California State Route 99
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
State Route 99 |
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(CS&HC Section 399) | |||||||||||||
Length: | 424.85 mi[1] (683.73 km) (includes 9.61 mi (15.47 km) on US 50 and I-5) |
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Formed: | 1964 renumbering (from US 99)[2] | ||||||||||||
South end: | I-5 south of Bakersfield | ||||||||||||
Major junctions: |
SR 58 in Bakersfield SR 180 in Fresno SR 4 in Stockton I-80 in Sacramento SR 20 in Yuba City SR 32 in Chico |
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North end: | SR 36 near Red Bluff | ||||||||||||
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State Route 99, referred to in California as Highway 99 or simply 99, is a long north-south state highway that traverses California's Central Valley from the north near Red Bluff to the south near Bakersfield.
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[edit] Route description
The majority of its length is built to freeway standards, though it is at times a two-lane rural highway or a four lane divided highway. The freeway portions connect and serve the numerous small cities, and large urban centers as well, that mostly support the agriculture and industry of the Central Valley. These segments provide a fast medium distance haulage route connecting agricultural production with related processing and packing businesses.
Traveling southbound from Stockton, Route 99 passes through the cities of the San Joaquin Valley, while I-5 is relegated to less densely populated areas. Route 99 continues through Modesto, Ceres, Turlock, Merced, Fresno, Visalia, Tulare and Bakersfield. A few miles south of the Tehachapi Mountains or north of Grapevine Hill, the road made famous by Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen in their song, "Hot Rod Lincoln," Route 99 meets I-5 again and ends in Wheeler Ridge.
[edit] History
Route 99 was originally part of U.S. Highway 99 which was decommissioned in California by 1968 after the completion of Interstate 5. Since the remnant did not cross state lines, it was not allowed to keep its federal highway status. Many of the older highway signs in the southbound lanes still display a control city of Los Angeles, even though CA-99 no longer runs through that city. CalTrans also patched the US-99 shield with the CA-99 shield in many of the highway signs. The most prominent example is the Atwater exit in either direction, on which one can clearly see the old US shield outline underneath the newer spade. Other, better-covered, examples are in Tulare (J Street exit) and Merced, where one has to look carefully to note the square green patch.
From the north, Route 99 runs generally parallel to, and to the east of, Interstate 5. CA-99 begins at the intersection of CA-36 east of Red Bluff, and serves as a two-lane highway, running through Butte and Sutter counties, with the exceptions of portions in Yuba City and Chico serving as freeways to the state capital, Sacramento. Before Sacramento, CA-99 is promoted to a freeway and meets I-5 briefly before diverging from it again. The two freeways run somewhat close to one another for about 90 miles, but after passing through Stockton, they begin to diverge more and more.
Groundbreaking to widen Route 99 between Selma and Kingsburg from four to six lanes occurred on December 21, 2005. Completion for this is expected by early 2008. Eventually Route 99 will be widened from four to six lanes from Kingsburg to Goshen beginning in 2010. A couple of years later this will be extended southward from Goshen to Tulare starting in 2012. An expressway stretch north of Madera will be converted to freeway status pending a final review. The long term goal is to upgrade Route 99 into a six lane (three in each direction) highway from one end to the other.
A 1958 Caltrans state map shows US 99 running from Calexico, California to the Oregon state line. It meets the Oregon state line at the location of present-day Interstate 5.
Highway 99 is commonly called "The Main Street of California."
The 5-mile segment of Route 99 south of its intersection with Route 70 in Sutter County is named the Bernie Richter Memorial Highway.
The portion of State Highway Route 99 consisting of the four-lane expressway between the Edgar Slough south of Chico (Bridge No. 12128) and the Pentz Road overcrossing (Postmile 24.2) is officially designated as the "Ray E. Johnson" Expressway.
[edit] Future upgrade to Interstate 9 or Interstate 7
Recently, it has been recommended that Route 99 be upgraded to Interstate Highway standards between its southern terminus and Stockton (or Sacramento), which would require upgrading some substandard sections and eliminating the last at-grade intersections. Caltrans has recommended Interstate 9 as the designation of the route, although Interstate 7 is a possibility, given the route's proximity to Interstate 5.
[edit] Control Cities
Northbound
- Sacramento - from I-5 to the Sacramento city limits
- Bakersfield - from I-5 to Union Avenue south of Bakersfield
- Fresno - from the Bakersfield city limits to the Fresno city limits
Southbound
- Fresno - from U.S. Route 50/Business 80 to Route 180
- Los Angeles - from Route 180 to I-5
[edit] State law
Legal Definition of Route 99: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 399
Route 99 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.5 of the California State Highway Code. |
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Caltrans: Route 99 highway conditions
- Cal-Nexus: Route 99 North
- Cal-NExUS: Route 99 South
- California Highways: Route 99
- AAroads: Proposed Interstate 9 Information
- Western Exit Guide - California 99
- July 24, 2005, San Francisco Chronicle article on Interstate upgrade
Categories: Bakersfield, California | California state highways | Merced County, California | State highways inspired by US highways | California Freeway and Expressway System | Blue Star Memorial Highways | Chico, California | Sutter County, California | Yuba City, California | Sacramento, California