California State Route 37

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State Route 37

(CS&HC Section 337)

Length:

21 mi^[1] (34 km)

Formed:

1934^[2]

West end:

SR-251 in Novato

Major
junctions:

US-101 in Novato

SR-121 in Novato

SR-29 in Vallejo

East end:

I-80 in Vallejo

Major cities:

Novato, CA
Vallejo, CA

California State Routes Unconstructed - Deleted - Scenic
< SR 36		SR 38 >

State Route 37 (SR-37) in the northern part of the U.S. State of California runs twenty-one miles along the northern shore of San Pablo Bay and is currently built from U.S. Route 101 in Novato, California to Interstate 80 in Vallejo, California. It serves as a crucial bypass around the northern end of the San Francisco Bay Area.

1 Route description
2 History
3 Exit list
4 State law
- 4.1 Other Names
5 References
6 External links
- 6.1 Points of interest

[edit] Route description

Intented to run from the unconstructed State Route 251, SR-37 begins in Novato with a junction at U.S. Highway 101 and heads northeast as a four-lane divided expressway. The route passes over the Petaluma River into Sonoma County before meeting the southern terminus of State Route 121 near Infineon Raceway (formerly Sears Point Raceway) at a traffic-lighted intersection. This area becomes very congested on weekends when large auto races are held at the raceway.

The route continues in a more easterly, then southeasterly, direction as a two-lane highway with a concrete divider (essentially a two-lane expressway) through the marshy wetlands at the northern edge of San Pablo Bay. Before the construction of the barrier in 1995, this portion of SR-37 was three lanes with the middle lane alternately serving as a passing lane for each direction. This stretch of highway was given the nickname of "Blood Alley" for its high-rate of fatal accidents.^[3] With the middle lane removed, accidents dropped dramatically, but it is not uncommon for long chains of cars to back up behind slower moving traffic.

SR-37 in Novato

SR-37 becomes a freeway on Mare Island, approaching northern Vallejo. After it crosses over the Napa River Bridge, it becomes known as Marine World Parkway due to its proximity to the Six Flags Marine World amusement park. Marine World Parkway travels in a northeastern direction along the White Slough before turning east as it crosses over State Route 29 and heads to its eastern terminus at I-80. In the early 1990s, the stretch between Fairgrounds Drive, which serves as the entrance to Marine World, and Mini Drive was upgraded to Interstate standards. Prior to the upgrade, it was a two-lane highway which was often heavily congested. In in 2004 and 2005, following over fifty years of complications, the remaining non-freeway section in Vallejo was built to Interstate standards as well. ^[4]^[5]

[edit] History

The whole of SR-37 has been proposed to be built to freeway standards since the early 1950s. However, the proposal was met with many economic and environmental obstacles, making the task all but impossible for much of the route.

[edit] Plan to widen in Vallejo

The struggle to improve the portion SR-37 between the Napa River Bridge and I-80 began in 1952, and lasted over fifty years. In 1955, after a proposition to turn much of the route into a toll road failed, it was decided a four-lane freeway would be the best decision. However, opposition from residents in surrounding neighborhoods as well as a federal oil embargo only allowed widening of the approach between Fairgrounds Drive and I-80. In 1977, a levee broke and flooded a portion of the developed land, turning it into protected wetlands with endangered species. Because of its new status, environmental studies were needed in order to continue the project. ^[6]

Soon after, the project was split into different phases^[4] to handle problems with particular areas. It was first divided between the newly created marshlands and the section between Sonoma Blvd. (SR-29) and I-80. With Marine World being relocated, the city was able to the widen the latter section in 1992, as well as upgrade most of it to Interstate standards.

[edit] "Blood Alley"

This section of SR-37 was once known as "Blood Alley" for its rate of fatal accidents

While the Vallejo section of SR-37 was being built, another problem with the route would hinder its progress. The section between Sears Point and Mare Island was plagued with fatal accidents, earning its nickname of "Blood Alley". Between 1966 and 1970, twenty seven people lost their lives to it. In a preliminary effort to reduce the fatalities, officials established both a daylight test section, requiring all cars to keep their headlights on during the day, and passing lanes. However, they were ineffecive.^[7]

In 1993, Jim Polos campagned to have a barrier erected after the death of his son, Frankie, on Blood Alley. At this time, the situation with this stretch only worsened as the death toll between 1990 and 1996 rose to thirty one. At first, Caltrans thought the barrier would make matters worse since it would be difficult for emergency vehicles to attend to accidents; environmental issues were also cited. Caltrans was waiting for the ability to create a causeway to span the area instead. Polos continued his campaign despite opposition, and was granted the barrier in 1995. The burrier was not built without controversy, as it also eliminated the passing lanes. However, since the burriers were built, there were no longer any crossover accidents as of 2005.^[3]

While the median was built, a few problems needed to be resolved in order for the road to work both safely and in an environmentally friendly way. Emergency personnel needed to quickly access accidents and provide them easy transport to nearby hospitals. To alleviate this problem, Caltrans implemented new electric gate technology, which would allow emergency vehicles to cut through certain parts of the median. The other problem was to both protect the plantlife and the salt harvest mice which reside around the highway. As a result, crews placed timbers and sheeting to protect foliage, and they added holes into the median barrier to allow the mice to cross the highway. ^[8]

[edit] The White Slough and Sonoma Blvd. interchange

SR-37 at the White Slough, upgraded to Interstate Standards

With the barrier complete, the focus of improvement changed back to Vallejo. There were still two phases to complete in order for the Vallejo portion of the route to be upgraded to freeway standards. The two-lane section of road between Sonoma Blvd. and near the Napa River bridge running through protected wetlands, called the White Slough, was both prone to flooding and traffic problems. In addition, the junction of Routes 29 and 37 was claimed to be a dangerous intersection. To fix these problems, Vallejo city officials decided to proceed with continuing the freeway to Mare Island. After environmental studies on the White Slough, Caltrans widened and elevated that section of the road and converted it to Interstate standards. To accommodate bicycles and pedestrians, a Class 1 bikeway was built along the eastbound side of the freeway. Thereafter, they built an overpass which crossed SR-29, eliminating the traffic signalled intersection. The project was completed in the summer of 2005. ^[6]

[edit] Exit list

Postmile^[9]		Municipality	Exit #^[10]		Destinations	Notes
County	State	Municipality	West^[11]	East^[12]	Destinations	Notes
Runs as a divided highway to Vallejo
SOL 7.21	xx	Vallejo	17		Walnut Street / Mare Island
SOL 7.39	xx		18	N/A	Wilson Avenue / Sacramento Street	Westbound exit adds Sacramento Street as a destination. Eastbound drivers traveling to Sacramento Street are to take Wilson Avenue north.
SOL 8.01	xx		N/A	18	Wilson Avenue
SOL 9.53	xx		19		SR-29 / Napa / Downtown Vallejo / Sonoma Boulevard
SOL 10.96	xx		20		Fairgrounds Drive
SOL 11.69	xx		N/A	21 A	I-80 West / San Francisco	Eastbound: right exit only; Westbound: right entrance only.
				21 B	Auto Mall Columbus Parkway	Eastbound: right exit only; Westbound: registered as Interstate 80, eastbound exit 33B.
				21 C	I-80 East / Sacramento	Eastbound: left exit only; Westbound: right entrance only.