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U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (often just US 101), is a north-south highway that runs parallel to the West Coast of the United States. It should not be confused with California's own State Route 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway. U.S. Route 101 is often referred to as the Oregon Coast Highway in Oregon, and as the Pacific Highway in parts of Washington and California. Colloquially, the highway is also referred to as The 101 by residents of Southern California or simply 101 by residents of Northern California and Oregon.

U.S. Route 101 was once the major north-south link along the Pacific coast. It has been replaced in importance by the highways of the Interstate Highway System, specifically Interstate 5, which is more modern in its physical design. Route 101 is still in use as an alternative to the Interstate for most of its length. A notable exception is where the alignment is shared with that of I-5 and the route number U.S. Route 101 has been changed to I-5, beginning about one mile (1.6km) east of downtown Los Angeles and continuing south to San Diego.

In northern California, it passes through, and was important in the creation of, the Redwood National and State Parks.

In Southern California, the highway is a heavily traveled commuter route serving the west side of the greater Los Angeles area. The route follows the Hollywood Freeway west from Downtown Los Angeles through the Cahuenga Pass before turning west onto the Ventura Freeway. Communities along the alignment include Hollywood and the southern edge of the San Fernando Valley, and the cities of Burbank, Thousand Oaks, Camarillo, Oxnard, Calabasas,and Agoura Hills. In the San Francisco Bay Area, it is one of the major commuter routes carrying residents of Marin County and San Mateo County (along with Interstate 280) into downtown San Francisco, as well as San Jose and other cities that make up Silicon Valley. The route crosses the San Francisco Bay, from the city of San Francisco to Marin County, over the Golden Gate Bridge.

Major cities

Route summary

California

The south terminus of U.S. Route 101 is in Los Angeles, about one mile east of downtown Los Angeles at the East Los Angeles Interchange. This southernmost portion is named the Santa Ana Freeway, inheriting that title as the northerly extension of the roadway now known as Interstate 5. After merging with westbound traffic from the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10), U.S. Route 101 then proceeds northwest via the Downtown Slot under the northern edge of Los Angeles' Civic Center to State Route 110 at the Four Level Interchange.

Between Route 110 and the junction with the State Route 134 (CA/SR-134) and State Route 170 (CA/SR-170), US 101 is known as the Hollywood Freeway. At the junction with CA/SR-134 and CA/SR-170 (known as the Hollywood Split) the alignment of US 101 "shifts" to the alignment of CA/SR-134 (i.e. heading northbound, the road's alignment turns left, or westbound) and thereafter is referred to as the Ventura Freeway. Confusingly, the "Hollywood Freeway" name continues northward from this interchange on CA/SR-170, and the "Ventura Freeway" name continues eastward to CA/SR-134.

From the Hollywood Split, US 101 is an east-west highway until it reaches Gaviota State Park where it shifts back to a north-south alignment. The east-west geographical alignment of the Ventura Freeway and the north-south designation on freeway signs can be confusing to visitors. The same freeway entrance can often be signed as "101 North" and "101 West"; this is most common in the San Fernando Valley. From Ventura to Gaviota State Park, which is about 23 miles (37 km) west of Goleta, US 101 closely follows the Pacific coastline (generally no more than one to two miles from the shore).

North of Ventura the highway alternates between freeway and expressway segments; on the expressway segments, there are at-grade intersections (see the articles on freeways and expressways for more information on the California definition of "expressway"). However, there are no traffic lights on the mainline until one arrives at San Francisco. The last traffic signals on the highway south of San Franciso were removed in the early 1990s when the section through downtown Santa Barbara was constructed (after years of resistance from the Santa Barbara community). Cities along the alignment north of Ventura include Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, San Luis Obispo, Salinas, and Gilroy.

The highway passes through the Gaviota Tunnel 1 mile north of the point where the road curves away from the ocean and heads due north. A few miles north of the Gaviota Tunnel, California State Route 1 splits from US 101. Farther north, California State Route 1 rejoins the 101 for a section between Pismo Beach and San Luis Obispo. Then US 101 takes an inland route through the Salinas Valley, while Highway 1 heads northwest, running along the Pacific coastline in California, parallel and to the west of US 101.

The extremely steep segment (8% grade) between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero is known as the Cuesta Grade. North of Atascadero, the highway joins State Route 46 (CA/SR-46) for about three miles through Paso Robles

From Gilroy to San Jose, US 101. becomes a freeway called the South Valley Freeway. From San Jose to San Francisco, Route 101 is the Bayshore Freeway. This segment was originally Bayshore Boulevard, later redesignated the 101A bypass and upgraded to freeway by the late 1950s. This section of 101 from San Jose north to San Francisco is very heavily-travelled; some motorists call 101 "the world's longest parking lot". From the San Francisco city/county line until the junction with Interstate 80 it is named the James Lick Freeway. After that Route 101 is briefly named the Central Freeway before the divided highway ends and traffic follows city streets. US 101 then runs north on Van Ness Avenue and before turning left at Lombard Street (turning right on Lombard leads one to the Crookedest Street in the World). From Lombard Street, northbound US 101 traffic is shifted to Richardson Avenue, entering The Presidio, where it becomes a divided highway again, joining Route 1 to cross the Golden Gate Bridge into Marin County.

North of the Golden Gate Bridge, US 101 is known as the Redwood Highway. From there to the Oregon border, the highway is in some places a freeway and in others a two-lane road. After crossing the bridge, US 101 passes through the Waldo Tunnel, the first of its kind in 300 miles (the other being the Gaviota Tunnel in Santa Barbara County), before passing through the major cities of Marin County. It then reaches Sonoma County, where it becomes a heavily-traveled, four lane freeway, which will be upgraded to six lanes by 2010. The highway continues through California's Wine Country, and past a sometimes narrow river valley with the Russian River before leaving Sonoma County and entering Mendocino County. US 101 then passes through Humboldt County, where it travels through Humboldt Redwoods State Park and a portion of the highway that is known as the Avenue of the Giants for the huge, centuries-old redwood trees that can be found there. After reaching Eureka, the highway closely follows the Pacific coast again. The building of the highway led to increased awareness of the destruction of the redwoods, which led to the establishment of the Redwood National and State Parks, which the highway passes through.* Shortly north of Crescent City, US 101 intersects with U.S. Route 199, which heads northeast as the Redwood Highway, terminating in Grants Pass, Oregon. US 101 (no longer called the "Redwood Highway" at this point) continues north along the California coast until it reaches the Oregon border.

Oregon

U.S. Route 101 enters Oregon four miles south of Brookings, and is seldom out of sight of the Pacific Ocean until it reaches Astoria; the major exception being a significant inland stretch south of Tillamook, Oregon. It crosses the Siuslaw River Bridge in Florence. The stretch between Florence and Yachats is considered one of the more attractive segments of this highway, although there are an abundance of Oregon state parks along the Pacific coast, including Heceta Head Lighthouse. Because US 101 forms the main street of almost all of the coastal towns in Oregon (with the exception of Cannon Beach and others), it is frequently, but not always, congested and slow. The highway crosses the mouth of the Columbia River over the 4-mile-long Astoria-Megler Bridge at Astoria into Washington, and follows the Columbia downstream to Ilwaco.

Washington

From Ilwaco, US 101 follows the Pacific coastline as far as Raymond, from which it proceeds directly north to Aberdeen, offering access from this city into the Olympic National Park. While the AAA has designated this segment north and then east to Port Angeles and Sequim (Skah-whim) as a scenic byway, some clear-cut logging in the early 1990s has diminished the scenic value of the highway where it crosses the Quinault Indian Reservation. An expressway goes through Sequim. East of Port Angeles, Route 101 turns southward, leading to Shelton and its northern terminus in Olympia, the state capital. After going through, Shelton US 101 turns into a freeway, merging with State Route 8 and finally ending at Interstate 5.

Historic routes

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "U.S. Route 101".

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