County Route S18 (California)

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County Route S18
El Toro Road, Santiago Canyon Road, Villa Park Road, Katella Avenue
Length: 29.05 mi[1] (47 km)
Formed: 1970[1]
South end: SR 133 near Laguna Beach
Major
junctions:		 I-5 in Laguna Hills
North end: SR 55 in Orange
State highways in California (list - pre-1964)
County routes in California (list)
< CR S17 CR S19 >
History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

County Route S18 is a county highway in the U.S. state of California. The route follows in a boomerang-like pattern[2] from State Route 133 in Laguna Beach to State Route 55 near Orange. CR S18 traverses as a loop around the urban areas of Orange County and cuts through the Saddleback Mountains. The road is one of four county routes in Orange County that are signed in areas nearby the route, such as southbound Interstate 5[3] and southbound State Route 133.[4] It is also noted to be the longest county route in Orange County and is the only route that allows motorists to drive through, in, and out of the Saddleback Mountains.[5]

The Santiago Canyon Road portion of CR S18 in the Saddleback Mountains is planned to become designated as an official scenic highway as part of the State Scenic Highway System. This makes it the second highway to become designated as a scenic road in Orange County, California, despite the impact from the Santiago Fire as part of the wildfires in October 2007.[6]

Contents

[edit] Route description

County Route S18 begins at Laguna Canyon Road (SR 133) and follows El Toro Road in a northeast direction as the route immediately leaves the Laguna Canyon. The southernmost segment of El Toro Road between SR 133 and SR 73 is a two-way traffic and two-lane alignment with a broken yellow-line median.[7] After the interchange with the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road (SR 73), El Toro Road welcomes motorists into the city limits of Aliso Viejo as the road widens into a six-lane street with a divided median until reaching Aliso Creek Road. There, El Toro Road narrows to a four-lane alignment and enters into residential Laguna Woods.[8] The road then navigates to a more east direction as it leaves the residential city and immediately enters one of the oldest incorporated cities in Orange County - Laguna Hills - with restaurants and other public services.[9] El Toro Road also serves some point of interest destinations, such as the Laguna Hills Mall[10] for shopping and the Laguna Hills Golf Club[11] for recreation.

After interchanging with Interstate 5, El Toro Road enters in Lake Forest. The segment between I-5 and Muirlands Boulevard widens to four lanes since its renovation in 2006.[12][13] The road continues in this manner until its intersection with Trabuco Road, where the El Toro Road starts to curve while maintaining its general northeast-southwest alignment until reaching the underpass with the Foothill Toll Road (SR 241).[14] North of SR 241, El Toro Road decreases its number of lanes into a two-lane highway,[15] and curves its direction to the north before its intersection with Live Oak Canyon Road (CR S19), which marks the northern terminus of El Toro Road.[16]

CR S18 now follows Santiago Canyon Road, a potential scenic highway.[6] The majority of Santiago Canyon Road for 15.4 miles (25 km) traverses through the scenic Saddleback Mountains, with the Santiago Canyons on the west side of the road and the Modjeska Canyons on the east side.[17] Two major intersections along this route are Silverado Canyon Road and Modjeska Canyon Road, which serves the Silverado and Modjeska Canyons, respectively.[18] There are also attractions along Santiago Canyon Road such as the Irvine Lake and the Santiago Oaks Regional Park.[19] Santiago Canyon Road is also popular for its tourism with its access to the Santiago Truck Trail - one of the scenic bike trails in Orange County[20] - as well as the road itself.[21]

To the north of the Santiago Mountains and west of the Irvine Lake, Santiago Canyon Road interchanges with State Route 241 and the northern terminus of State Route 261. Upon entering Villa Park, CR S18 turns west and widens into a regular surface street and follows Villa Park Road, immediately before the road also follows the most eastern segment of Katella Avenue. There, CR S18 interchanges with State Route 55, which marks the northern terminus of CR S18 as Katella Avenue continues to the west, serving populous cities such as Anaheim in the central region of Orange County.[22]

[edit] History

[edit] Landscape renovation

Eighteen years later since the formation of CR S18 in 1970,[1] the Orange County Board of Supervisors officially declared the El Toro Road segment in 1988 and named it after the unincoporated community El Toro (present day Lake Forest). During the 1970s and 1980s, El Toro progressed a period of commercial growth and development of land areas near the road over time. The county board left the road alone for traffic use, leading to the congestion and the need for landscape improvement. During the late 1990s, the call to "fix El Toro Road" resulted in renovating El Toro Road and eliminate the traffic congestion.[23]

Prior to the year 2005, the El Toro Road segment between Interstate 5 and Muirlands Boulevard initially caused traffic congestion due to its narrow alignment. On September 14, 2004, the USD $33 million project was planned to renovate and beautify its landscape, while hoping to alleviate traffic congestion.[24][13] The El Toro Road project consisted of adding additional lanes, decorating the median, and widening the intersections.[25] The arbor structures that now lie on the sides of the road dubbes it as The Arbor theme.[26] The entire project was completed by the winter of 2006, with its intended goal of to create better access to retail shops and other services along this strech of the road.[13]

[edit] Potential scenic highway

In April 2008, Bill Campbell called a meeting with representatives from the Intercanyon League, the Saddleback Canyon Conservancy, and the Silverado Modjeska Park District. Their intended goal is to designate the Santiago Canyon Road segment of CR S18 as a scenic highway,[6][27] as the road lies within the scenic corridor between the Santiago Mountains and the Modjeska Mountains.[28] Despite the canyons being burned in the Santiago Fire from the October 2007 wildfires,[29] flowers and green plants blossomed in the canyons and along the roadway from the recent rainstorms over Orange County; therefore increasing the chances of becoming a scenic roadway.[30] In addition, an Adopt-a-Highway program is considered to be implemented along the route in order to maintain its environmental safety.[6]

[edit] Major intersections

Note: Mileages are taken from Google Maps and are approximate measurements.

The entire route is in Orange County.

Location Mile[31] Destinations Notes
Laguna Beach 0.0 Laguna Canyon Road (SR 133) – Laguna Beach, Irvine South end of CR S18
Aliso Viejo 0.8 SR 73 (San Joaquin Hills Toll Road) – Long Beach, San Diego Interchange
Laguna Hills 3.0 Moulton Parkway
4.1 I-5 (San Diego Freeway) – San Diego, Los Angeles Interchange
Lake Forest 6.3 Trabuco Road
8.7 Santa Margarita Parkway
Rancho Santa Margarita 11.5 CR S19 (Live Oak Canyon Road) – Trabuco Canyon
22.7 SR 241 / SR 261 south (Eastern Toll Road) – Irvine, Riverside, Rancho Santa Margarita Interchange
Orange 29.1 SR 55 (Costa Mesa Freeway) – Newport Beach, Riverside Interchange; north end of CR S18

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c County Routes "S" - County Route S18. www.cahighways.org. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  2. ^ Rand McNally. The Road Atlas [map]. (2006) Page 29.
  3. ^ Photo of CR S18 from I-5 Southbound. www.aaroads.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  4. ^ Photo of CR S18 from SR 133 Southbound. www.aaroads.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  5. ^ Bushnell, Bill (1993-04-11). Orange County. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  6. ^ a b c d Eades, Mark (2008-04-23). Canyon residents seek to preserve scenic roadway. Orange County Register. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  7. ^ Google Maps. State Route 133 to State Route 73 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  8. ^ Google Maps. State Route 73 to Aliso Creek Road [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  9. ^ Google Maps. Aliso Creek Road to Interstate 5 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  10. ^ Google Maps. Aerial image of the Laguna Hills Mall [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  11. ^ Google Maps. Aerial image of the Laguna Hills Golf Field [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  12. ^ Google Maps. Interstate 5 to Muirlands Boulevard [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  13. ^ a b c The Arbor on El Toro Road.... TheArbor.info. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  14. ^ Google Maps. Trabuco Road to State Route 241 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  15. ^ Google Maps. Aerial image of El Toro Road at Glenn Ranch Road [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  16. ^ Google Maps. State Route 241 to County Route S19 [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  17. ^ Google Maps. Map of Santiago Canyon Road [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  18. ^ Google Maps. CR S18 at Silverado Canyon Road [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  19. ^ Attractions, Entertainment, and Points of Interests. www.onlineguide.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  20. ^ Orange County California Bike Trails - Santiago Truck Trail. www.search-ochomes.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  21. ^ Santiago Time Trial. UC Irvine cycling. Retrieved on 2008-05-18.
  22. ^ Google Maps. Villa Park Road and Katella Avenue [map]. Retrieved on 2008-05-16.
  23. ^ Rombouts, Christine (2008-01-01). Clearing the Road. Public Works Online. Retrieved on 2007-05-30.
  24. ^ Ritchie, Erika I (2006-07-16). El Toro Road ready to roll. Orange County Register. Retrieved on 2008-05-15.
  25. ^ Freeman, Rita (2005-06-24). El Toro Road revamp. Saddleback Valley news. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  26. ^ Freeman, Rita (2006-12-08). A gateway into El Toro. Orange County Register. Retrieved on 2005-05-18.
  27. ^ SILVERADO-MODJESKA CANYONS INTRODUCTION AND HISTORY. Retrieved on 2008-05-31.
  28. ^ Drive to Oakley - via Santiago canyon road... Flickr. Retrieved on 2008-05-30.
  29. ^ Santiago Incident. Orange County Fire Authority (2007-10-27). Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
  30. ^ Sudock, Joshua (2008-03-06). Canyons are alive with color, activity. Orange County Register. Retrieved on 2008-05-17.
  31. ^ Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps. Accessed December 2007 via ACME Mapper
 Orange County Routes N8 · S18 · S19 · S25