California State Route 20

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State Route 20
Defined by S&HC § 320, maintained by Caltrans
Length: 211.882 mi[1] (340.991 km)
(plus about 15.5 mi (25 km) on US 101)
History: State highway in 1910-19; numbered in 1934
West end: SR 1 in Fort Bragg
Major
junctions:		 US 101 in Willits
I-5 in Williams
SR 99 in Yuba City
SR 49 in Nevada City
East end: I-80 near Emigrant Gap
State highways in California (list - pre-1964)
County routes in California (list)
< SR 19 SR 22 >
History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

State Route 20 (SR 20) is a state highway in the northern central region of the U.S. state of California, running east-west across the state north of Sacramento. Its west end is at SR 1 in Fort Bragg, from where it heads east past Clear Lake, Colusa, Yuba City, Marysville, and Nevada City to I-80 near Emigrant Gap, where eastbound traffic can continue on other routes to Lake Tahoe or Nevada. The highway east of US 101 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, although it is mostly a two-lane surface road. The entire route is on the Interregional Road System, a highway system that connects major economic centers of the state[2], and has been selected by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as a High Emphasis Route and Focus Route from US 101 to SR 29 and SR 53 to I-80, with the designated corridor following SR 29 and SR 53 around the south side of Clear Lake.[3][4] It is also eligible for the State Scenic Highway System from SR 1 to SR 16 and SR 49 to I-80, and has been designated as such for 6 miles (10 km) near the east end;[5] this is part of the federally-designated Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway, a National Scenic Byway that uses SR 20 east of SR 49.[6]

Contents

[edit] Route description

State Route 20 begins at SR 1 in southern Fort Bragg, under a mile (1/2 km) from the Pacific Ocean. It heads east, quickly climbing into the Mendocino Range along a ridge and crossing through Dunlap Pass. The highway continues to rise alongside the North Fork Big River and tributaries, crossing another summit and then descending to Willits in the Little Lake Valley via Broaddus Creek. An overlap with US 101 begins in Willits and heads southeasterly to Calpella, north of Ukiah in the Redwood Valley. There SR 20 turns east again, crossing the Russian River, passing the north shore of Lake Mendocino, and rising to a summit via the East Fork Russian River and Cold Creek. The roadway again descends alongside the Blue Lakes and Scotts Creek to the junction with SR 29 and the settlement of Upper Lake in the Clear Lake Basin. SR 20 closely follows the northeast shore of Clear Lake, staying right above the water line to avoid the adjacent hills. Where the lake ends, SR 20 continues east, intersecting SR 53 and then following the North Fork Cache Creek and tributaries to the Lake-Colusa County line. During its final descent into the Sacramento Valley, SR 20 intersects SR 16 and curves north and back east, entering the valley via Salt Creek.[7]

SR 20 in the Sacramento Valley
SR 20 in the Sacramento Valley

Once it enters the flat Sacramento Valley, SR 20 takes a generally straight path, crossing I-5 in Williams, overlapping SR 45 near the west bank of the Sacramento River southeast from Colusa, and then turning back east to cross the Sacramento River and Sutter Bypass on its way to Yuba City. The route crosses SR 99 west of central Yuba City, and runs east through northern Yuba City to the Feather River, which it crosses on the 10th Street Bridge into Marysville. Within the central part of that city, SR 20 makes several turns, first turning south from 10th Street onto E Street, then east on 9th Street (overlapping SR 70), north on B Street, and east on 12th Street (splitting from SR 70). The highway leaves Marysville to the northeast, paralleling the Yuba River on its north side as it enters the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.[7]

SR 20 rises into the Sierras along the north side of the Yuba River, crossing to the south side near Smartville and then climbing through several ravines to the Penn Valley. The current alignment, built in the mid-1980s as a mostly two-lane freeway, continues east across rugged terrain to the city of Grass Valley, where it joins SR 49 on the Golden Center Freeway. The two routes travel northeast to Nevada City, where SR 49 turns northeast and SR 20 resumes its eastward course. The roadway climbs from Nevada City and follows Harmony Ridge and Washington Ridge before descending into the Bear Valley via a series of hairpin turns, and then climbing, just north of Emigrant Gap, to its end at I-80 at Yuba Pass.[7] The Pioneer Trail, a National Recreation Trail, parallels SR 20 from a point on Harmony Ridge to the Bear Valley, and includes parts of a branch of the California Trail first used in 1850.[8]

[edit] History

Donner Pass near the eastern terminus of SR 20
Donner Pass near the eastern terminus of SR 20

The east end of SR 20, from Bear Valley (just below Emigrant Gap) to Nevada City, closely follows a branch of the Truckee Route of the California Trail, first used by California-bound emigrants in 1850.[8] Later a turnpike was built here by the same company that opened the Pacific Turnpike (Culbertson Road and Bowman Lake Road between Dutch Flat and Bowman Lake) in 1864.[9]

By the end of the 1910s, a passable dirt and gravel road connected Ukiah and Nevada City via the south side of Clear Lake and Marysville. The portion between Lower Lake and Wilbur Springs was impassable in wet weather, at which times the Bartlett Springs and Bear Valley Toll-road via Upper Lake and Bartlett Springs was available for $1.50 each way or $2.50 round trip. This route generally followed the present SR 20, except around Clear Lake and between Marysville and Rough and Ready (where it used Spenceville Road). Beyond Nevada City to Emigrant Gap, the old turnpike was not passable; instead the present SR 174 was available for eastward drivers. Between Williams and Colusa, the road was paved in concrete,[10][11] as it had been added to the state highway system as part of the first (1910) bond issue, specifically as Route 15, connecting the west Sacramento Valley trunk (Route 7, now I-5) with the county seat of Colusa.[12]

This state highway was significantly extended in both directions in 1919, west to Ukiah and east to Emigrant Gap,[12] creating what was known as the Tahoe-Ukiah Highway, connecting Ukiah and Lake Tahoe in combination with Route 37 (now I-80) and Route 38 (now SR 89).[13] The law that defined the extension simply stated that it would connect "Ukiah to Tahoe City";[14] the state decided in September 1925 that it would run the highway along the north shore of Clear Lake, combining with the planned Rumsey-Lower Lake Highway (Route 50, now SR 53 and SR 16) east to Wilbur Springs.[15][16] With the completion of this segment in mid-1932, the highway was ready for heavy travel,[17] and became Sign Route 20 in 1934 as part of the initial signed state route system.[18]

In 1953, the legislature added an extension of Route 15 from US 101 at Willits (north of Ukiah) west to SR 1 near Fort Bragg.[19] This was constructed (over an existing county road[20]) and became part of Sign Route 20 prior to 1964,[21] when the Route 20 designation was legislatively adopted.[22] Subsequent improvements include the construction of the Golden Center Freeway, connecting Grass Valley with Nevada City, in the late 1960s, and a new alignment of SR 20 west from Grass Valley, bypassing Rough and Ready, in the mid-1980s.[23]

[edit] Major intersections

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
County Location Postmile
[1][23][24]		 #[25] Destinations Notes
Mendocino
MEN R0.00-44.11		 Fort Bragg R0.00 SR 1
Willits R33.16
101 46.36		 US 101 north West end of US 101 overlap
101 R32.63 557 West Road Interchange
Calpella 101 30.83
33.22		 US 101 south – Ukiah East end of US 101 overlap; interchange
33.77 Redwood Valley Rancheria Interchange
R38.05 Potter Valley Road – Lake Pillsbury
Lake
LAK 0.00-46.48		 3.63 Scotts Valley Road
8.32 SR 29 – West Shore Resorts, Lakeport, Kelseyville
Upper Lake 8.79 Main Street – Upper Lake Business District, Ranger Station, Lake Pillsbury
12.20 Lakeport Cutoff
15 Bartlett Springs Road – Bartlett Springs, Hough Springs
30 Sulphur Bank Road – Elem Indian Colony
31.62 SR 53 – Clearlake, Lower Lake, Middletown
34 New Long Valley Road – Spring Valley
Colusa
COL 0.00-R39.34		 Wilbur Springs 3.45 SR 16 – Brooks, Woodland
13 Leesville Road
Williams T20.56
SR 20 Bus. east (E Street)
R21.85 Old Highway 99W, 7th Street (Bus. 5) Interchange; former US 99W
R22.12 I-5 – Redding, Sacramento Interchange
T23.19
SR 20 Bus. west (Husted Road) / Freshwater Road
Colusa 31.09 SR 45 north (Market Street) West end of SR 45 overlap
36.79 SR 45 south East end of SR 45 overlap
Sutter
SUT R0.00-17.06		 Yuba City 15.57 SR 99 – Chico, Sacramento
16.84 Sutter Street Interchange
10th Street Bridge over the Feather River
Yuba
YUB 0.00-21.67		 Marysville
0.99 SR 70 south (E Street) – Sacramento West end of SR 70 overlap
1.47 SR 70 north (B Street) – Oroville East end of SR 70 overlap
13.27 CR E21 (Marysville Road)
Nevada
NEV 0.00-45.66		 R4.65 Pleasant Valley Road
Grass Valley R12.16 McCourtney Road, Mill Street Interchange
R12.24 SR 49 south / Empire Street – Auburn West end of SR 49 overlap; interchange
West end of freeway
R12.92 182A SR 174 – Colfax, Grass Valley
R13.61 182B Idaho Maryland Road, East Main Street – Grass Valley
R14.80 183 Brunswick Road
R15.92 185A Gold Flat Road, Ridge Road Signed as exit 185 westbound
Nevada City R16.74 185B Sacramento Street – Nevada City Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
R16.99-
R17.24		 186 Broad Street, Coyote Street – Nevada City
East end of freeway
R17.40 SR 49 north / Uren Street – Downieville East end of SR 49 overlap
45.66 I-80 – Sacramento, Reno Interchange

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed January 2008
  2. ^ California State Legislature, CA Codes (shc:163-164.56), accessed March 2008
  3. ^ California Department of Transportation, High Emphasis Routes, January 2005
  4. ^ California Department of Transportation, Focus Routes, January 2005
  5. ^ California Department of Transportation, Route 20 - Scenic Highway, accessed January 2008
  6. ^ National Scenic Byways Online, Yuba-Donner Scenic Byway, accessed January 2008
  7. ^ a b c Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed January 2008 via ACME Mapper
  8. ^ a b U.S. Forest Service, Pioneer Trail, revised May 2006
  9. ^ California Highways and Public Works: Centennial Edition, September 9, 1950, p. 64
  10. ^ Official Automobile Blue Book, Volume Eight, 1919, pp. 146-147, 176-178, 225-226, 231
  11. ^ Automobile Club of Southern California, Automobile Road Map of California, 1917
  12. ^ a b Howe & Peters, Engineers' Report to California State Automobile Association Covering the Work of the California Highway Commission for the Period 1911-1920, pp. 11-16
  13. ^ Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 (Archive.org or Google Books), pp. 104-105
  14. ^ "Senate Constitutional Amendment No. 27—Resolution to propose to the people of the State of California an amendment to the constitution of said state, by adding to article sixteen thereof a new section to be numbered two, providing for the issuance of bonds to the amount of forty million dollars for the completion of the state highway system and the acquisition and construction of other state highways by the state department of engineering.", 1919 resolution chapter 46, p. 1520
  15. ^ Oakland Tribune, Highway Commission Lays Plans for Building Lake Connection, September 6, 1925
  16. ^ Fresno Bee, Route Follows Lake Shore, September 27, 1925
  17. ^ Cass Kennedy, Oakland Tribune, Tahoe-Ukiah Highway Ready for Heavy Travel, March 6, 1932
  18. ^ California Highways and Public Works, State Routes will be Numbered and Marked with Distinctive Bear Signs, August 1934
  19. ^ "An act to amend Section 315 of the Streets and Highways Code, relating to the State Highway System.", 1953 chapter 1408, p. 3002: "Route 15 is from Route 56 near Fort Bragg to Route 37 near Emigrant Gap via Willits, Calpella, Williams and Colusa."
  20. ^ H.M. Gousha Company, California, 1955
  21. ^ H.M. Gousha Company, California, 1963
  22. ^ "An act...relating to routes on the state highway system.", 1963 chapter 385, p. 1173: "Route 20 is from: (a) Route 1 near Fort Bragg to Route 101 at Willits. (b) Route 101 to Route 80 near Emigrant Gap via Williams and Colusa."
  23. ^ a b California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
  24. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  25. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, SR-20 Eastbound and SR-20 Westbound, accessed January 2008

[edit] External links