🚘 Headlines About California Highways – July 2026

It’s hard to believe, but we’re starting the long slide to the end of 2026. It’s been over a year since I retired. Am I bored? Nope. This highway stuff has been keeping me busy, combined with my work on ACSAC. I haven’t even really thought about anything technically related to cybersecurity. Further, if I get board, I’ve always got genealogy to fall into. Unlike the last few months, which have been a bit leaner headline-wise, we have a bumper crop this month.

Turning to the California Highways: Route by Route podcast: I’m busily writting the season 5 episodes. I’ve already written the three episodes on Route 15 and the episode on Route 16, and I’m working on the Route 17 episode. Research for Route 18 comes after that. We’ve recorded all of Season 4: the first bonus episode was released last week; the episode celebrating Gribblenation’s 25 will drop near the end of August. Zencaster is working well for recording the podcast, and I think we’ve solved the microphone problems. Please let us know if it sounds better.

As a reminder: You can help our listening audience grow. Please tell your friends about the podcast, “like”, “♥”, or “favorite” it, and give it a rating in your favorite podcatcher. Share the podcast on Facebook groups, and in your Bluesky and Mastodon communities. Leave a review, and tell us about it. For those that hear the early episodes, the sound quality of the episodes does get better — we were learning. If you know sound editing, feel free to give me advice (I use Audacity to edit). As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on Spotify for Creators, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcatching app or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Creators) . The following episodes have been posted this month:

• July | CA RxR 4.13: Route 14: The Antelope Valley Freeway. Episode 4.13 continues our exploration of Route 14, picking up from the end of the first segment at I-5, and continuing to the junction with US 395 near Inyokern. As usual, along the way, we explore the history of the route, the conversion to freeway, major projects on the route, and naming along the route. This includes a detailed exploration of the start of the route in the Newhall Pass and Solemint area. It also includes an exploration of the “Aerospace Highway” name, and all the firsts that occurred at Edwards AFB and the test center next to the highway. Ep. 4.13 marks the end of the main episodes of Season 4, although we do have a couple of bonus episodes planned for the season break to tide you over. The first bonus episode, 4.14, covers New Idria Road and Hites Cove Road, which are mining roads in San Benito and Mariposa counties. (Spotify for Creators)
• July | CA RxR 4.14: Bonus: New Idria Road and Hites Cove Road. Episode 4.14 is the first of two bonus episodes. It tells the story of the corridors of New Idria Road and Hites Cove Road. Both of these historic highway corridors lead to mining in Central California. This episode is based off blogs released on Gribblenation during October 2025 and May 2026. New Idria Road is an approximately 21.5-mile rural highway located in the Diablo Range of San Benito County. It branches off of Panoche Road, and winds its way south-ish through the Diablo range to the ghost mining town of Idria, continuing as Clear Creek Road. Hites Cove Road is an approximately seven-mile rural highway corridor located in the Sierra Nevada range of Mariposa County, south of Route 140, and west of El Portal. Hites Cove, and its successor forest and OHV trail roads, leads to the ghost town of Hites Cove on the south fork of the Merced River. Two interesting stories about two interesting ghost towns. Next up: Our second bonus episode to close out Season 4: A roundtable discussion with Adam Prince and Doug Kerr as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the start of Gribblenation. (Spotify for Creators)

As a reminder: One of the sources for the highway page updates (and the raison d’etre for for this post) are headlines about California Highways that I’ve seen over the last month. I collect them in this post, which serves as fodder for the updates to my California Highways site, and so there are also other pages and things I’ve seen that I wanted to remember for the site updates. Lastly, the post also includes some things that I think would be of peripheral interest to my highway-obsessed highway-interested readers.

Well, you should now be up to date. Here are the headlines that I found about California’s highways for July 2026:

Key

[Ħ Historical information | ＄ Paywalls, ＄＄ really obnoxious paywalls, and ∅ other annoying restrictions. I’m no longer going to list the paper names, as I’m including them in the headlines now. Note: For ＄ paywalls, sometimes the only way is incognito mode, grabbing the text before the paywall shows, and pasting into an editor. See this article for more tips on bypassing paywalls. ＄＄ paywalls require the use of archive.ph, unless otherwise noted. ☊ indicates an primarily audio article. 🎥 indicates a primarily video article. 🎩 indicates hat/tip to someone for finding this article. ✔ indicates that the article was processed as part of the recent “Updates to California Highways” cycle. ]

Highway Headlines

• Big Safety Corridor Changes Imminent (Lost Coast Outpost). By this month’s end, the Highway 101 Safety Corridor will be a new beast. A half-signal being constructed where the highway intersects with Airport Road just north of Eureka will be finished near the end of July, according to Caltrans spokesman Myles Cochrane. The signal will stop northbound traffic to allow drivers coming from Airport Road smooth ingress to the flow of traffic. Southbound drivers won’t be affected. “This safety improvement is aimed at addressing collision rates well above the statewide average for similar facilities,” Cochrane wrote.
• ＄ Letter seeks $93 million for Solano County highway project (Solano Daily Republic). Solano County has sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation seeking $93.13 million for the next package of the Interstate 80 / I-680 / Highway 12 Interchange Project. “The I-80/I-680/SR 12 Interchange complex is a significant freight bottleneck that impacts the national economy. I-80 is a major goods movement and commuter corridor. The freeway provides direct access from the Port of Oakland, a major exporter of American produce and goods to international markets. I-80 also provides access to multiple oil refineries in Solano and Contra Costa counties,” the letter signed by Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Monica Brown states.
• I-5 North County Enhancements Project Update (LA Metro). As part of the I-5 North County Enhancements Project, Metro’s contractor OHLA USA, will be reconstructing the existing northbound Calgrove Bl on-ramp. Construction will take place during an extended period starting Tuesday, July 7, 2026 through August 2026. Activities will include roadway excavation, concrete and asphalt paving, electrical work, and metal beam guardrail installation. At the completion of construction, improvements are expected to enhance traffic flow and safety, reduce congestion, and make commuting smoother.
• ＄ California returns stretch of coast to Indigenous tribes. ‘This is beyond huge’  (Los Angeles Times). California is returning a stretch of rugged Mendocino County coast to the Indigenous nations whose ancestors once stewarded its shores. State transportation officials recently approved the transfer of Blues Beach and the surrounding bluffs to Kai Poma, a nonprofit founded by representatives of the Sherwood Valley Band of Pomo Indians, Round Valley Indian Tribes and Coyote Valley Band of Pomo Indians. The transfer of 136 acres just south of the community of Westport will mark the first time land managed by the California Department of Transportation has been returned to Indigenous tribes.
• 7th Street Bridge Lions. (FB/Joel Windmiller). For 109 years, four concrete lions greeted drivers on the Seventh Street Bridge in Modesto. They endured surface crumbling, vandalism and other affronts but were still beloved by many locals. Two of the lions are being restored for display in a plaza next to the new Tuolumne River span, opening by early 2028. Stanislaus County Public Works made that promise to residents who had hoped to spare the bridge from demolition.
• Caltrans Details Construction Timeline For Planned Highway 49 Four-Way Stop (MyMotherLode). The installation of an all-way stop at the intersection of Highway 49 and Shaws Flat Road will occur over an upcoming weekend. Caltrans reports that during the installation, there will be one-way traffic control operations set up. The work is scheduled to take place Saturday, July 25, from 8 am – noon, and Sunday, July 26, from 8 am – 4 pm. Caltrans states that the purpose is to reduce the number of broadside collisions at the intersection. It is considered a short-term safety fix while a permanent solution is developed.
• After 30 years in planning, Santa Monica just accepted a $2M grant to study building a 30-acre park over the I-10 — removing the freeway is also on the table (Secret Los Angeles). Southern California is in the middle of a major infrastructure transformation, from the world’s largest wildlife crossing taking shape over the 101 Freeway to new Metro subway extensions and bus rapid transit corridors. Now, Santa Monica is taking a fresh look at one of its busiest pieces of infrastructure, with a proposal that could eventually replace concrete with green space. The City Council has unanimously accepted a $2 million federal grant to study whether a 25- to 30-acre park could be built over a section of Interstate 10 in the Pico Neighborhood. The feasibility study will also examine a much bolder possibility: removing that stretch of freeway altogether, the Santa Monica Daily Press reports.
• Ħ🎥 Proposed Route 77 (FB/Mark Harrigan). St Marys college and the proposed state highway route 77….one of the corridors lost highways . See https://www.facebook.com/reel/1002655765742823. Contra Costa County base maps, dated February 2nd 1976. Just about every “lot/address” (homes, schools, businesses, etc.) in the county are shown in this book. You can save this image to your device to zoom in for a better look

• Ħ🎥 Lost Highways of Contra Costa County (FB/Mark Harrigan). The lost highways of Contra Costa county. Most of the proposed freeways for Contra Costa were built, but several weren’t, this is the story of those stillbourn roads Written and produced by Mark Harrigan with some of the research coming from my MS copilot A I, which is not always accurate.
• A hotter climate could make roads more expensive (NPR). A heat wave scorched much of the eastern United States over the Fourth of July weekend, bringing extreme temperatures that caused roads to buckle, snarling holiday traffic. Nowhere was this more dramatic than on a stretch of concrete-paved Interstate 97 south of Baltimore, where one lane of traffic suddenly warped, forcing its closure. A city street in Chicago experienced a similar, though less dramatic, pavement failure, and several state departments of transportation warned motorists to watch for additional heat-related road damage.
• Overnight and Daytime Work Continues on State Route 183/Merritt Street in Castroville (Caltrans). Construction continues on a major rehabilitation of State Route 183 (Merritt Street) in Castroville to enhance multimodal travel. This phase of work will result in daytime sidewalk, curb and gutter, driveways, ADA curb ramps and roadway work. Travelers are encouraged to follow directions provided by construction and traffic signs within and around the construction areas and to be alert for highway worker and equipment in this work zone.
• Caltrans closes Gaviota rest areas on Highway 101 for water shortage (Fox News). Drivers traveling along California’s scenic Highway 101 this summer will need to plan ahead after roadside rest areas in both directions of the highway closed because of a water shortage. The northbound and southbound Gaviota Roadside Rest Areas in Santa Barbara County closed July 1 and are expected to remain closed through Oct. 1, according to the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans). The closure affects both directions of Highway 101 near the Gaviota Tunnel, a heavily traveled stretch between Buellton and Goleta. The shutdown leaves travelers with roughly 35 miles without a state-operated roadside restroom, California publication Edhat reported.
• Last Chance Grade – A $2.5 Billion Tunnel Under Old Growth (North Coast Environmental Center). Last Chance Grade has been a major topic in Northern California, but restoring the old California wagon trail could cost billions in taxpayer money and threaten ancient redwoods (Last Chance Grade Permanent Restoration Project Final Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement and Final Section 4(f) Evaluation, n.d.). While controversial, many see the project as necessary because the highway is a vital link for local communities and one of California’s most unstable routes, often closed by landslides (Two-way traffic resumes on U.S. 101’s Last Chance Grade for the first time in about nine years, 2023). For local residents, these closures disrupt daily life, cut off access to essential services, and hurt local businesses by limiting travel and tourism. Emergency responders may face longer response times, and people who rely on the road for work, healthcare, or school may be stranded or forced to take long detours.
• The Fascinating Story Behind The Ocean City And Sacramento Route 50 Signs (The MoCo Show). Every summer, the signs connecting Ocean City, Maryland, and Sacramento, California, spark curiosity online as travelers discover the two cities are permanently linked by a pair of matching highway markers spanning 3,073 miles. Route 50, stretching from West Sacramento to Maryland’s Ocean City, carries more than just travelers. It also carries one of the country’s most unique pieces of highway history. Sometime between the late 1970s and early 1980s, Ocean City officials installed a sign marking the eastern terminus of US 50, proudly displaying the distance to Sacramento (3,073 miles) as a nod to the highway’s distant beginning on the West Coast.
• Paving Project on Highway 217 in Goleta Completed Ahead of Schedule (The Santa Barbara Independent). Travelers on Highway 217 in Goleta encountered full overnight closures for two nights starting Monday, June 29. The paving work, expected to be a three-night project, finished a day early allowing for the opening of Highway 217 the morning of Wednesday, July 1. The closure took place from 10 pm to 6 am between Hollister Avenue and Sandspit Road as crews paved the eastbound and westbound lanes. This work is a part of the San Jose Creek Bridge Replacement Project. The entire paving portion of this project is expected to be completed in early August. We will release updates on future traffic impacts as they become available.
• ＄ How preservationists saved the bicentennial mural on Prado Dam (Los Angeles Times). As thousands of Southern Californians drove to Fourth of July parties, they passed a patriotic display enjoying its own anniversary. The 664-foot-wide by 120-foot-tall Prado Dam Bicentennial Mural, located near the intersection of the 91 and 71 freeways near Corona, turned 50. The mural message is easily seen from the highway roughly 750 feet away: “200 Years of Freedom, 1776-1976.” “The fact it’s still here is a point of pride for many people in the Inland Empire,” said Peter Schaefer, who co-designed the mural along with the recently deceased Ron Kammeyer. “It’s our tribute to America.”
• Santa Monica Might Cap I-10 Freeway to Heal Divided Pico Neighborhood. Here’s What That Means (Santa Monica Mirror). Santa Monica has secured a $2 million federal grant to study options for reconnecting the Pico Neighborhood, which was divided by the construction of the Interstate 10 freeway more than six decades ago. The City Council voted unanimously on June 9 to accept the funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. The grant will finance a comprehensive feasibility study focused on potential “cap parks” — parks built over the freeway — along the I-10 between 11th and 20th streets. The study will also examine broader alternatives, including full or partial removal of the freeway.
• History of the Cajon Pass (FB/Dion Alaya). I thought some of you might like to know about the challenging, awe inspiring and beautiful history of our beloved and sometimes treacherous Cajon Pass. Geological Origins: Millions of Years Ago, Intense tectonic activity along the San Andreas Fault uplifts and tilts layers of sandstone, creating the striking geological formations known today as the Mormon Rocks.
• ＄ Officials unveil first Bay Area diverging diamond interchange (The Vacaville Reporter). Solano Transportation Authority and Cal Trans unveiled the first-ever diverging diamond interchange in the Bay Area at State Route 37 and Fairgrounds Drive in Vallejo on Tuesday. A diverging diamond interchange directs opposing traffic to switch lanes temporarily on either side of the interchange in an effort to eliminate the need for left turns across oncoming traffic. Solano Transportation Authority Chair and Suisun City Mayor Alma Hernandez welcomed attendees to the event and recognized dignitaries including Congressman John Garamendi, Solano County Supervisors Cassandra James and Mitch Mashburn, Dixon Mayor Steve Bird, Rio Vista Mayor Edwin Okamura, Vallejo City Manager Harry Black, Vallejo Mayor Andrea Source, Benicia Mayor Steve Young and more. Vallejo-based rapper Mac Mall also attended the ceremony. (Archive.PH)
• How to build a highway in the age of climate change (Grist). Between the view, the marshes, and the birds, Liat Meitzenheimer concedes the drive along California State Route 37 is scenic. Still, she avoids it for two reasons: congestion and flooding. The highway, about half of which is two-lane, is often backed up with people commuting between affordable communities in Solano County to the east and jobs in pricier Sonoma and Marin counties to the west. It also is a regional link to Napa Valley and other destinations, much of it built on embankments, bridges, and causeways that span marshes precariously close to San Pablo Bay. That makes it prone to flooding, which has led to occasional closures.
• L.A. City Reconnecting MacArthur Park Plan Calls for Closing Parts of Wilshire Boulevard (Streetsblog Los Angeles). Last week, City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez announced L.A. City plans to close Wilshire Boulevard through MacArthur Park. “Reconnecting the park is one part of our broader commitment to invest in this neighborhood and create public spaces that are safer, greener, and more welcoming for everyone,” proclaimed Hernandez. The city’s Reconnecting MacArthur Park initiative recently completed its initial project study, and will now enter the environmental review phase. MacArthur Park opened in the late 1800s, then named Westlake Park. In 1934, the park was severed in half when the city sliced Wilshire Boulevard through it. The current Reconnecting MacArthur Park initiative received federal grant funding in early 2024, and kicked off an extensive community engagement process in July 2024. Councilmember Hernandez’ office partnered with the nonprofit Central City Neighborhoods Partners (CCNP), the city Transportation Department (LADOT), and the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). The city contracted with a team of consultants led by Nelson\Nygaard.
• L.A. County celebrates groundbreaking of The Old Road Improvements project (SCV Signal). Local dignitaries gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking of The Old Road Improvements project on Friday in Castaic, a $250 million project planned to expand and reconstruct 2 miles of the transportationcorridor parallel to Interstate 5. Improvements will take place in two phases, which includes widening the roadway from two to three lanes in each direction with the addition of bike lanes, sidewalks and ADA-compliant curb ramps, landscaped medians, and streetlights. Phase No. 1 of the project stretches from Mayo Drive to Rye Canyon Road and will continue until 2028. Phase No. 2 of the project will stretch from the Rye Canyon Road/I-5 ramp to Magic Mountain Parkway and is set to begin in 2027 and finished by early 2031.
• ＄ Is the black lipstick California license plate for real? (The Mercury News). The desire for a sleek look — black car, black plate — has some California drivers crossing the line of license plate legality. The state does offer two black plates, but a third, illicit version has been spotted on the roads. It’s a metal plate, black background with white numbers and “California” in cursive — the so-called lipstick design that has been the default since the 1990s. The look is achieved with a vinyl wrap, and it can get the car’s owner slapped with a hefty ticket. Here’s the rundown on black plates, legal and not. (Archive.PH)
• Ħ July 10: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History: High Desert Corridor (Metro’s Primary Resources). The two alternatives studied seek to make highway 138 safer between Interstate 5 and State Route 14 in northern Los Angeles County — in particular by improving sight lines and bringing the highly-trafficked road up to modern standards.
• Oceanfront Calif. rest stop runs out of water for second year in a row (SF Gate). One of the only rest areas on the Central Coast is closed to travelers for the second summer in a row as Caltrans grapples with providing water to the facilities. The northbound and southbound rest stops, located within the popular Gaviota State Park in Santa Barbara County, are in a region that’s prone to flooding. So while the area has plenty of water, the agency can’t draw from the watershed, in part because of concerns that diverting water comes at the cost of a threatened species of fish, the steelhead trout.
• ＄ Southern California becoming a hub for wildlife crossings (Daily News). Life is blooming along the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, the $114 million project in Agoura Hills designed to provide a safe pathway for wildlife looking to traverse man’s intrusion into their habitat. On a recent stroll, Beth Pratt, regional executive director of the National Wildlife Federation, pointed out California poppies, white sage and other native plants from the Santa Monica Mountains taking root along the span. She lights up at the sight of a native bee hovering over a cluster of poppies. “I’ve recorded about eight species of birds, nine species of butterfly, and one American kestrel up here,” Pratt said. “It’s really fun to see the wildlife responding.” (Archive.PH)
• Awarded Projects for TIGER/RAISE/BUILD from 2009 to 2026 (US Department of Transportation, 🎩 Great Lake Roads). 📄 TIGER 2009 – BUILD 2026 Awards.xlsx. Note that Route 58 received a grant.
• Comment on the Draft 2027 Transportation Improvement Program (The Bay Link Blog). MTC today released the Draft 2027 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP), a comprehensive four-year spending plan that lists all Bay Area transportation projects and programs that are federally funded; projects that anticipate action by a federal agency; and other major regional projects. All told, the list includes more than 400 Bay Area projects and reflects approximately $13.8 billion in committed federal, state and local funding for the four-year period through 2030. The TIP includes multiple funding programs that support different types of transportation projects. These programs — and the projects they fund — all work together to help advance the vision of Plan Bay Area 2050+, the Bay Area’s long-range plan for transportation, housing, the economy and the environment.
• Route 145 Improvement Project (FB/Caltrans District 6). Madera: Caltrans, in collaboration with the City of Madera, held a groundbreaking ceremony, this morning, for the $24 million State Route 145 Improvement Project in Madera. The project is going to re-pave, re-stripe, add bike lanes, create several new roundabouts, and improve curbs and sidewalks, along a four-mile stretch of State Route 145 through the heart of downtown. The City of Madera also contributed $3 million for the project.
• Route 118 Suicide Fencing Project (FB/City of Moorpark). Caltrans District 7 has announced completion of the 118 Freeway’s Arroyo Simi Bridge Safety Barrier project. More than 6,400 feet of safety fencing has been added to enhance public safety. Thank you to Caltrans, their crews, the public, and community partners for the hard work and support!
• Route 33 Construction (FB/Caltrans District 6). The Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with Cal Valley Construction, announces the following schedule update in part of the State Route 33 Pavement Rehabilitation Project in the City of Coalinga. The following will occur Monday through Friday from 6:00am to 6:00pm, beginning July 20th:
• Metro Board to Consider Approving $100 Million for Freeway Expansion (Streetsblog Los Angeles). Every year Metro spends hundreds of millions of dollars widening L.A. County freeways. Metro’s own analysis found that its freeway capacity expansion projects are worsening global warming emissions more than Metro transit projects are helping. Next week, the Metro board will consider approving $100+million dollars for three freeway projects. The approvals include additional funds for one freeway widening that L.A. County Supervisor Hahn had canceled after North Long Beach communities protested against it.
• Bay Area gets millions as state invests nearly $2.5 billion on transportation infrastructure (The Bay Link Blog). The California Transportation Commission (CTC) this week approved funding for more than 150 new projects that will improve safety on the state highway system and strengthen infrastructure resiliency. Of the combined total, nearly $547 million is from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and another $736 million from California’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The remaining $1.1 billion is funded through the State Highway Account, the general fund and other state and federal programs. “Our transportation team is continuing to prioritize benefits for all Californians with bold infrastructure investments that will connect communities and boost our economy,” said California Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin. In the Bay Area awards include:
• ＄ Hillsdale Boulevard interchange updates added to State Route 92/Highway 101 project (San Mateo Daily Journal). A high-collision on-ramp along Hillsdale Boulevard will see improvements as part of a larger project connecting State Route 92 and Highway 101. The project, which would add a connecting lane between State Route 92 and Highway 101, has been a discussion topic for years, with transit agencies such as the San Mateo County Transportation Authority stating it could reduce congestion and improve safety by using a new ramp connector to get from one freeway to another. The lane would be similar to the current Highway 101 express lanes, which employ a demand pricing model, however, high-occupancy vehicles would be exempt or receive a discount. (Archive.PH)
• Regional: Caltrans Releases Bay Area Transit Plan To Improve Access On State Highways (SF Gate). Caltrans has released a new Bay Area Transit Needs Assessment to help guide investments in transit-supportive infrastructure across the region’s state highway network. The assessment, released by Caltrans District 4, identifies locations where improvements such as bus-only lanes, safer crosswalks, and enhanced bicycle and pedestrian facilities could improve transit access and reliability.
• California Invests Nearly $2.5 Billion to Strengthen Transportation Infrastructure and Improve Mobility Across the State (Caltrans). The California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently approved funding for more than 150 new projects that will improve safety on the state highway system and strengthen infrastructure resiliency. The investments align with Governor Gavin Newsom’s build more, faster agenda, delivering critical infrastructure upgrades and creating thousands of jobs across the state. Of the combined total, nearly $547 million is from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) and another $736 million from California’s Senate Bill 1 (SB 1), the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. The remaining $1.1 billion is funded through the State Highway Account, the general fund and other state and federal programs.
• Route 168 Construction (FB/Caltrans District 6). The Department of Transportation (Caltrans), in cooperation with Viking Construction, announces the following schedule update in part of the State Route 168 Shaver Lake Viaduct Project in Fresno County. The following will occur Thursday, July 23rd at 11:00am:
• ＄ Napa should let Charlie Rossi remain in his home | Columnists | napavalleyregister.com (Napa Valley Register). There is something about all of this that just doesn’t sit right. Given the remarkable amount of web traffic, hundreds of comments and reactions on social media on the topic, that seems to be the common response. Rarely do progressives, moderates and conservatives agree on much of anything, but this time around, it seems clear: Let Charlie stay in his home. As Jennifer Huffman wrote last week, the city of Napa is inching closer to a plan that would solve the decades-long debacle that is the five-way intersection at Silverado Trail, East Avenue, Third Street and Coombsville Road. (Archive.PH)
• Santa Monica Pier (FB/Santa Monica City Councilmember Dan Hall). The Pier Bridge is finally coming down! Originally constructed in 1939, the 86-year-old bridge no longer meets modern structural or seismic standards. To improve long-term safety, access, and mobility, the City is moving forward with a federally-funded replacement project that will deliver a new, seismically sound structure with improved features, including a 15-foot-wide sidewalk to enhance the experience for pedestrians and bicyclists!
• ＄ 2 new roundabouts and trail planned for SLO CA. Here’s where (San Luis Obispo Tribune). Two new roundabouts and a trail are coming to San Luis Obispo — but the project will take years to complete. San Luis Obispo Council of Governments, or SLOCOG, in partnership with Caltrans and RICK Engineering, are moving forward with design plans for the State Route 227 Enhancement Project, according to a news release. The project will bring new roundabouts to Highway 227 at Los Ranchos Road and Buckley Road, as well as safety improvements at Crestmont Drive. The Edna-Price Canyon Trail — a new 1.2-mile walking and biking path — will also be developed along the highway corridor, running between Airport Drive and Los Ranchos Road, the release said. (Archive.PH)
• ＄ Millions in funding from 405 Freeway Express Lanes to be reinvested in local roads (Orange County Register). More than two years into operating the 405 Express Lanes, Orange County Transportation Authority leaders are setting policy for how to spend the millions in excess toll revenue that is being generated. Showing regular monthly growth in their use, the toll lanes that opened in December 2023 between the 605 interchange and the 73 collected about $4.5 million in revenue in March, the latest month for which information was available. Deciding how to earmark those funds after loans to improve the 405 Freeway are paid, the OCTA’s Board of Directors recently approved an initial expenditure plan. While the money won’t be available until 2029, OCTA Chief Executive Officer Darrell E. Johnson said the board is getting a jump on planning ahead for how excess toll revenue will be spent. (Archive.PH)
• The long-awaited Highway 1 reopening has spelled disaster in Big Sur (SF Gate). For the past three years, the narrative around Big Sur was that it was a world unto itself. With the southern part of the highway completely closed for repair after several major landslides, the crowds ebbed, nature got a break, and the hum of daily life in the forest returned to a more peaceful rhythm. At the same time, the region — which relies on visitors — also struggled in moments of isolation. Then, in January, the road reopened. Now, a little more than six months after Highway 1 went from “America’s most beautiful cul-de-sac” to a major thoroughfare once more, folks have descended on Big Sur this summer en masse.
• 405 Freeway weekend lane closures to continue for the next 5 years (California Post). Drivers navigating Southern California’s busiest freeway are in for years of headaches. The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) just dropped a bombshell multi-asset infrastructure project on Interstate 405 that will bring a marathon stretch of lane closures, detours and gridlock lasting all the way until 2031. The $115.2 million mega-project on the notoriously choked 405 Freeway could turn weekend rides into a bumper-to-bumper nightmare for the next five years, starting July 27, 2026. The traffic carnage will stretch along a crucial stretch from the Orange County line all the way to the I-110 interchange, Caltrans told The California Post. There are also plans for revamped landscaping between Lakewood and Long Beach boulevards, according to project documents reviewed by The Post.
• ＄ Animal crossings rise in second year of Highway 17 underpass (The Mercury News). When a tool designed by humans and meant for animals is introduced into the wild for the first time, success is never assured. And while no one knows that better than Land Trust of Santa Cruz County Conservation Director Bryan Largay, the latest figures emerging from the wildlife undercrossing at Laurel Curve in the Santa Cruz Mountains — the first structure of its kind in the Central California region — have him convinced that the experiment is working. Between February 2024 and January 2025, more than 1,100 animals and approximately 10 different species were recorded passing through the 85-foot-long, car-free tunnel beneath Highway 17. That’s at least 100 more than the total number of animals observed the previous year, which was the crossing’s first in operation after more than a decade of research and planning. (Archive.PH)
• Public Works to close ‘one of the scariest places in SF’ for 46 hours (SF Gate). A bustling San Francisco tunnel is closing completely for a weekend next month before Public Works limits access through October 2027 to allow for a seismic upgrade and improvements to the interior of the tube. The Broadway Tunnel, connecting Chinatown and North Beach with Russian Hill, is closing to traffic, pedestrians and cyclists on the morning of Saturday, Aug. 15, through early Monday, Aug. 17. The temporary shutdown allows crews to work on the Chinatown Public Health Center Renovation Project, a more than $76 million renovation of the community clinic built atop the double-bore tunnel’s eastern entrance. The tunnel’s ceiling is connected to the floor of the center, which is considered one of the city’s most seismically vulnerable clinics.
• San Diego sues engineer over faulty Mission Valley road connector (Mission Times Courier). The decades-long quest to extend Hazard Center Drive under State Route 163 to serve as a connection to and from Fashion Valley Mall is now a reality and the subject of a new lawsuit from the city of San Diego. The city is suing AECOM, a global infrastructure engineering firm, for negligence and misrepresentation in its design of a concrete channel underneath the Hazard Center Drive connection. In a non-conformed copy of the lawsuit, obtained by Times of San Diego, attorneys for the city say AECOM errantly designed the Hazard Center Drive Westerly Extension and then allegedly tried to downplay it to city engineers. The faulty design and failure to properly address groundwater intrusion and other issues have resulted in early cracking and groundwater seepage in the concrete slabs and walls.
• ＄ Napa has slice of U.S. Route 40 centennial history | History | napavalleyregister.com (Napa Valley Register). Instead of getting your kicks on Route 66, you can try feeling sporty on Route 40 – and in Napa County, at that. These two cross-country highways of old reached their 100th anniversaries this year. U.S. Route 66 ran from Santa Monica to Chicago, while U.S. Route 40 ran 3,157 miles from San Francisco to Atlantic City, New Jersey. Route 66 is by far the more famous of the two. The Mother Road is commemorated in everything from the John Steinbeck book “The Grapes of Wrath” to a Nat King Cole song to a 1960s CBS television series to the Pixar movie “Cars.” Communities across the United States along the 2,448 miles of old Route 66 are planning centennial celebrations for the Mother Road. Not so much for Route 40. (Archive.PH)
• Measure to let cars back on SF’s Great Highway is going on November ballot (SF Gate). A measure to reopen the Great Highway to cars will officially head to voters in San Francisco after the Department of Elections confirmed Thursday that it verified enough signatures for the measure to qualify on the November ballot. The measure will ask all San Francisco voters if they want to allow cars back on the road during weekdays and keep it as a park on the weekends — which supporters call the “compromise.” The “Great Highway for Everyone” ballot measure committee collected the signatures and submitted them a few weeks ago. The compromise went into effect during the COVID-19 pandemic until a citywide vote on Proposition K in November 2024 turned a 2-mile stretch of the Great Highway into a permanent park now called Sunset Dunes.
• California’s iconic welcome signs are getting a dramatic makeover (SF Gate). For decades, travelers driving in and out of California were greeted by blue and yellow “Welcome to California” signs. The classic roadway salutation stood atop two wooden posts with three yellow poppies, the state’s official flower, beside a looping cursive script. But those iconic symbols could soon disappear as more and more are replaced by grander, more extravagant signals that you’ve entered the Golden State. In June, two new welcome monuments were officially unveiled at the northern border, one along Highway 101 and the other along Highway 199 in Del Norte County. Visitors driving into California from Oregon can now view the new 13-foot-tall sculptures, meant to be more than just a passing welcome.
• California High-Speed Rail Network Sign a New Agreement to Connect to the Victor Valley Brightline West Trains (Pain In The Pass). The California High-Speed Rail Authority and the High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency (HDC JPA) have signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen coordination in speed up developing California’s future high-speed rail network. The agreement focuses on closer collaboration over environmental approvals, station integration and design, with particular attention given to the planned Palmdale Station, which is expected to form a key interchange within the state’s wider rail network. The organizations also intend to work together on procurement and construction planning, seeking opportunities to reduce project costs and improve delivery through coordinated purchasing of materials and construction activities. The High Desert Corridor Joint Powers Agency is made up of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LA Metro), the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster in Los Angeles County, and the cities of Adelanto and Victorville in San Bernardino County.
• Ħ 1918: Wisconsin Becomes a Pioneer in the Development of Numbered Highways in the United States (Transportation History). Nearly a decade before the official authorization of the U.S. Numbered Highway System nationwide, the state of Wisconsin played a groundbreaking role in the establishment of such routes within its own boundaries. By 1917, an ever-increasing number of Wisconsin residents recognized the need for changes to be made to state trails and roads that were more of a patchwork of names than a coordinated, easy-to-navigate network of routes for motor vehicles.
• ＄ Caltrans to relinquish portion of Hawthorne Boulevard to Torrance, granting more local control (Daily Breeze). After years of negotiating with Caltrans, Torrance will soon have control over the entirety of its stretch of Hawthorne Boulevard, allowing the city to continue efforts to synchronize traffic lights and make roadway improvements — and potentially exert more leverage over a portion of Los Angeles Metro’s route for the planned K Line extension. The Torrance City Council approved a relinquishment agreement with Caltrans last week, the penultimate step before securing local control over the major roadway. The California Transportation Commission must also approve the agreement — the vote to do so is scheduled for August — and then, it will take about 60 days to finalize relinquishment and a one-time payment Caltrans will give to Torrance under the deal. (Archive.PH)
• 🎥 Route 241/91 Connector. (FB/The Toll Roads). Tired of waiting in line? A new connection is coming and construction is starting soon! The 241/91 Express Connector project is a median-to-median direct connector that will provide a new tolled connection between the 241 Toll Road and 91 Express Lanes.
• Torrance to assume ownership of Hawthorne Boulevard after Caltrans payment, council concurs (Citizen Portal). The Torrance City Council unanimously concurred with public works staff and authorized the city to accept the relinquishment of the remaining Caltrans-owned segment of Hawthorne Boulevard, a roughly 4.8-mile arterial that runs through the city. Shin Furukawa, deputy public works director and city engineer, told the council the transfer gives the city three primary benefits: the ability to coordinate traffic signals along Hawthorne Boulevard and cross streets, to process development review and permit applications locally (shortening timelines), and to respond more quickly to maintenance requests such as graffiti, potholes and emergency signal repairs.
• Highway 99 International Agri-Center Interchange Project complete (ABC30 Fresno). Drivers in Tulare County and visitors to the International will soon have easier access to highway 99 as the State Route 99 International Agri-Center Interchange Project is now done. The project has been decades in the making and on Friday morning, hundreds of people were finally able to celebrate its completion during a ribbon-cutting ceremony, marking the major milestone in Tulare. The new interchange is expected to improve traffic flow, especially during the World Ag Expo… and support economic growth year-round.
• ＄＄ Richmond awarded $700K Caltrans grant to advance Greenway bridge project (Local News Matters). The City of Richmond has received a $700,000 grant from the California Department of Transportation to advance planning and conceptual design for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge that would close a key gap in the Richmond Greenway. [Note: Archive.PH does not work for this]
• Albion Bridge River Project (FB/Caltrans District 1). ALBION RIVER BRIDGE PROJECT UPDATE: Travelers and residents along Route 1 in Mendocino County will see field work on and around the Albion River Bridge beginning Monday, August 3, as geotechnical investigations get underway. Weekly road information on this and other projects in the area can be tracked on our page at tinyurl.com/d1roads. Built in 1944, the aging bridge does not meet modern seismic and structural standards and lacks safe, separated access for people walking and biking. The project is currently in the design and permitting phase through 2028, with construction estimated from 2028 to 2031 and the new bridge anticipated to open in 2031.
• Construction Update for Gold Country Corridor July 27-31 (YubaNet). Caltrans is reminding motorists of various lane closures in multiple locations along State Route 49 (SR 49) and State Route 20 (SR 20) as several projects continue in Placer and Nevada counties. Here is the breakdown for the week:
• Padilla, Schiff Announce Over $53 Million to Repair Highways, Roads Across California  (Senator Alex Padilla; 🎩 Andy3175). Today, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) announced that four road and highway repair projects in Amador, Kern, Riverside, and Orange counties were awarded a combined $53.8 million from the Department of Transportation (DOT). The funding comes through the DOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program, which provides grants for locally and regionally significant surface transportation infrastructure projects. This federal investment in California was made possible through Padilla and Schiff’s championing of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• More than $260 million in projects will improve Highway 58 over next five years (Tehachapi News, from 2023, but I think I missed it). More than $260 million in improvements to Highway 58 between Tehachapi and Bakersfield are in the works over the next five years. Last week, the Kern Council of Governments announced that the California Transportation Commission awarded $9.3 million for the final ramp for the interchange at Highway 99 and Highway 58 as part of more than $2.2 billion to fund projects across the state. According to a news release issued by KernCOG, the Highway 58 mainline connection from Highway 99 to the 7-mile Westside Parkway freeway is scheduled to open to traffic with a ribbon-cutting this September, providing connectivity to Interstate 5 via Stockdale Highway west of Bakersfield.
• ＄ Napa delays five-way intersection project hearing | News | napavalleyregister.com (SOURCE). The Napa City Council’s public hearing on the proposed Five-Way Intersection Project has been rescheduled from Aug. 4 to Sept. 15, the city announced. Officials cited scheduling conflicts and said the move would allow full participation by the council and project team. The hearing will cover the same presentation and discussion originally planned for August, including the council’s consideration of the project’s final environmental impact report and environmental assessment. (Archive.PH)
• Chino Hills Fighting Caltrans on Widening Scenic Carbon Canyon Road for Truck Use (California Globe). Hope for the Hills is a well-known group of Chino Hills residents who won a long and arduous battle against utility giant Southern California Edison back in 2013. I reported extensively and for several years on their courageous multi-year fight. After several years of legal challenges, the California Public Utilities Commission issued a final decision in 2013 in the Tehachapi Renewable Transmission Project, which granted the City of Chino Hills its proposal to run new electrical transmission lines underground, rather than living with the 200 foot electrical towers SCE installed in their backyards and parks. Hope for the Hills, created to challenge SCE on the Tehachapi transmission towers project, demonstrated amazing strength in its battle to win back their rights and their neighborhoods. The group of dedicated, committed and faithful citizens proved that the voting public still has a voice, but only as long as it is willing to put forth the effort.
• ＄ Hwy 101, 1 construction to slow SLO, Pismo Beach traffic | San Luis Obispo Tribune (SOURCE). Experiencing traffic delays in San Luis Obispo County? Roads and highways across the region are getting upgrades as crews add extra lanes, widen shoulders, fix markings and replace outdated infrastructure. TOP VIDEOS Projects are being led by the California Department of Transportation and Pacific Gas & Electric. Construction has resulted in closed lanes and ramps on a number of local roadways. Here’s when roadwork is planned, and when: (Archive.PH)
• Caltrans completes long-awaited suicide fencing on 118 bridge (The Acorn). A much-anticipated safety improvement project aimed at preventing suicides has been completed on the Arroyo Simi Overhead Bridge along State Route 118 in Moorpark. Caltrans’ Arroyo Simi Safety Barrier Project, which added more than 6,400 linear feet of fencing along both the northbound and southbound sides of the approximately half-mile bridge, was completed on July 15. The barrier is designed to serve as a physical deterrent for people in crisis. The structure, often referred to by locals as “the suicide bridge,” also has bilingual suicide prevention signage along its inner walls that were placed in 2018 as an earlier prevention measure.
• Caltrans to Spend Over $36 Million to Restore Scenic Ebbetts Pass Highway (edhat). A historic State Scenic Highway in Alpine County is being restored. Caltrans will begin construction on 31.7 miles of Highway 4, including Ebbetts Pass, on August 3. The construction will take place through Bear Valley to State Route 89, a popular route where spots like Lake Alpine and Pacific Valley are located. The funding for the project comes from California’s 2020 State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP). The project, set to be completed in late 2030, will cost $36.4 million.
• Caltrans Begins Highway 26/49 Safety Project In Calaveras County (My Mother Lode). Caltrans has begun construction on a safety improvement project at the Highway 26 and Highway 49 intersection in Calaveras County, with a full closure of part of the intersection now underway. The Highway 26/49 Intersection Control Improvement Project is designed to reduce broadside collisions and improve traffic safety through the construction of a single-lane roundabout. The project also includes installation of closed-circuit television cameras to help monitor traffic conditions, evaluate roadway operations, and improve response times to incidents.
• Southbound SR-163 to Northbound I-5 Connector and I-5 Hawthorn Street Off Ramp Closed August 1 and 2 (Caltrans). Caltrans will close the southbound State Route 163 (SR-163) connector to northbound I-5, the northbound State Route 163 (SR-163) connector to northbound I-5, and the northbound I-5 on-ramp at 11th Avenue on Saturday, August 1 from 2 a.m. to 10 a.m. for maintenance work. Caltrans will also close the Interstate 5 (I-5) northbound off-ramp to Hawthorn Street on Saturday, August 1 from 2 a.m. to 8 a.m. for maintenance work. Motorists on the southbound SR-163 will connect to the southbound I-5, take the off-ramp to Imperial Avenue, turn left onto Imperial, and then left onto the northbound I-5. Motorists on the northbound SR-163 will connect to the westbound I-8, and then take the connector onto the northbound I-5. Motorists headed to Hawthorn Street will continue northbound I-5 to the Sassafras Street/India Street off-ramp. Then turn left onto Sassafras Street to southbound Pacific Highway and proceed south to West Hawthorn Street.
• One-way Traffic Control Scheduled for the State Route 1 Lagunitas Creek Bridge Replacement Project near Point Reyes Station (Caltrans). Caltrans is scheduled to begin one-way traffic control on the Lagunitas Creek Bridge Replacement Project on State Route 1 (Shoreline Highway) on Monday, Aug. 10. Work includes widening the overflow culvert and installing foundations for the new bridge within the roadway. Traffic control will be in place from August until November 2026. The project will go into winter suspension and then return in spring 2027. The full closure of the bridge is scheduled for after Labor Day weekend in September 2027. Once work begins, the trail head to Papermill Creek Trail near the bridge will be closed for the safety of residents and crews. The entrance to the trail at C Street will be open. The project will replace the current Lagunitas Creek Bridge. In addition, the culvert north of the bridge will be widened to match the new bridge width. The new bridge will have wider shoulders and will provide sidewalk and curb ramps that will be ADA compliant.
• SR-18 Pavement and Culvert Project near Crestline (Caltrans). The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) proposes to improve an approximate 13.9-mile segment of State Route (SR) 18 in San Bernardino County, from 0.1 mile east of the SR-138/18 Separation at Post Mile (PM) R17.8 to View Drive at PM 31.7. The project scope includes cold plane and overlay, replace asphalt concrete surfacing (digout), guardrail and end treatment upgrades, vegetation control, guardrail patina stain, centerline rumble strip and recessed pavement marker replacement, asphalt concrete dike replacement, Transportation Management System (TMS) elements, bicycle signage, bicycle obstruction markings, bicycle friendly grates, replacement of 14 culverts, drainage feature installation/replacement, embankment repair, sidewalk replacement, and installation of concrete barrier at bridge structure locations.
• California investing US$17.9 billion in transportation projects in next four years (TravelMole). California is investing 17.9 billion in transportation projects statewide for the period 2026-2030 that will enhance connectivity for people who walk and bike, rebuild vital routes damaged by extreme weather events and increase access for transit users. The California Transportation Commission (CTC) recently approved funding for more than 150 new projects in 2026 that will improve safety on the state highway system and strengthen infrastructure resiliency. The investments align with California Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Build more, faster agenda”, delivering critical infrastructure upgrades and creating thousands of jobs across the state.
• Caltrans reaches milestone in rebuilding Pacific Coast Highway after Palisades Fire (Malibu Times). By all appearances, traffic is flowing once again along Pacific Coast Highway. Visitors are returning to Malibu’s beaches, cyclists are back on the shoulder, and commuters once again make the drive between Malibu and Santa Monica. But beneath the surface, the recovery from the January 2025 Palisades Fire is still very much a work in progress. This week, Caltrans announced another milestone in that recovery with the completion of two major protective wall projects along PCH — one just south of Big Rock Drive in eastern Malibu and another near the Getty Villa. Together, the projects represent nearly $27 million in repairs designed not simply to restore what the fire destroyed, but to better protect one of California’s most iconic highways from the next wildfire and the inevitable winter storms that follow.
• Tehama County Highway 99 delays: what drivers need to know (Action News Now). Drivers on Highway 99 near Los Molinos should prepare for delays as construction work continues in the area. The project stretches from the Butte County line to the Los Molinos Creek Bridge. Crews are conducting overnight pavement digouts Sunday through Thursday at 2 locations within the project limits. Work locations shift each night as construction progresses.
• A bold plan to destroy car culture in LA — and add more parks (SF Gate). It’s been called the worst intersection in California — or at least in Los Angeles. The so-called “San Vicente Asterisk” is less like a traditional intersection, where one street crosses another (often at a clean 90-degree angle), and more like a nightmare scenario cooked up by the most evil of DMV driving instructors. The six-way intersection involves the crossing of not two, but three major Los Angeles thoroughfares: San Vicente Boulevard, Fairfax Avenue and Olympic Boulevard. Drivers heading north on Fairfax first encounter the avenue’s intersection with Olympic Boulevard, where they wait for the light to change before crossing the busy six-lane street. Then, they come to a second, almost instantaneous stop, when Fairfax crosses the diagonal San Vicente Boulevard just about 30 feet later — a paved-over vestige of the city’s historic Pacific Electric rail line that today cuts right through a dense section of the city. The boulevard, with its occasionally awkward intersections, routinely causes gridlock, dangerous pedestrian crossings and endless blaring car horns.
• I-10 Blythe Updates (FB/Caltrans District 8). I-10 Blythe Rehab continues! 🚧Be Advised!!! ⚠️Westbound Wiley’s Well off-ramp will be closed beginning August 3rd / 24 hrs a day for approximately one-week!!!⚠️ Lane reductions EB and WB from Lovekin Blvd. to Seventh Street.
• Ħ July 31: This Date in Los Angeles Transportation History – Imperial Highway (Metro Primary Resources). Governor Frank F. Merriam dedicates road VII-Ora-176-A through Yorba Linda as part of the “Imperial Highway” from El Segundo to the Imperial Valley near the Mexico border.
• Ħ Commentary: Highway bandits, Charles Lindbergh and the 700 curves; the story of the Ridge Route over Tejon Pass (MSN/LA Times). What comes before 5? Trick question. It’s not a number. The 5 I mean is Interstate 5, the massive road that muscles up and over the 4,160-foot Tejon Pass, connecting two parts of California so distinct from each other — Southern and Central California — that to this day there’s a lot of yakking about splitting the state up there, like a magician’s woman-in-a-box trick, severing us not with a crosscut saw but with a line on a map. How, before the 5 was completed in 1970, did they do it? How did trucks and tourists and Californians manage the uphills and downhills among inclines and ridges that could be windy or icy or foggy, sometimes all at once? The Tejon Pass isn’t nearly as tall as its grander sister mountain ranges, but no one has to haul a big rig loaded up with peaches over Mt. Baldy or Mt. Whitney.
• Ħ 1924: The Push for a U.S. Numbered Highway System Gains Traction at the AASHO Annual Meeting (Transportation History). Less than a month before the 10th anniversary of the organization’s founding in Washington, D.C., the American Association of State Highway Officials (AASHO) held its 1924 annual meeting in San Francisco. This meeting specifically took place in November at the Hotel St. Francis in the downtown part of the city. This hotel, which is now known as the Westin St. Francis, was built in 1904. The accompanying image of the hotel is a postcard that was created just a few years after its opening by the Detroit Publishing Company. By the time that AASHO delegates gathered for the annual meeting in 1924, the association had already accomplished a great deal when it came to establishing a crucial federal-state partnership for the construction and maintenance of roads nationwide. The gathering in San Francisco would mark yet another milestone in these efforts due to a stronger-than-before advocacy for the development of a uniform numbered highway system throughout the United States.
• Ħ 1925: With a Little Doodling and Some Discussion, the Route Marker for the U.S. Numbered Highway System is Adopted (Transportation History). In April 1925, the first full-fledged meeting of the Joint Board on Interstate Highways was held at the headquarters of the U.S Bureau of Public Roads (BPR) in Washington, D.C. This two-day meeting took place just a few weeks after the board was formally established to work on developing what ultimately became the U.S. Numbered Highway System. The board members met in the office of Thomas H. MacDonald (1881-1957) BPR’s chief and the board’s chairman. One of the key actions taken on that first day involved agreeing to postpone any discussion of numbers for the new highway system until actual routes had been identified. Another topic broached during the same session was the matter of an official shield for that network of highways and what should be included as part of that signage.

Gribblenation Blog (Tom Fearer)

• • Hacienda Bridge (River Road in Sonoma County). The Hacienda Bridge was constructed by the Northwestern Pacific Railroad in 1914 at the Russian River near Hacienda siding. During the mid 1930s the rails atop this structure were removed from this span and Sonoma County would repurpose it was part of River Road in 1945. This truss was widened to two-lanes in 1948 still carries River Road over the Russian River.
  • The Slab (former US Route 101 on the South Fork Eel River Viaduct). The South Fork Eel River Viaduct is an abandoned portion of the early Redwood Highway located between Leggett and Confusion Hill in Mendocino County. This span was constructed in 1923 and is more popularly known as “The Slab.” The South Fork Eel River Viaduct is 525 feet in length and served as part of US Route 101 from 1926 until 1982. The structure was ultimately bypassed by an inland cut and left abandoned.
  • Sequoia National Forest Road 13S04 to the Buck Rock Lookout. Sequoia National Forest Road 13S04 (Buck Rock Road) is an approximately 4.49-mile-high clearance dirt corridor. Buck Rock Road begins at Forest Road 14S11 (Horse Corral Road) in Tulare County and terminates to the north in Fresno County at Forest Road 14S02 (Burton Road). Buck Road is the point of access to the famous Buck Rock Lookout which is located at an elevation of 8,502 feet above sea level.
  • US Route 101 in Laytonville. Laytonville is an unincorporated community located in Mendocino County along US Route 101 (Redwood Highway). This small community has been US Route 101 since 1926 and part of the Redwood Highway since the 1909 First State Highway Bond Act. While improvements to the highway in Laytonville have been minimal it has seen substantial modernization in the general area.
  • Hazel Glen Road. Hazel Dell Road is an approximately 4-mile rural highway located on the San Andreas Rift Zone in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Hazel Dell Road begins at the terminus of Browns Valley Road and extends southeast through a Coastal Redwood Grove to Mount Madonna Road.
  • The California State Route 12 freeway in Santa Rosa. The California State Route 12 freeway through Santa Rosa is a limited access corridor which opened during December 1964. The fully limited access corridor spans from Fulton Road/Wright Road eastward through downtown to Farmers Lane. This freeway corridor was developed with the expectation that it would continue east of Santa Rosa towards the community of Kenwood. The undeveloped portion of freeway has forced California State Route 12 onto an impractical routing along Farmers Lane towards 4th Street.
  • Cienega Road. Cienega Road is an approximately 18-mile rural highway located in the Gabilan Range and San Andreas Fault Rift Zone south of Hollister. Cienega Road begins at Union Road near Hollister and terminates at California State Route 25 near Paicines via Cienega Valley.
  • The Chandelier Tree and Drive-Thru Tree Park. The Chandelier Tree and Drive-Thru Tree Park are notable attractions which were located on early US Route 101 (Redwood Highway) in Leggett. The Chandelier Tree is a 276 foot high Coastal Redwood which had a tunnel carved into the trunk circa 1936-1937 by the Underwood family. Despite Leggett being bypassed by modern US Route 101 in early the 1970s and replaced with California State Route 271 Drive-Thru Tree Park remains a popular stopping point for travelers in northern Mendocino County.
  • Klamath Tour Thru Tree. The Klamath Tour Thru Tree is a Coastal Redwood tunnel tree located off California State Route 169 in Klamath Glen. This particular tree is 167.54 feet high which makes it far smaller than the more famous Chandlier Tree in Leggett. The Klamath Tour Thru Tree was carved during May 1976 which allows it to facilitate passage by larger vehicles than the Chandlier Tree. The Klamath Tour Thru Tree is one of the most popular tourism spots in Del Norte County and draws approximately 60,000 vehicles annually.
  • Browns Valley Road. Browns Valley Road is an approximately 3.5-mile rural highway corridor located in the Corralitos area of the Santa Cruz Mountains. This short corridor begins at Eureka Canyon Road in Corralitos and extends northeast to Hazel Dell Road. Browns Valley Road is historically significant as it was the site of construction of a major highway truss bridge over Corralitos Creek in 1893 (seen as the cover photo). The 1893 Corralitos Creek Bridge was destroyed by flooding in November 1950 and replaced. The 1950-era span itself was replaced by the current bridge carrying Browns Valley Road in 2002.
  • Eureka Canyon Road. Eureka Canyon Road is an approximately nine-mile-long rural highway corridor located in the southern extent of the Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County. Eureka Canyon Road begins at Browns Valley Road in the community of Corralitos and climbs to a ridge atop the Santa Cruz Mountains where it continues as Highland Way.
  • Highland Way. Highland Way is an approximately 7.6-mile-long continuation of Eureka Canyon Road northwest to the Summit Road in Santa Cruz County. Highland Way follows the crest of the Santa Cruz Mountains and generally is aligned along the San Andreas Fault Rift Zone.
  • Fairview Road (former Legislative Route Number 22 and California State Route 25). Fairview Road of San Benito County is an approximately 10-mile roadway located in Santa Clara Valley near Hollister. Fairview Road begins at California State Route 25 (Airline Highway) near the Hollister city limit and extends north/northwest to San Felipe Road near Dunneville.
  • Chowchilla Canal Road (Madera County Road 13). Chowchilla Canal Road is an approximately six-mile-long component of what is now signed as Madera County Road 13. This roadway was built as a frontage of the modern Chowchilla Bypass Canal in the 1960s south of Ripperdan Avenue (now Avenue 7) to the San Joaquin River. During rare periods where water has been low in the San Joaquin River an earthen ford has connected Chowchilla Canal Road to San Mateo Avenue in Fresno County. The Chowchilla Canal Road/Ripperdan Avenue intersection was relocated west of the Chowchilla Canal Bypass berm between 2013-2015. The original intersection can still be found in an abandoned and semi-razed state.
  • Mountain Charlie Road. The southern portion of Mountain Charlie Road is an approximately 5.1-mile single lane rural highway located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz County. This segment of Mountain Charlie Road begins at California State Route 35 (Summit Road) and terminates to the south at Glenwood Drive near South Pacific Coast Railroad Tunnel #4. A second northern segment of Mountain Charlie Road begins at Summit Road and extends approximately 1 mile northward to Old Santa Cruz Highway.
  • Bean Creek Road. Bean Creek Road is an approximately 3.6-mile single lane rural highway located in the Santa Cruz Mountains of Santa Cruz County. Bean Creek Road begins at Glenwood Drive and terminates to the south at Scotts Valley Drive (former California State Route 17)
  • Union Road. Union Road is an approximately five-mile-long commuter highway which connects California State Routes 156 and 25 near the city of Hollister. Union Road was first developed as part of an access road which connected San Juan Bautista with Bird Creek Road (now Cienega Road) near the San Benito River. In the early 2000s the corridor of Union Road was extended east over the 1959-era San Benito River Bridge (formerly part of Cienega Road) to California State Route 25. Modern Union Road has emerged as a major commuter route for traffic departing Hollister westward to the Monterey Peninsula. The 1959-era San Benito River Bridge was recently replaced in 2025 with a modernized span designed to carry nearly 11,000 vehicles a day.
  • Former California State Route 180 in Centerville. Centerville is one of the oldest communities in what is now Fresno County having been founded as Scottsburg in 1854. The Centerville community has historically been tied to the history of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road and the Squaw Valley Road. The Squaw Valley Road would later be known as Dunlap Road and became a component of California State Route 180 in August 1934. By the 1940s the corridor was renamed Kings Canyon Road in reference to Kings Canyon National Park.
  • Early Fowler Avenue in Laton. Laton is a small unincorporated community in southern Fresno County which was founded by the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway in 1890. Laton functionally serves as a continuation of the ghost town of Kingston which was located on the south bank of the Kings River in what is now Kings County.