One of the state's more visible landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge was completed in 1937. With its orange paint and panoramic views of the bay, this highway bridge is a popular tourist attraction and also accommodates pedestrians and bicyclists. It is simultaneously designated as U.S. Route 101, which is part of the El Camino Real (Spanish for Royal Road or King's Highway), and State Route 1, also known as the Pacific Coast Highway. Another of the seven bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area is the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge (often abbreviated the "Bay Bridge"), completed in 1936. This bridge transports approximately 280,000 vehicles per day on two-decks, with its two sections meeting at Yerba Buena Island.
Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport are major hubs for trans-Pacific and transcontinental traffic. There are about a dozen important commercial airports and many more general aviation airports throughout the state.
California also has several important seaports. The giant seaport complex formed by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California is the largest in the country and responsible for handling about a fourth of all container cargo traffic in the United States. The Port of Oakland, fourth largest in the nation, handles trade from the Pacific Rim and delivers most of the ocean containers passing through Northern California to the entire USA.
The California Highway Patrol is the largest statewide police agency in the United States in terms of employment with over 10,000 employees, and perhaps the most legendary, especially because they have been featured in their own sitcom, CHiPs. They are responsible for providing any police-sanctioned service to anyone on California's state maintained highways and on state property.
The California Department of Motor Vehicles is by far the largest in North America. By the end of 2009, the California DMV had 26,555,006 driver's licenses and ID cards on file.[98] In 2010, there were 1.17 million new vehicle registrations in force.
Intercity rail travel is provided by Amtrak California, which manages the three busiest intercity rail lines in the U.S. outside the Northeast Corridor, all of which are funded by Caltrans. This service is becoming increasingly popular over flying and ridership is continuing to set records, especially on the LAX-SFO route. Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles (Metro Rail) and San Francisco (MUNI Metro). Light rail systems are also found in San Jose (VTA), San Diego (San Diego Trolley), Sacramento (RT Light Rail), and Northern San Diego County (Sprinter). Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (ACE, BART, Caltrain), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster).
The California High-Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state to implement an extensive 700 mile (1127 km) rail system. Construction was approved by the voters during the November 2008 general election, a $9.95 billion state bond will go toward its construction. Nearly all counties operate bus lines, and many cities operate their own bus lines as well. Intercity bus travel is provided by Greyhound and Amtrak Thruway Coach.
In March 2011, California ranked as a top BEST state in the American State Litter Scorecard for overall effectiveness and quality of its public space cleanliness—-primarily roadway litter—from state and related debris removal efforts.
Roads and highways
Overview
Caltrans builds tall "stack" interchanges with soaring ramps that offer stunning views.
California is known for its car culture, and its residents typically take to the roads for their commutes, errands, and vacations, giving California's cities a reputation for severe traffic congestion. California has some of the worst roads in the United States.
California's vast terrain is connected by an extensive system of freeways, expressways, and highways, all maintained by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and patrolled by the California Highway Patrol (CHP), except for the numbered expressways in Santa Clara County which were built and maintained by the county itself. The main north-south arteries are U.S. Route 101, which runs close to the coast from the state's border with Oregon, across the Golden Gate Bridge, to downtown Los Angeles, and Interstate 5, which runs inland from the Oregon to Mexico borders, bisecting the entire state. In addition, a major north-south artery is State Highway 99, which runs from near Red Bluff to near Bakersfield; Highway 99 is largely parallel to Interstate 5, and connects the Central Valley cities not connected by Interstate 5.
Perhaps it is a testament to California's sheer size that although it has one of the most extensive freeway systems in the United States, it contains many of the largest cities in the United States not served by an Interstate Highway, including the two largest, Fresno (pop. 471,479) and Bakersfield (pop. 247,057). These cities, along with Modesto and Visalia, are passed by as Interstate 5 veers west to avoid the congestion of the populated eastern side of the Central Valley as it connects Sacramento and Los Angeles.
Almost all California highways are non-toll roads. However, there are four toll roads in Southern California, and eight toll bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area. These toll facilities, along with several high occupancy toll lanes, use the statewide electronic toll collection system known as FasTrak. The state's most famous highway bridge is the Golden Gate Bridge, though there are a number of major non-toll bridges elsewhere in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Diego.
The state's freeway network has expanded every since the Arroyo Seco Parkway, the first freeway in the Western United States, connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena, opened in 1940. However, the state is not immune to freeway revolts, such as those that have prevented a freeway in San Francisco between the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge, and an expansion of Interstate 710 through South Pasadena.
In March 2011, California ranked as second best state in the American State Litter Scorecard (after Washington State), for overall effectiveness and quality of its public space cleanliness from state and related litter/debris removal efforts.
Interstate Highways
Primary Interstate Highways in California include:
Interstate 5: Bisects the state from the Mexican border to Oregon, linking the major cities of San Diego, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, Stockton, Sacramento, and Redding.
Interstate 8: Runs east from San Diego to the Imperial Valley before crossing into Arizona west of Yuma.
Interstate 10: Heads east from Santa Monica through Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and the Coachella Valley to Arizona.
Interstate 15: Originating from San Diego, serves as the major route from Southern Californa to Las Vegas, Nevada.
Interstate 40: Heads east from Barstow across the Mojave Desert to Needles before entering into Arizona.
Interstate 80: Runs northwest from San Francisco through Sacramento and over the Sierra Nevada mountain range before crossing into Nevada west of the Reno.
A number of auxiliary (three-digit) Interstates are located in the Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles area, and San Diego.
U.S. Routes
The following are United States Numbered Highways in California:
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 50
U.S. Route 95
U.S. Route 97
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 199
U.S. Route 395
State Routes
The standard California state route marker consists of a white numeral on a green shield
State highways in California range from one-lane rural roads to full urban freeways. Each state highway is assigned a Route (officially State Highway Route[7][8]) number in the Streets and Highways Code (Sections 300-635). However, the state is also currently relinquishing a number of non-freeway segments, especially in urban areas, and turning them over to local control.
Rail and bus travel
Intercity rail travel is provided by Amtrak California, which manages the three busiest intercity rail lines in the US outside the Northeast Corridor. The Capitol Corridor connects the San Francisco Bay Area to Sacramento. The Pacific Surfliner runs along the coast of Southern California from San Diego to San Luis Obispo. And the San Joaquin connects the major cities of the Central Valley.
National Amtrak lines include the California Zephyr from Emeryville to Chicago, Illinois; the Coast Starlight from Los Angeles to Seattle, Washington; the Southwest Chief and the Texas Eagle from Los Angeles to Chicago; and the Sunset Limited from Los Angeles to New Orleans, Louisiana.
Integrated subway and light rail networks are found in Los Angeles (Metro Rail) and San Francisco (BART and MUNI Metro). Light rail systems are also found in San Jose (VTA), San Diego (San Diego Trolley), Sacramento (RT Light Rail), and Northern San Diego County (Sprinter). Furthermore, commuter rail networks serve the San Francisco Bay Area (Caltrain, ACE), Greater Los Angeles (Metrolink), and San Diego County (Coaster).
Nearly all counties operate bus lines, and many cities operate their own bus lines as well. Intercity bus travel is provided by Greyhound and Amtrak Thruway Motorcoach.
Air travel
Los Angeles International Airport and San Francisco International Airport are major hubs for trans-Pacific and transcontinental traffic. There are about a dozen important commercial airports and many more general aviation airports throughout the state's 58 counties.
Seaports and harbors
California also has several important seaports. The giant seaport complex formed by the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach in Southern California is the largest in the country and responsible for handling about a fourth of all container cargo traffic in the United States. The Port of Oakland handles most of the ocean containers passing through Northern California. The Port of Redwood City, the Port of Richmond, and the Port of San Diego are also significant ports for freight shipments. The Port of Sacramento and the Port of Stockton are two major inland deepwater ports located in the Central Valley, and thus only accessible via the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta.
A number of ferry services take commuters across San Francisco Bay from San Francisco to other communities in the Bay Area. Ferry service is also available for commuters crossing San Diego Bay from San Diego to Coronado. Passenger ferries also serve the offshore city of Avalon on Santa Catalina Island. There is no regular vehicle ferry service to Avalon, however, since the city restricts the use of cars and trucks within its borders.
Numerous local harbors are spread out across the Pacific Coast, San Francisco Bay, San Diego Bay, and the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta for commercial fishing or recreational use.
Future issues
Because of the state's population growth, many settlements that were once small or rural communities about half a century ago, when much of California's transportation infrastructure was original designed, are now thriving suburbs and exurbs. According to a 2011 study by Forbes, the cities of Lake Elsinore, Los Banos, Adelanto, and Brentwood were ranked as the top four longest commutes in the country. A regularly recurring issue in California politics is whether the state should continue to aggressively expand its freeway network or concentrate on improving mass transit networks in urban areas.
The California High Speed Rail Authority was created in 1996 by the state to implement an extensive 700 mile (1127 km) rail system. Voters approved Proposition 1A in November 2008, approving a $9 billion state bond. The system would provide a TGV-style high-speed link between the state's four major metropolitan areas, and would allow travel between Los Angeles' Union Station and the San Francisco Transbay Terminal in two and a half hours.
All about California:
- California
- History of California
- Ecology of California
- Demographics of California
- Languages in California
- Religion in California
- California Racial and ancestral makeup
- Economy of California
- Energy use in California
- State finances of California
- Sports in California
- Cities towns and counties in California
- Government of California
- Education in California
- Politics of California
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