California State Route 68

Last updated

California 68.svg
State Route 68
California State Route 68.svg
SR 68 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length22.02 mi [1]  (35.44 km)
Tourist
routes
California Scenic State.svg SR 68 between SR 1 and the Salinas River [2]
Major junctions
West end Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove
Major intersections
East endUS 101 (1961 cutout).svg US 101 in Salinas
Location
Country United States
State California
Counties Monterey
Highway system
California 67.svg SR 67 California 70.svg SR 70

State Route 68 (SR 68) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, located entirely in Monterey County. It runs from Asilomar State Beach in Pacific Grove to U.S. Route 101 in Salinas. The approximately 20-mile (32 km) long highway serves as a major route between the Monterey Peninsula and Salinas.

Contents

Route description

SR 68 westbound concurrent with SR 1 southbound in Monterey CA 68 in Monterey.jpg
SR 68 westbound concurrent with SR 1 southbound in Monterey
SR 68 eastbound approaching the Monterey Peninsula CA 68 approaching Monterey.jpg
SR 68 eastbound approaching the Monterey Peninsula

SR 68 begins as Asilomar Avenue in the city of Pacific Grove at an intersection with Sinex Avenue, at the entrance to Asilomar Conference Grounds of Asilomar State Beach. The highway continues south to an intersection with Sunset Drive, turning east on Sunset Drive before continuing south after roughly half a mile onto Forest Avenue.[ citation needed ] Soon after entering Monterey and passing by the Presidio of Monterey, SR 68 becomes the W.R. Holman Highway until its junction with SR 1 at the terminus of the 17 Mile Drive. [3]

SR 68 is concurrent with SR 1 for 2.5 miles (4.0 km) until nearing the Monterey County Fairgrounds. At this point, SR 68 exits SR 1 as the Monterey-Salinas Highway, which is a freeway for the first half mile. The freeway becomes a highway and passes by the Monterey Regional Airport, intersecting SR 218 at Del Rey Oaks, continuing for 17 miles (27 km) towards Salinas. The route goes past Pasadera, WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, Laureles Grade, Corral De Tierra, San Benancio, Toro Park and Spreckels, becoming a freeway for the last 3 miles (4.8 km) before Salinas, eventually turning north. At the city limits, SR 68 becomes South Main Street and continues to downtown. SR 68 makes a right off of Main and follows John Street to its terminus at U.S. Route 101. [3]

Highway 68 is heavily traveled. The road has a design capacity of 16,000 vehicles per day. As of 2006, it carries about 26,000 vehicles per day, and this figure is projected to increase as residential development in and around Salinas continues, and the Monterey Peninsula's tourism economy continues to expand.[ citation needed ] Highway 68 and the "68" road symbol have become iconic in Pacific Grove skating culture. This association developed after the opening of the skate shop "68 Skate".[ citation needed ]

SR 68 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, [4] and east of SR 1 is part of the National Highway System, [5] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. [6] SR 68 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System; [7] however, only the part from SR 1 to the Salinas River is designated by Caltrans as a scenic highway. [8] The Monterey-Salinas Highway is a California Scenic Route because of its views of the chaparral and springtime lupin for 14 miles (23 km) between State Route 1 in Monterey to the Salinas River.[ citation needed ] State Route 68 is part of the Juan De Anza Trail. [9]

History

Highway 68 is part of the DeAnza Trail, a route that linked all of California's mission settlements during the Spanish colonial period. With the advent of the automobile, Highway 68 was upgraded from a dirt wagon road to a 2-lane paved road in 1937. [10]

During the 1950s and 1960s, Caltrans had planned to upgrade Highway 68 to a freeway between Salinas and Highway 1 in Monterey, that was to start at US 101 south of the city and proceed west between Salinas and Spreckels, serving as a bypass for Salinas. The freeway was to then follow the existing Highway 68 alignment into Monterey.

The freeway plan died as a result of environmental concerns along the route. The only portions of this freeway that were actually built were a 1-mile (1.6 km) section approaching the Highway 1 interchange in Monterey, and a 3-mile (4.8 km) segment starting in Spreckels and heading west, bypassing the unincorporated village of Toro Park. The segment around Spreckels opened in 1967 and included a pair of new bridges spanning the Salinas River, which replaced an old truss bridge built in 1889. At the western terminus of the Spreckels freeway segment, land acquired for the freeway can still be seen. [11]

There continues to be discussions, but no definitive plans, to either bypass Route 68 or convert the existing road to 4-lanes by building a second roadway alongside the present 2-lane carriageway. Caltrans and Monterey County officials mention the most practical route for a bypass would be to the north of the existing Route 68, through Fort Ord. A major upgrade of the Highway 68 corridor would cost on the order of $300 million. In the fall of 2007, Caltrans is scheduled to begin a $6 million project to implement safety upgrades at three major intersections along Highway 68.

Meanwhile, Caltrans and Monterey County are proceeding with a plan to divert Monterey-Salinas traffic away from Highway 68 by converting Davis Road and Reservation Road from two lanes to four between Highway 101 on the north side of Salinas and Highway 1 in Marina. These two roads pass through Fort Ord and the upgrades are using excess land set aside following the base's closure in 1994. The Davis Road/Reservation Road upgrade is a short-term fix, and most state and county officials realize that a permanent fix for Highway 68 will eventually be necessary.

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). [12] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Monterey County.

LocationPostmile
[12] [1] [13]
Exit
[14] [15]
DestinationsNotes
Pacific Grove 0.00Sinex Avenue – Asilomar State Beach West end of SR 68
17-Mile Drive
Monterey L4.26
75.14 [N 1]
South plate California.svg
California 1.svg
SR 1 south / 17-Mile Drive  Carmel
Interchange; west end of SR 1 overlap; SR 1 exit 399A
West end of freeway on SR 1
R75.75 [N 1] 399BMunras Avenue – Monterey No eastbound entrance
R76.00 [N 1] 399CSoledad Drive, Munras AvenueWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
R77.38 [N 1] 401AAguajito Road – Monterey
R78.12 [N 1]
R3.95
7BNorth plate California.svg
California 1.svg
SR 1 north Santa Cruz, San Francisco
East end of SR 1 overlap; SR 1 exit 401B
R3.997BNorth Fremont Street – Seaside No eastbound entrance; signed as exit 401B eastbound
East end of freeway
Del Rey Oaks 6.81West plate California.svg
California 218.svg
SR 218 west (Canyon del Rey Road) / Monterra Road Del Rey Oaks, Seaside
11.22CR G20 jct.svg CR G20 (Laureles Grade) Carmel Valley
West end of freeway
15.8319Portola Drive
R17.1920CR G17 jct.svg CR G17 (River Road, Reservation Road)
R18.0821Spreckels Boulevard
East end of freeway
Salinas 19.97To plate 1961.svg
US 101 (1961 cutout).svg
Blanco Road to US 101
22.02US 101 (1961 cutout).svg US 101 Interchange; east end of SR 68; US 101 exit 327
22.02John StreetContinuation beyond US 101
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 1 rather than SR 68.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 58</span> Major state highway in California

State Route 58 is a major east-west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs across the Coast Ranges, the southern San Joaquin Valley, the Tehachapi Mountains, which border the southern Sierra Nevada, and the Mojave Desert. It runs between U.S. Route 101 near Santa Margarita and Interstate 15 in Barstow. It has junctions with Interstate 5 near Buttonwillow, State Route 99 in Bakersfield, State Route 202 in Tehachapi, State Route 14 near Mojave, and U.S. Route 395 at Kramer Junction. SR 58 also provides access to Edwards Air Force Base. At various points it is known as the Calf Canyon Highway, Carrisa Highway, Bakersfield-McKittrick Highway, Rosa Parks Highway, Westside Parkway, Barstow-Bakersfield Highway, Bakersfield Tehachapi Highway, Kern County Korean War Veterans Memorial Highway, and Mojave-Barstow Highway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 138</span> Highway in California

State Route 138 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that generally follows the northern foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains and the western Mojave Desert. The scenic highway begins in the west at its junction with Interstate 5 located south of Gorman in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, continues eastward through the Antelope Valley and Cajon Pass, to its junction with State Route 18 in the east, located in the San Bernardino Mountains south of Crestline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 13</span> State highway in Alameda County, California, United States

State Route 13 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs entirely in Alameda County, connecting Interstate 580 in Oakland to Interstate 80/Interstate 580 in Berkeley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 126</span> Highway in California

State Route 126 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves Ventura and Los Angeles counties. The route runs from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura to Interstate 5 at the Castaic Junction-Santa Clarita border through the Santa Clara River Valley. The highway is an important connector highway in Ventura County, and serves as an alternate route into the Santa Clarita Valley, and the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles and the High Desert of Antelope Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 113</span> Highway in California

State Route 113 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from around 10 miles (16 km) in the Sacramento Valley west of Rio Vista at State Route 12 to State Route 99 in Tudor. It serves as one of two important connecting routes between Interstate 80 and Interstate 5, bypassing Sacramento to the east; the other being Interstate 505 to the west. Past the southern terminus are Collinsville and Birds Landing around the Suisun Bay marshes. Cities along the route include Dixon, Davis, and Woodland. It also shares a stretch of Interstate 80 between just outside UC Davis and Dixon. The section running from Dixon to Woodland is a controlled-access freeway; the remainder is a standard road of two to four lanes. The freeway section spanning from the I-80 interchange in Davis to Woodland is called the Vic Fazio Highway, after the former U.S. House representative of the Davis area, who is credited with obtaining the funding for the freeway upgrade of that section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 84</span> Highway in California

State Route 84 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that consists of two unconnected segments, one in the San Francisco Bay Area and the other primarily in the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 71</span> Highway in California

State Route 71 (SR 71) is a 15-mile (24 km) state highway in the U.S. state of California. Serving Riverside, San Bernardino, and Los Angeles counties, it runs from SR 91 in Corona to the Kellogg Interchange with I-10 and SR 57 on the border of Pomona and San Dimas. The segment from SR 91 to SR 83 in Chino Hills is called the Corona Freeway, formerly the Corona Expressway and before then the Temescal Freeway. SR 71 is designated as the Chino Valley Freeway between SR 83 and the Kellogg Interchange.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 12</span> State highway in California, United States

State Route 12 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in an east–west direction from State Route 116 in Sebastopol in Sonoma County to State Route 49 just north of San Andreas in Calaveras County. The route connects the Sonoma and Napa valleys with the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and the Sierra Foothills. It is constructed to freeway standards from the Fulton Road/South Wright Road stoplight in Santa Rosa, to its partial interchange with Farmers Lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 4</span> State highway in California

State Route 4 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, routed from Interstate 80 in the San Francisco Bay Area to State Route 89 in the Sierra Nevada. It roughly parallels the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, a popular area for boating and fishing, with a number of accesses to marinas and other attractions. After crossing the Central Valley, the highway ascends up the Sierra foothills. It passes through Ebbetts Pass and contains the Ebbetts Pass Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 41</span> Highway in California

State Route 41 is a state highway in the U.S. State of California, connecting the Central Coast with the San Joaquin Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Its southern terminus is at the Cabrillo Highway in Morro Bay, and its northern terminus is at SR 140 in Yosemite National Park. It has been constructed as an expressway from near SR 198 in Lemoore north to the south part of Fresno, where the Yosemite Freeway begins, passing along the east side of downtown and extending north into Madera County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 33</span> Highway in California

State Route 33 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs north from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura through the Transverse Ranges and the western side of the San Joaquin Valley to Interstate 5 at a point east of Tracy. SR 33 replaced part of U.S. Route 399 in 1964 during the "great renumbering" of routes. In the unincorporated sections of Kern County it is known as the West Side Highway. In addition, the California Legislature designated the entire Kern County portion as the Petroleum Highway in 2004. The southernmost portion in Ventura is a freeway known as the Ojai Freeway, while it is known as the Maricopa Highway from Ojai to Maricopa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 29</span> Highway in California

State Route 29 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels from Interstate 80 in Vallejo north to State Route 20 in Upper Lake. It serves as the primary road through the Napa Valley, providing access to the Lake County region to the north and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area to the south.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 156</span> Highway in California

State Route 156 is a west to east state highway in the U.S. state of California, running from State Route 1 in Castroville to State Route 152 near Hollister. It serves as part of the primary route from the Monterey Peninsula to either the San Francisco Bay Area or the California Central Valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 183</span> Highway in California

State Route 183 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, entirely in Monterey County, running from U.S. Route 101 in Salinas to State Route 1 in Castroville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 166</span> Highway in California

State Route 166 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It connects the Central Coast to the southern San Joaquin Valley, running from State Route 1 in Guadalupe and through Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County to State Route 99 in Mettler in Kern County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 198</span> Highway in California

State Route 198 is an east–west state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from U.S. Route 101 south of King City to Sequoia National Park. It connects the California Central Coast to the mid–Central Valley through Hanford and Visalia, although the most developed portion is in the Central Valley itself. SR 198 intersects the major north–south routes in the Central Valley, including Interstate 5 (I-5), SR 33, and SR 99.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 65</span> Highway in California

State Route 65 is a north-south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It is composed of two segments in the Central Valley. The southern segment begins at SR 99, near Bakersfield and terminates at SR 198 near Exeter. It also serves the communities of Oildale, Ducor, Terra Bella, Porterville, Strathmore, and Lindsay. The northern segment begins at Interstate 80 in Roseville and terminates at SR 70 at Olivehurst. It also serves the communities of Rocklin, Lincoln, and Wheatland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 70</span> Highway in California

State Route 70 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, connecting SR 99 north of Sacramento with U.S. Route 395 near Beckwourth Pass via the Feather River Canyon. Through the Feather River Canyon, from SR 149 to US 395, SR 70 is the Feather River Scenic Byway, a Forest Service Byway that parallels the ex-Western Pacific Railroad's Feather River Route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">California State Route 180</span> Highway in California

State Route 180 is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs through the heart of the San Joaquin Valley from State Route 33 in Mendota through Fresno, and then east towards the Sierra Nevada to Kings Canyon National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 101 in California</span> U.S. Highway in California

U.S. Route 101 (US 101) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway, stretching from Los Angeles, California, to Tumwater, Washington. The California portion of US 101 is one of the last remaining and longest U.S. Routes still active in the state, and the longest highway of any kind in California. US 101 was also one of the original national routes established in 1926. Significant portions of US 101 between the Los Angeles area and the San Francisco Bay Area follow El Camino Real, the commemorative route connecting the former Alta California's 21 missions.

References

  1. 1 2 California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  2. California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 27, 2019.
  3. 1 2 California Road Atlas (Map). Thomas Brothers. 2008.
  4. "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (North) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  6. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  7. "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  8. California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  9. Trails and Roads: De Anza Trail last retrieved March 6, 2007.
  10. California Highway 68, America's Lost Roads [ permanent dead link ]
  11. "A TROUBLED BEAUTY Highway 68: A road with scenery, history and tragedy, The Salinas Californian, August 4, 2007". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  12. 1 2 California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  13. California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  14. California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 68 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
  15. California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 1 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-06.
Template:Attached KML/California State Route 68
KML is from Wikidata