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California Highways

State Highway Types

Highway Types

The California State Highway code defines a number of different types of highways:

"State highway": Any highway which is acquired, laid out, constructed, improved or maintained as a State highway pursuant to constitutional or legislative authorization. [SHC Sect 24]. Elsewhere, this is defined as a way or place of whatever nature, publicly maintained and open to the use of the public for purposes of vehicular travel. Highway includes street.
"Freeway": A highway in respect to which the owners of abutting lands have no right or easement of access to or from their abutting lands or in respect to which such owners have only limited or restricted right or easement of access. If, in the judgment of the commission or the director, the public interest would be advanced thereby, a freeway, as defined herein, may be denominated a "controlled access highway". In all other respects, the "controlled access highway" shall be subject to all provisions of this code pertaining to freeways. [SHC Sect. 23.5]

California Freeway and Expressway System

A statewide system of freeways and expressways and connections thereto, creating a comprehensive system of access-controlled freeways and expressways throughout the State. Within this system a "freeway" is defined as a divided arterial highway for through traffic with full control of access and with grade separations at intersections, while the "expressway" is defined as an arterial highway for through traffic which may have partial control of access, but which may or may not be divided or have grade separations at intersections.[SHC Sect 250-252, 257]

Designation as a freeway does not mean the route is constructed to freeway standards; rather, it was planned to be a freeway.

Expressways are a unique beast. Most formal expressways are County Routes, usually in the San Francisco Bay Area (specifically, Santa Clara county). The Santa Clara County Expressway Network is a 377-mile network of extra-wide streets that haul commuters from the Almaden Valley to Milpitas to Palo Alto. They carry nearly 498,000 vehicles a day. More than four of five valley residents use the expressways at least several days a week, and 37 percent of commuters take an expressway to work. County leaders turned to the expressway system when building high-speed highways took too long. In the early 1950s as the Cold War heated up and defense industries blossomed throughout Santa Clara County, thousands moved here for high-paying jobs. But traffic lights still dotted US 101 and Route 237, and I-280 wouldn't be completed until 1965. Route 85 wouldn't get off the drawing board until 1994. County leaders decided to build their own roads, passing a property tax increase in 1960 to begin construction of the first phase of expressways. A second phase—upgrading the current roads into freeways—was to have been paid by a second bond measure in 1974, but it was defeated.

California Scenic Highway System: Those portions of the state highway system which, together with the adjacent scenic corridors, require special scenic conservation treatment. [SHC Section 260]

California Historic Parkway System: Those portions of the state highway system that (1) were constructed prior to 1945; (2) have been recognized by CalTrans or the Office of Historic Preservation in the Department of Parks and Recreation as having historical significance, including notable landmarks, historical sites, or natural or human achievements that exist or that occurred during the original construction of the parkway or in the immediately adjacent land area through which the parkway currently passes; (3) are bounded on one or both sides by federal, state, or local parkland, Native American lands or monuments, or other open space, greenbelt areas, natural habitat or wildlife preserves, or similar acreage used for or dedicated to historical or recreational uses; and (4) are traversed, at the time of designation and by the department's best count or estimate using existing information, by not less than 40,000 vehicles per day on an annual daily average basis. [SHC Section 280]

Classified Landscaped Freeway: A classified landscaped freeway is a section of freeway with planting that meets the criteria of the State Outdoor Advertising Regulations, Section 2500-2513, and assists in the control of Outdoor Advertising Displays. This is more than just having vegetation around the freeway. Plantings that consist of native vegetation and revegetation that are considered “functional” are not "classified landscaping". The designation affects off-premise displays. Off-premise displays advertise offsite products and businesses. Caltrans has no control over on-premise displays, which advertise the on-site business. Signs that are adjacent to a section of landscaped freeway can only be for on-premise displays. Next to a landscaped freeway, off-premise displays are not allowed per the Outdoor Advertising Regulations and Caltrans would not approve a permit for the off-premise panel. To qualify for landscape status, plantings must be (a) within the state right of way; (b) continuous (no gaps ≥ 200’); (c) ornamental (not functional); (d) at least 1000' long; (e) on at least one side of the freway; and (f) require reasonable maintenance. Ornamental plants are lawns, trees, shrubs, flowers, or other plantings designed primarily to improve the aesthetic appearance of the highway. Inert material specifically placed to highlight the ornamental vegetation is considered part of the ornamental vegetation. In contrast, functional plantings are vegetation planted primarily for soil erosion control, traffic safety, reduction of fire hazards, and traffic noise abatement or other non-ornamental purposes. A single row of plantings in the median is considered a functional planting. Reasonable maintenance means that a plant when planted requires maintenance on a regular basis to maintain it in a healthy and attractive condition. The fact that as a plant matures, it may require less maintenance than when first planted is not interpreted to mean it does not require reasonable maintenance. Maintenance means any of the following: watering, fertilizing, spraying, cultivating, pruning, cutting, mowing, replacing, weed control, washing, pest control, disease control, litter removal, or other similar plant care procedures. Outdoor advertising displays require a permit from Caltrans if they are within 660 feet from the edge of the right-of-way and viewed primarily by persons traveling on the main-traveled way of the freeway. Permit Requirements are available on the Internet at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/oda/permit_requirements.htm. Some of the requirements include: the location must be zoned commercial or industrial; the applicant must have property owner consent; the applicant must have building permit from local agency; there must be a business activity within 1,000 feet of proposed display; and the display may not be located adjacent to a landscaped freeway or scenic highway. In addition the display must be 500 feet from any other permitted display and not exceed 1,200 square feet in size. More details can be found in the briefing at http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LandArch/lsfwy/pdf/Landscaped_Freeways_and_Outdoor_Advertising_Displays.pdf.

Interregional Road System Plan: A system of roads or projects on which construction can be started not later than June 30, 2000, that will provide the most adequate interregional road system to all economic centers in the state. The projects shall be on eligible routes identified and be located outside the boundaries of urbanized areas of over 50,000 population as designated by the most recent census of the Bureau of the Census, except as necessary to provide connections for continuation of the routes within those urban areas. [SHC Section 164.3]

Blue Star Highways: After World War II, a nationwide movement was started to pay tribute to the nation's armed forces, by designatng various state and national routes as "Blue Star Memorial Highways". In 1945, the National Council of State Garden Clubs, Inc., approved the Blue Star Memorial Highway Marker program. California Garden Clubs, Inc. accepted the program in 1947, when the California Legislature designed US 40 (now I-80) and US 99.
For more information, see the Caltrans page on Blue Star Memorial Highways. Before July 1, 1964, there was a disconnect between the route numbers as signed on the highways, and the legislative route numbers. Thus, although a freeway might be signed as Interstate 5, it was LRN 238.

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