1.
Interstate 380 (California)
–
The highway primarily consists of only three intersections, I-280, El Camino Real, and U. S.101. Like nearby I-280, I-380 never connects to Interstate 80, its parent Interstate Highway, however, there is no rule that says that spur routes need to. I-380 is officially known as the Quentin L. Kopp Freeway, State Senator from San Mateo County. Interstate 380 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, I-380 begins at a junction with I-280 in San Bruno. This junction is only partially built, allowing room to build a proposed freeway extension west towards State Route 1. I-380 then travels east through the City of San Bruno, intersecting with State Route 82, El Camino Real, at its terminus at US101, the mainline lanes of I-380 continue to North Access Road. The westbound lanes of I-380 branch off to the right at I-280, leaving a very wide and this space is currently often used as storage space for equipment used in highway maintenance. A pair of unused bridges crossing over the I-280 South to I-380 East offramp remain as evidence, mileage is measured from the unconstructed western terminus at State Route 1 near Pacifica. The entire route is in San Mateo County
2.
California Department of Transportation
–
The California Department of Transportation is an executive department within the U. S. state of California. Caltrans manages the highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state. It supports Amtrak California and the Capitol Corridor, the department is part of the state cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency. Like the majority of government agencies, Caltrans is headquartered in Sacramento. In 2015, Caltrans released a new statement, Provide a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system to enhance California’s economy. The earliest predecessor of Caltrans was the Bureau of Highways, which was created by the California Legislature and this agency consisted of three commissioners who were charged with analyzing the state road system and making recommendations. At the time, there was no highway system, since roads were purely a local responsibility. After the commissioners submitted their report to the governor on November 25,1896, voters approved an $18 million bond issue for the construction of a state highway system in 1910, and the first Highway Commission was convened in 1911. On August 7,1912, the department broke ground on its first construction project, the year 1912 also saw the founding of the Transportation Laboratory and the creation of seven administrative divisions. In 1913, the legislature started requiring vehicle registration and allocated the funds to support regular highway maintenance. In 1921, the legislature turned the Department of Engineering into the Department of Public Works, the history of Caltrans and its predecessor agencies during the 20th century was marked by many firsts. In late 1972, the legislature approved a reorganization in which the Department of Public Works was merged with the Department of Aeronautics to become the modern Department of Transportation, for administrative purposes, Caltrans divides the State of California into 12 districts, supervised by district offices. Most districts cover multiple counties, District 12 is the district with one county. The largest districts by population are District 4 and District 7, like most state agencies, Caltrans maintains its headquarters in Sacramento, which is covered by District 3. Official California Department of Transportation website Named Highways, Freeways, Structures, and Other Appurtenances in California
3.
Los Algodones
–
Los Algodones, Baja California, is a small Mexican town located on the extreme northeastern tip of the municipality of Mexicali, approximately 16 km west of Yuma, Arizona, USA. Its official name is Vicente Guerrero, although most people use Algodones or Molar City when referring to it and it reported a population of 5,474 as of the 2010 Mexican census. It also serves as a seat of its surrounding area. Los Algodones is the northernmost town in Mexico, and at its tip is the northernmost point in Mexico. Another interesting geographical distinction is that if someone were to travel in any of the four directions from anywhere in Algodones. Organized day trips from the Coachella Valley are popular among seniors as well, from the U. S. side, Los Algodones is most easily reached via Interstate 8 and south a short distance along State Route 186/Andrade Road to the international border at Andrade, California. From Andrade, visitors can elect to park their vehicles for a fee and walk across the border. They have largely displaced many of the shops and restaurants immediately across the border. Nevertheless, a number of shops and restaurants remain, and Los Algodones capitalizes on the tourist trade with frequent fiestas throughout the year, the exact geographical location is 32°42′55″N 114°43′44″W at an elevation of 110 feet/33.5 m above mean sea level. The Spanish-language name Los Algodones translates into English as the cotton plants, the origin of the name is unknown. Transportes Miguel Siga, a bus company, provides service between Mexicali and Los Algodones. Yuma County Area Transit provides service from Andrade to Yuma, link to tables of population data from Census of 2010 INEGI, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática Algodones Mexico Official Website
4.
Interstate 8
–
Interstate 8 is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, just southeast of Casa Grande. Crossing the Colorado River into Arizona, I-8 continues through the city of Yuma across the Sonoran Desert to Casa Grande and these were later replaced by U. S. Route 80 across California and part of Arizona, and Arizona State Route 84 between Gila Bend and Casa Grande. The Arizona portion of the road was starting in the 1960s. The route was completed in 1975 through California, and by 1977 through Arizona, I-8 is part of the National Highway System, a network of roadways important to the countrys economy, defense, and mobility. The freeway begins at the intersection of Sunset Cliffs Boulevard and Nimitz Boulevard in San Diego, for its first few miles, it parallels the San Diego River floodway. Near Old Town San Diego, I-8 intersects with I-5 as well as with Rosecrans Avenue, as the freeway enters Mission Valley, it continues eastward, bisecting the area known as Hotel Circle that has several hotels. I-8 then has interchanges with SR163, I-805, and I-15 and its continuation, SR15, in La Mesa, the route intersects SR125. The freeway intersects with SR79 in the national forest before passing through the La Posta, in Boulevard, I-8 has an interchange with the eastern end of SR94. I-8 straddles the San Diego—Imperial county line for a few miles before turning east, at the Mountain Springs/In Ko Pah grade, the freeway is routed down two separate canyons, as it descends 4,000 feet in 11 miles. In places, the median is over 1.5 miles wide, the route enters the Imperial Valley, where it intersects with SR98, a highway leading to Calexico, and passes near the Desert View Tower. I-8 then goes through Coyote Wells before entering the city of El Centro several miles later, in El Centro, I-8 intersects with SR86 and SR111, both north–south routes which connect to I-10 in the Coachella Valley, north of the Salton Sea. SR115 and SR98 end at I-8 east of El Centro, the route also has the lowest above-ground elevation of any Interstate at 52 feet below sea level near El Centro. The freeway then traverses the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area and intersects with SR186 leading south to Baja California Norte, I-8 runs parallel to the All-American Canal across the desert for roughly 55 miles. At points in eastern Imperial County, the Mexican border is less than half a mile south of the Interstate, I-8 then passes through Felicity and Winterhaven before crossing the Colorado River on a bridge into Yuma, Arizona. It is officially known as the Border Friendship Route from San Diego to the Arizona state line, the Interstate is signed as the Ocean Beach Freeway west of I-5. Between Old Town and El Cajon, I-8 is called the Mission Valley Freeway, I-8 enters Arizona from California at the Colorado River bridge at Yuma. It initially heads south through Yuma until the interchange with US95, west of Wellton, the highway takes a northeasterly course, paralleling the Gila River and passing to the south of Roll
5.
Winterhaven, California
–
Winterhaven is a census-designated place in Imperial County, California. Winterhaven is located 6.5 miles east of Pilot Knob, The population was 394 at the 2010 census and it is part of the El Centro, California Metropolitan Statistical Area. North of Interstate 8 and bordering Yuma, Arizona, the town is located in the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation. The Colorado River marks the eastern border. Telephone service is provided by Winterhaven Telephone Company, a subsidiary of TDS Telecom and these numbers are assigned to subscribers in Winterhaven, Bard, and Felicity. The communities of Bard and Felicity, California, appear in the US Geological Survey, National Geographic Names Database, the communities of Felicity and Winterhaven share a ZIP code,92283. Bard does not have postal delivery, and post office boxes for the community have a ZIP code of 92222, the first post office at Winterhaven operated from 1916 to 1921. According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has an area of 0.2 square miles. Winterhaven is the southeasternmost settlement in California and this area has a large amount of sunshine year round due to its stable descending air and high pressure. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Winterhaven has a desert climate. The 2010 United States Census reported that Winterhaven had a population of 394, the population density was 1,655.3 people per square mile. The racial makeup of Winterhaven was 245 White,4 African American,37 Native American,1 Asian,0 Pacific Islander,84 from other races, Hispanic or Latino of any race were 261 persons. The Census reported that 394 people lived in households,0 lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, there were 11 unmarried opposite-sex partnerships, and 1 same-sex married couples or partnerships. 48 households were made up of individuals and 27 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older, the average household size was 2.61. There were 97 families, the family size was 3.30. The median age was 39.0 years, for every 100 females there were 86.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.7 males, there were 186 housing units at an average density of 781.4 per square mile, of which 62 were owner-occupied, and 89 were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3. 1%, the vacancy rate was 8. 1%
6.
Imperial County, California
–
Imperial County is a county in the U. S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, the population was 174,528, the county seat is El Centro. Established in 1907, it was the last county to be formed in California, Imperial County comprises the El Centro, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is also part of the Southern California border region, the smallest but most economically diverse region in the state and it is located in the Imperial Valley, in the far southeast of California, bordering both Arizona and Mexico. The Imperial Valley is a pot of Anglo-American and Chicano/Latino cultures. On the American side, the majority of residents are of Mexican American heritage, the entire valley is a multi-ethnic mixture of whites, Asian Americans, some African Americans and Native Americans. In 2014, Imperial County had the second highest percentage of unemployed people of any county in the United States, Spanish explorer Melchor Díaz was one of the first Europeans to visit the area around Imperial Valley in 1540. The explorer Juan Bautista de Anza also explored the area in 1776, years later, after the Mexican-American War, the northern half of the valley was annexed by the U. S. while the southern half remained under Mexican rule. Small scale settlement in natural aquifer areas occurred in the early 19th century, in 1905, torrential rainfall in the American Southwest caused the Colorado River to flood, including canals that had been built to irrigate the Imperial Valley. Since the valley is partially below sea level, the waters never fully receded, but collected in the Salton Sink in what is now called the Salton Sea, Imperial County was formed in 1907 from the eastern portion of San Diego County. Much of the Imperial Land Companys land also existed in Mexico, the objective of the company was commercial crop farming development. By 1910, the company had managed to settle and develop thousands of farms on both sides of the border. The Mexican Revolution soon after severely disrupted the companys plans, nearly 10,000 farmers and their families in Mexico were ethnically cleansed by the rival Mexican armies. By the 1950 census, over 50,000 residents lived in Imperial County alone, most of the population was year-round but would increase every winter by migrant laborers from Mexico. Until the 1960s, the farms in Imperial County provided substantial economic returns to the company, currently, El Centro has one of the U. S highest unemployment rates and ranks one of the states poorest counties or have a lower than state and national average annual household income. Fort Yuma is located on the banks of the Colorado River in Winterhaven, first established after the end of the Mexican-American War in 1848, it was originally located in the bottoms near the Colorado River, less than 1-mile below the mouth of the Gila River. It was to defend the newly settled community of Yuma, Arizona on the side of the Colorado River. In March 1851 the post was moved to an elevation on the Colorados west bank, opposite the present city of Yuma, Arizona
7.
State highways in California
–
The state highway system of the U. S. state of California is a network of highways that are owned and maintained by the Highway Division of the California Department of Transportation. Each highway is assigned a Route number in the Streets and Highways Code, most of these are numbered in a statewide system, and are known as State Route X. United States Numbered Highways are labeled US X, and Interstate Highways are Interstate X. Under the code, the state assigns a unique Route X to each highway, the California Highway Patrol is tasked with patrolling all state highways to enforce traffic laws. Californias highway system is governed under the states Streets and Highways Code, since July 1 of 1964, the majority of legislative route numbers, those defined in the Streets and Highways Code, match the sign route numbers. For example, Interstate 5 is listed as Route 5 in the code, the state may relinquish segments of highways and turn them over to local control. The state may also delete a highway completely and turn over a state route to local control. Business routes are not maintained by the state unless they are also assigned legislative route numbers, State Route 14U, an old alignment of State Route 14, is the only one signed as such. Both types of suffixed routes are also considered spurs, current or former unsigned suffixed routes include State Route 156U, signed as State Route 156 Business through Hollister, and State Route 180S, the freeway replacement for State Route 180 in Fresno. The first legislative routes were defined by the State Highway Bond Act in 1909, passed by the California State Legislature and these, and later extensions to the system, were numbered sequentially. No signs were erected for these routes, the United States Numbered Highways were assigned by the American Association of State Highway Officials in November 1926, but posting did not begin in California until January 1928. These were assigned to some of the legislative routes in California. In 1934, after the expansion of the state highway system in 1933 by the California Legislature. The California sign route numbers were assigned in a geographical system, odd-numbered routes ran north–south and even-numbered routes ran east–west. A rough grid was used inside the two regions, with the largest numbers — all less than 200 - in eastern California, the Interstate Highway System numbers were assigned by AASHO in late 1959. In 1963 and 1964, a renumbering of the legislative routes was made. Some changes were made to the sign routes, mostly related to decommissionings of U. S. Since the 1990s, many routes, especially in urban areas, have been deleted and turned over to local control. This transfers the cost of maintaining them from state to local budgets, not all cities have been prepared to accept such routes from Caltrans simultaneously, so many have been decommissioned from the state system one fragment at a time
8.
History of California's state highway system
–
The state highway system in the U. S. state of California dates back to 1896, when the state took over maintenance of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road. Construction of a connected system began in 1912, after the states voters approved an $18 million bond issue for over 3000 miles of highways. The last large addition was made by the California State Assembly in 1959, the 58 mile road had been operated as a toll road until 1886, when El Dorado County bought it, the county deeded the road to the state on February 28,1896. Funding was only enough for minimal improvements, including a bridge over the South Fork American River in 1901. Also in 1895, on March 27, the created the three-person Bureau of Highways to coordinate efforts by the counties to build good roads. The bureau traveled to every county of the state in 1895 and 1896 and prepared a map of a system of state roads. Several more state highways were legislated in the decade. This new department, in addition to duties, was to maintain all state highways. On March 22,1909 the State Highways Act was passed and this law authorized the Department of Engineering to issue $18 million in bonds for a continuous and connected state highway system that would connect all county seats. To this end, the department created the three-member California Highway Commission on August 8,1911 to take charge of the construction. As with the 1896 plan by the Bureau of Highways, the Highway Commission traveled the state to determine the best routes, construction began in mid-1912, with groundbreaking on Contract One - now part of SR82 in San Mateo County - on August 7. Noteworthy portions of the built by the commission included the Ridge Route in southern California. This gave the Department of Engineering an additional $12 million to complete the original system, at this time, each route was assigned a number from 1 to 34, this system of labeling routes, although never marked with signs, remained until the 1964 renumbering. Where not serving as extensions of existing routes, these -, the three bond issues together totaled 5560 miles, of which just over 40% was completed or under construction in mid-1920. The Department of Engineering became part of the new Department of Public Works in 1921, in order to pay for the roads, a 2-cent per gallon gasoline tax was approved in 1923. The legislature continued to add highways to the system, including the Mother Lode Highway in 1921 and the Arrowhead Trail in 1925. In January 1928, the California State Automobile Association and Automobile Club of Southern California, Highways along several of the most major state highways. The California Toll Bridge Authority was created in 1929 to acquire and operate all toll bridges on highways, including the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
I-8 near Winterhaven
→
CR S24 (Araz Road)
