California State Route 19
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| State Route 19 |
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| (CS&HC Section 319) | |||||||||||||||||
| Length: | 26.20 mi[1] (42.16 km) (includes 9.56 mi (15.39 km) of SR 164) |
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| Formed: | 1934[2] | ||||||||||||||||
| South end: |  SR 1 in Long Beach |
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| Major junctions: |
 I-405 in Long Beach I-5 in Downey I-10 in Rosemead |
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| North end: |  I-210 in Pasadena |
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State Route 19 (also known as Lakewood Boulevard south of Telegraph Road, the Downey/Pico Rivera boundary north of Interstate 5 and Rosemead Boulevard north of Telegraph Road) is a major thoroughfare running roughly north-south in the greater Los Angeles area in the U.S. State of California. Its historic southern terminus was at the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle in southeastern Long Beach where Lakewood Boulevard meets Pacific Coast Highway. Its historic northern terminus was in Pasadena at Sierra Madre Villa Avenue, where Rosemead Boulevard turns into east-west Orange Grove Boulevard (of Rose Parade fame).
Presently, the north end of the route is at I-210, the Foothill Freeway, about a mile south of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue. Originally planned as a freeway, it was to be the intermediate north-south freeway between I-710 (the Long Beach Freeway) and I-605 (the San Gabriel River Freeway). Today, locals generally refer to this road as either Lakewood Boulevard or Rosemead Boulevard, not by its numerical designation.
The 9.56-mile (15.39 km) piece of SR 19 north of Gallatin Road in Pico Rivera has been State Route 164 since the 1964 renumbering, but has always been signed as SR 19. Original plans for SR 164 took it southeast to Interstate 605 from the present transition between SR 164 and SR 19.
[edit] Route description
Lakewood Boulevard (no longer SR 19 in Long Beach) begins at the Long Beach Traffic Circle (postmile 0.00), where State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) heads west and southeast, and Los Coyotes Diagonal heads northeast. It heads north past Interstate 405 (San Diego Freeway) (PM 1.05[1]), passing under a runway of the Long Beach Airport. (The part through the airport has been relocated to the east; parts of the old alignment remain as airport service roads.) The city line is at Del Amo Boulevard (PM 4.0[3]); the west side of the road (but none of the road itself) is in Lakewood from Del Amo Boulevard south to Carson Street.
The process of removing SR 19 from Long Beach (and in general) began in 1998 with the passing of Assembly Bill 2132 (filed September 28). That bill authorized Caltrans to relinquish the 4.0 miles (6.4 km) in Long Beach, from SR 1 north to Del Amo Boulevard.
SR 19 now begins at the south border of Lakewood, at Del Amo Boulevard. It heads north to the Bellflower line south of Rose Street.
After crossing into Bellflower, SR 19 crosses State Route 91 (Artesia Freeway) (PM 6.04[1]). After crossing Alondra Boulevard, the west side of the road (but not any of the road itself) is in Paramount. At Century Boulevard (south of Rosecrans Avenue), the west side changes from Paramount to Downey, along with part of the road; the east half of the roadway stays in Bellflower until Gardendale Street (PM 8.4[3]).
Relinquishment of the whole road in Bellflower was authorized by Assembly Bill 1706, filed October 9, 2001. It is still a state highway as of November 4, 2005.[3]
The west half of SR 19 is in Downey from Century Boulevard north to Gardendale Street. The rest of former SR 19 in Downey, from Gardendale Street (PM 8.4) north to Telegraph Road (PM 12.3[3]), is no longer a state highway. It crosses Interstate 105 (Glenn Anderson Freeway) (PM 8.57[1]), former State Route 42 (Firestone Boulevard) (PM 10.38[1]) and Interstate 5 (Santa Ana Freeway) (PM 12.09[1]).
The oldest operating McDonald's restaurant, complete with original architecture and sign, is located on the southeast corner of SR 19 and Florence Avenue in Downey.
Senate Bill 803, filed July 26, 1999, authorized relinquishment in Downey north of Gardendale Street. Relinquishment of the rest, the west side of the road from Gardendale Street south to Century Boulevard, was authorized by Assembly Bill 1706 (filed October 9, 2001). Only the part north of Gardendale Street has been relinquished as of November 4, 2005.[3]
When it crosses Telegraph Road into Pico Rivera, SR 19 changes name to Rosemead Boulevard. It crosses State Route 72 (Whittier Boulevard) (PM 15.52[1]) and leaves the city at Gallatin Road (PM 16.64[1]), the north end of SR 19 since 1964.
Relinquishment of the part in Pico Rivera was authorized by Assembly Bill 535 (filed August 4, 2003). It is still a state highway as of November 4, 2005.[3]
- Unincorporated Los Angeles County
At Gallatin Road (SR 164 PM 1.39,[1] reflecting the never-built section of SR 164 southeast to Interstate 605), SR 19 changes to SR 164, and the road enters the Whittier Narrows Recreation Area, part of unincorporated Los Angeles County. It runs next to part of the Whitter Narrows Dam and then crosses the flood control basin. After crossing State Route 60 (Pomona Freeway) (PM 3.34[1]), SR 164 leaves the recreation area south of Rush Street, crossing into South El Monte.
SR 164 crosses Garvey Avenue and Rio Hondo (PM 4.91[1]) in South El Monte; the north border is near the north end of the bridge.
SR 164 crosses from South El Monte into El Monte, but the southbound side soon crosses into Rosemead at Whitmore Street. The northbound side is in El Monte until the Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway) interchange (PM 5.62[1]), where it enters Rosemead.
From Whitmore Street north to I-10, the southbound side is in Rosemead. After crossing I-10, both sides are in Rosemead until the railroad underpass (PM 6.89[1]) north of Lower Azusa Road.
From the railroad north to near Callita Street, SR 164 is in Temple City.
- Unincorporated Los Angeles County
Near Callita Street, SR 164 formerly crosses into an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County, called East San Gabriel, and East Pasadena further north. SR 164 intersects former State Route 248 (Colorado Boulevard) (PM 10.74[1]) and Interstate 210 (Foothill Freeway) (PM 10.87[1]) in East Pasadena, ending just beyond at Foothill Boulevard (PM 10.95[1]). The interchange with I-210 includes several complicated collector/distributor roads, and many of the movements are made using Colorado and Foothill Boulevards. There was also an END 19 shield at the intersection of Rosemead and Foothill.
Relinquishment of this section to the county was authorized by Senate Bill 1375, filed September 9, 2004. It specifies that the county "shall maintain within its jurisdiction signs directing motorists to the continuation of Route 164." In August 2006, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works and the state signed an agreeement calling for the state to pay $5.9 million to rehabilitate the roadway to acceptable condition. However, it is still a state highway as of August 31, 2006.[3]
Rosemead Boulevard continues beyond Foothill Boulevard (the Pasadena city line); this section has never been a state highway. It heads northwest to end at the intersection of Sierra Madre Villa Avenue and Orange Grove Boulevard.
[edit] References
