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State Route 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.
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 The Lost Planet Airmen in their song, "Hot Rod Lincoln," Route 99 meets I-5 again and ends in Wheeler Ridge.
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 (Example: Before hitting the city of Tulare the sign to exit J Street. Also reaching the town of Merced). 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 Chico and Yuba City 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.
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.
Groundbreaking to widen Route 99 between Selma and Kingsburg from two to three lanes occurred on Decemeber 21st, 2005. Completion for this is expected by early 2008. Eventually Route 99 will be widened from two to three 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 starting Summer 2006 pending a final review. The long term goal is to have Route 99 a three lane 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.
State law
Legal Definition of Route 99: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 399
References
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
Bakersfield, California | California state highways | Merced County, California | State highways inspired by US highways | California Freeway and Expressway System | Blue Star Memorial Highways
"California State Route 99"