with restrictions Friday. It will continue to only be open daily from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. until it fully reopens at 8 a.m. Monday.
State approves $10M for Highway 37 flooding fix. A flood-prone section of Highway 37 in Marin County is the focus of a new $10 million Caltrans study that could result in raising a section of highway. The California Transportation Commission approved the $10 million study this week in a unanimous vote during its meeting in Sacramento. North Bay representatives and transportation officials had urged Caltrans to begin the studies after the four-mile section between Novato and Black Point Bridge was closed twice due to flooding this winter and in years past. Officials lauded the commission’s decision this week, but acknowledged it only addresses a small section of the flood-plagued corridor that stretches between Novato and Vallejo.
Metro Link Union Station moving forward —without glassy concourse. A major overhaul of Los Angeles’s historic Union Station is moving forward—without a glassy, airport-like concourse proposed by Metro officials in 2017. The transit agency’s Board of Directors this morning finalized environmental review of the Link Union Station project, which will upgrade the 80-year-old station with new “run-through” tracks over the 101 freeway. That should reduce the amount of time trains spend idling at the station, allowing more rail cars to pass through each day.
Bad Bridge Troll Whereabouts. I’ve been talking about the old Bay Bridge troll on my boat tours, but I didn’t know what they did with it… until I found out from a friend that it’s in the CalTrans lobby! If you want to visit this dude, look in the east hallway (111 Grand Ave).

Gribblenation (nee Sure Why Not?) Blog (Tom Fearer)

The Arroyo Seco Parkway and early terminus points of US Route 66 in Los Angeles. This past month I visited the original terminus of US Route 66 on Broadway in downtown Los Angeles and drove the entirety of the Arroyo Seco Parkway to Pasadena.
California State Route 134. This past month I drove the entirety of California State Route 134 on the Ventura Freeway while visiting the Los Angeles Area.
Mulholland Drive; Cahuenga Pass west to Sepulveda Pass (and the odd tale of Post-1964 Legislative Route Number 268). This past month I drove a section Mulholland Drive from US Route 101 in Cahuenga Pass west through the Santa Monica Mountains to Interstate 405 in Sepulveda Pass.
Old Highway; Mariposa County (Old Legislative Route Number 18). A couple years ago I was asked to look into whether a road in Mariposa County called “Old Highway” was once part of California State Route 140. In my research I found that Old Highway was not ever part of CA 140 but it was a former segment of Legislative Route Number 18. This past weekend I returned to Mariposa County to drive the entirety of Old Highway.
California State Route 27. This past month I drove California State Route 27 from US Route 101 in western Los Angeles south through Topanga Canyon to CA 1 near Malibu.
Old Highway; Mariposa County (Old Legislative Route Number 18). A couple years ago I was asked to look into whether a road in Mariposa County called “Old Highway” was once part of California State Route 140. In my research I found that Old Highway was not ever part of CA 140 but it was a former segment of Legislative Route Number 18. This past weekend I returned to Mariposa County to drive the entirety of Old Highway.
California State Route 23; Canyons, Surface Streets and Freeways. This past month while visiting the Los Angeles Area I drove the entirety of California State Route 23. CA 23 is one of the most diverse State Highways I’ve driven in Southern California as it’s alignment ranges from narrow mountain grades over fire scarred terrain, urban surface street, freeway and scenic back country.
California State Route 126; from CA 23 east to Santa Clarita. This past month I drove a segment of California State Route 126 from CA 23 in Fillmore east to Santa Clarita.
Updates on Route 180. Recently I spent some time updating the blogs pertaining to CA 180 on Gribblenation. Given that several important documents pertaining the full scope of what was intended for CA 180 have come to light I figured it was time to consolidate everything as best as I could. Suffice to say the story of CA 180 has quite the epic level of over the top unbuilt segments in the Diablo Range and Sierra Neveda Mountains. Further CA 180 has some really strange former surface alignments in Fresno and via Dunlap Road.
Tale of CA 168 West and the failed Piute Pass Highway; the climb to Kaiser Pass on the modern highway and the descent on the 1934 highway (Updated). Back in 2017 I decided that I would get my mountain highway fix for the week out of the way with a route clinch of the western segment California State Route 168 from the Fresno eastward up to Huntington Lake. It certainly gave me a chance to revisit one of the most intriguing highways in the state with various substantial alignment changes since it was added as a Signed State Route in 1934. A little bonus was essentially a tour of the Southern California Edison Big Creek Project along the infamous Kaiser Pass Road. My climb to Kaiser Pass would be on modern CA 168 and my descent would be on the original 1934 alignment.
California State Route 33 (Updated). This past week I drove a section of California State Route 33 from CA 198 north I-5 in Santa Nella. CA 33 probably has been one of the more common rural routes that I’ve interacted with since moving to California. That being the case I actually had a substantial amount of photo stock of CA 33 that I was able to cobble together into a road album from US 101 in Ventura north to I-5 in Santa Nella.
California State Route 1 from Interstate 10 in Santa Monica to San Luis Obispo. A recent trip to California State Route 1 in Malibu spurred my interest in revisiting a trip I did in 2014 which included following the highway from Interstate 10 in Santa Monica northward to California State Route 68 in Monterey. Since I have covered the segment of CA 1 through Big Sur northward to Monterey County so many times I thought it was time to tell the tale of the rest of the highway southward.
California State Route 131. A couple years ago I drove a brief segment of California State Route 131 on Tiburon Boulevard.
California State Route 180 Kings Canyon Road Expressway and Sequoia-Kings Canyon Freeway. Within in the City of Fresno eastward towards Minkler the current route of California State Route 180 has been progressively updated to the Sequoia-Kings Canyon Freeway and Kings Canyon Expressway over last couple decades. Given I live within only a couple blocks of CA 180 the freeway/expressway portion I decided to finally get around to checking out of the entirety of the completed limited access grade. While this might not be as exciting a two-lane section of roadway descending Kings Canyon or fables of a Trans-Sierra Highway that never existed on anything but paper I figured that it would be a fitting end to the CA 180 series.