alohawolf

Another highway page update cycle is completed, coming in just under the wire before the August 14 CTC Meeting (which pushes those items into the next update cycle). This cycle, whose changes are detailed on the July 2025 Change Page with proper formatting, or just pasted below, covers April through July 2025. Enjoy, and as always, “ready, set, discuss”.

Next up: Continuing work on the California Highways: Route by Route Season 4 episodes. Episodes 4.01 and 4.02 on Route 8 are written, and I’ll start on Route 9 this week. We’re recording the bonus episode 3.14 with Andrew Bowen of the Freeway Exit podcast this week, and that episode (including a sample episode of Freeway Exit). I’m making arrangements for one more bonus episode featuring an interview with Claire Kennedy, archivist for LA Metro.  If you have questions for her, please comment on this post or one of the social media shares of this.

On to the changelog:

This update covers the rest of April, May, June, and July 2025. Before we dive into the updates to the California Highways site, an update on the California Highways: Route by Route podcast. As always, you can keep up with the show at the podcast’s forever home at https://www.caroutebyroute.org , the show’s page on Spotify for Podcasters, or you can subscribe through your favorite podcaster or via the RSS feeds (CARxR, Spotify for Podcasters) . The following episodes have been posted since the last update just before the end of April:

• April | CA RxR 3.10: I-5: Gateway to Oregon. Episode 3.10 completes our exploration of I-5, looking at the segment that was former US 99, LRN 3, between Red Bluff and the Oregon Border. Along the way, we visit Red Bluff, Anderson and Redding, the Lake Shasta Area, Dunsmuir, Mt. Shasta, Weed, Yreka, and run into a California Agricultural Inspector who was trapped in a bottle by a witch. Our next episode will move us to the next highway, looking at US 6 and all things Route 6 in California. (Spotify for Podcasters)
• May | CA RxR 3.11: US 6: A Major Route no More. With Episode 3.11, we turn our attention to Route 6, better known as US 6. As is our tradition, we start by looking into the 6^th state highway, and the LRN 6, and then the route that was originally signed as Sign Route 6. We then turn our attention to US 6, looking at the history of the route, and the historical routings in Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newhall, the Antelope Valley, the Eastern Sierras, and Bishop. We also talk about El Camino Sierra, the Midland Trail, and the proposals for trans-Sierra highways that would have included US 6. Lastly, we look at US 6 today: the portion between Bishop and the Nevada State line. Next up: The last episode of Season 3, where we talk about Route 7: both the current short route near the border, and the more interesting historical routings of LRN 7, Sign Route 7, and the original 1964 Route 7. (Spotify for Podcasters)
• June | CA RxR 3.12: Route 7: From Long Beach to the Border. Episode 3.12 brings Season 3 to a close, modulo our bonus episodes. In Episode 3.12, we explore all things Route 7. As is our tradition, we start by looking into the 7^th state highway, the Kings River Canyon Road, and LRN 7, which included portions of US 40 and US 99W. We then turn our attention to various incarnations of Route 7: Sign Route 7, both the section along the Eastern Sierras that is now US 395 and US 6 and the section that became Sepulveda Blvd in Los Angeles; 1964-1981 Route 7, which was the Long Beach Freeway before it was renumbered into I-710; and the current Route 7, which is a small border connection route near a new entry point near Calexico. We’ll then be taking a short break, during which there will be some bonus episodes. We’ll pick up in the fall with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14. I’m also going to be working on improving the sound quality of the podcast once I retire in July. (Spotify for Podcasters)
• July | CA RxR 3.13: Fresno Flats (Bonus). Episode 3.13 is our first bonus episode, bridging the gap while we write Season 4. This bonus episode is a presentation that our co-host, Tom Fearer, gave at the Fresno Flats museum back in May 2025. The presentation focuses on the highways of the Oakhurst area, and was described as: “Since the establishment of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road in 1853 the Sierra Nevada foothills of what is now Madera County has been a hub of highway development. Much of the existing infrastructure in the area was established by the late 1880s with the plotting of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road and Yosemite Stage Road. The area was of great interest during the early State Highway era due to the desirable access it could provide for logging interests and automotive based recreational travel to Yosemite National Park. Even Minaret Summit was briefly considered for a proposed extension of Interstate 70 into California before the era of environmental impact assessment began.” We’ll pick up in the fall with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14. (Spotify for Podcasters)

Turning to the updates to the California Highways pages: Updates were made to the following highways, based on my reading of the (virtual) papers and my research for the fourth season of the podcast in June and July 2025 (which are posted to the roadgeeking category at the “Observations Along The Road” and to the California Highways Facebook group) as well as any backed up email changes. I also reviewed the the AAroads forum (Ꜳ). This resulted in changes on the following routes, with credit as indicated [my research^(ℱ), contributions of information or leads (via direct mail or ꜲRoads) from DTComposer^(Δ), Tom Fearer⁽²⁾, Mike Palmer⁽³⁾, PDERocco⁽⁴⁾, KPhoger⁽⁵⁾, therocket⁽⁶⁾, Voyager⁽⁷⁾]: Route 1^(ℱ,2,5,7), Route 2^(ℱ), Route 4^(ℱ), I-10^(ℱ), I-15^(ℱ), Route 17^(ℱ), Route 19⁽⁶⁾, Route 25^(ℱ), Route 37^(ℱ), US 40⁽²⁾, Route 41^(ℱ,2), Route 46^(ℱ), Route 47⁽³⁾, Route 49^(ℱ), US 50^(ℱ), Route 55^(ℱ), Route 58^(ℱ), Route 65^(ℱ), Route 70^(ℱ), Route 71^(ℱ), Route 74^(ℱ), Route 78^(ℱ), I-80^(ℱ), US 80^(ℱ), Route 91^(ℱ), US 97^(ℱ), Route 99^(ℱ), US 101^(ℱ,2), Route 107^(ℱ), Route 108^(ℱ), Route 140^(ℱ), Route 154^(ℱ), Route 156^(ℱ), Route 160^(ℱ), Route 162^(ℱ), Route 164⁽⁶⁾, Route 173^(ℱ), Route 178⁽²⁾, Route 180^(ℱ), Route 203^(ℱ), Route 217^(Δ,4), Route 232^(ℱ), LRN 234^(ℱ), Route 246^(ℱ), I-380 (Southern Crossing)^(ℱ), I-405^(ℱ), US 466^(ℱ), Route 480^(ℱ), I-580^(ℱ), I-680^(ℱ), County Sign Route A9^(ℱ), County Sign Route E16⁽²⁾, County Sign Route G11⁽²⁾, County Sign Route G12⁽²⁾, County Sign Route J42⁽²⁾.
(Source: private email through 4/26/2025, Highway headline posts through the July 2025 Headline post, AARoads through 8/7/2025)

Started work on Season 4 of the Route by Route podcast. This resulted in changes and updates to the following routes: LRN 5, LRN 21, LRN 30, Sign Route 8, I-8, US 80, Sign Route 88, Sign Route 104, Route 109, Route 115, County Sign Route S2, County Sign Route S80

Updated almost every route page (sigh—good thing I’m retired) to adjust to the AARoads change in page references.

Added a good link to a bridge inspection website: Bridge Inspections: California

Reviewed the Pending Legislation page, based on the California Legislature site, for bills through 2025-08-08. As usual, I recommend to every Californian that they visit the legislative website regularly and see what their legis-critters are doing. As many people are unfamiliar with how the legislature operates (and why there are so many “non-substantive changes” and “gut and amend” bills), I’ve added the legislative calendar (updated for 2025) to the end of the Pending Legislation page. Noted the passage of the following bills / resolutions: