California State Route 52

State Route 52
Route information
Defined by S&HC § 352
Maintained by Caltrans
Length:	14.449 mi[1] (23.253 km)
Major junctions
West end:	I-5 in San Diego
	I-805 in San Diego SR 163 in San Diego I-15 in San Diego SR 125 in Santee
East end:	SR 67 in Santee
Highway system
State highways in California(list • pre-1964) History • Unconstructed • Deleted • Freeway • Scenic ← SR 51 SR 53 →

State Route 52 (SR 52) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California in San Diego County, that extends from La Jolla Parkway at Interstate 5 in La Jolla to Route 67 in Santee. Route 52 is a freeway for its entire length. Prior to 1993, the segment between Interstate 5 and Interstate 805 bore the official name "Mount Soledad Freeway".

Contents 1 Route description 2 History 3 Future 4 Exit list 5 References 6 External links

Route description

State Route 52 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System.^[3] However, it is not a scenic highway as designated by Caltrans.^[4]

SR 52 begins just west of I-5 as La Jolla Parkway. The road becomes a freeway as it intersects with I-5 before entering San Clemente Canyon, designated as Marian Bear Memorial Natural Park. After a few exits, SR 52 interchanges with I-805 before exiting the canyon and travelling along the southern edge of MCAS Miramar. After passing the Miramar Recycling Center, SR 52 intersects with SR 163 towards downtown San Diego and with I-15. The freeway leaves the military base and enters the San Diego neighborhood of Tierrasanta before traversing Mission Trails Regional Park, an open space preserve. SR 52 crosses the San Diego River before entering the city of Santee, where SR 52 parallels the river as well as Mission Gorge Road. SR 52's temporary terminus was at the interchange with SR 125 where traffic was automatically routed south onto SR 125. On March 29, 2011, a new freeway segment of SR 52 opened to traffic, extending the route to its new terminus at SR 67.^[5]

History

Originally, SR 52 was the Soledad Highway, signed without control cities, receiving only an "East" or "West" designation at the handful of street entry points, and "San Clemente Canyon" on signs for the highway from Interstate 5. Between 1966 and 1972, several sections of the original route were completed and only connected between Interstate 5/Ardath Road (now called La Jolla Parkway) and Interstate 805. SR 52 had multiple extensions since. In 1987, the highway was extended to Convoy Road in Kearny Mesa, and by 1988, an extension to Santo Road in Tierrasanta. SR 52 successfully relieved a parallel east–west route Interstate 8, five miles (8 km) to the south, of some congestion. However, it became overwhelmed as soon as construction to Mission Gorge Road was completed in December 1993, as it was the only east-west freeway connecting directly with the suburban city of Santee.

Where SR 52 meets with Interstate 15 and SR 163, is one of the worst traffic bottlenecks in the county during morning rush-hour as three westbound lanes narrow to two. To lessen the bottleneck, a construction crew in March 2007 is currently widening this 2½-mile stretch to three lanes in both directions.

In 2006, MTS, in cooperation with SANDAG, Caltrans and the California Highway Patrol, began a pilot program to operate transit buses on the shoulders of SR 52, between Kearny Villa Road and I-805. During rush hour times, buses could use these shoulders as a transit-only lane to bypass slow traffic on the main lanes. This included the use of the freeway shoulders on the ramp connectors between SR 52 and I-805.

Construction of SR 52 from SR 125 eastward to SR 67 began in early 2008, and was opened to traffic on March 29, 2011.^[6] The official "ribbon cutting" ceremony took place at 8:30 a.m. on March 19, 2011 on the freeway at the Cuyamaca Street interchange (exit 17).^[7]

Future

Two reversible HOV traffic lanes are scheduled to be built around 2012.

Exit list

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 entire route is in San Diego County.

Location	Postmile [1][8][9]	Exit [10]	Destinations	Notes
San Diego	0.32		La Jolla Parkway	Continuation beyond I-5
	0.32	1A	I-5 (San Diego Freeway) – Los Angeles, Downtown San Diego	No exit number eastbound; no access from SR 52 east to I-5 north
	1.35	1B	Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, Regents Road	Signed as exit 1 eastbound
	2.29	2	Genesee Avenue
	3.76	3	I-805 (Jacob Dekema Freeway) – Los Angeles, National City, Chula Vista
	5.49	5	Convoy Street
	6.60	6	SR 163 south (Cabrillo Freeway) – Downtown San Diego
	6.93	7	Kearny Villa Road
	7.31	7	I-15 (Escondido Freeway) – Riverside, Downtown San Diego
	8.71	8	Santo Road
	13.27	13	Mast Boulevard
Santee	14.77	14	Mission Gorge Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
	14.77	15A	SR 125 south	Signed as exit 15 eastbound
		15B	Fanita Drive	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		17	Cuyamaca Street
		18A	Magnolia Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		18	SR 67	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 18B (south) and 18C (north)
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

External links

• California @ WestCoastRoads.com - State Route 52
• Caltrans: Route 52 highway conditions
• California Highways: SR 52
• Route 52 Fact Sheet