California State Route 54

State Route 54
Route information
Defined by S&HC § 354
Maintained by Caltrans
Length: 15 mi[1] (24 km)
Existed: 1961 – present
Major junctions
West end: I-5 in National City
 

I-805 in National City

SR 125 near Spring Valley
East end: El Cajon city limit
Highway system

State highways in California(list • pre-1964)
History • Unconstructed • Deleted • Freeway • Scenic

← SR 53 SR 55 →

State Route 54 (SR 54) is a California State Highway in San Diego that connects Interstate 5 to the city of El Cajon. The first section was built circa 1961,[2] and the final section of freeway (which was upgraded from an expressway) opened in 2007.

Contents

Route description

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System.[3] Route 54 has the three different names given by various state laws.[4] These names include Jamacha Road (from Campo Road to East Main Street in El Cajon), South Bay Freeway (from I-805 to Route 94) and Filipino-American Highway (from its western terminus to Route 125).[5] The freeway portion of Route 54 is commonly referred to as the South Bay Freeway, and the roadway segments are commonly referred to by their respective names (Jamacha Boulevard, Campo Road, and Jamacha Road).

Route 54 starts as a freeway from Interstate 5 at the mouth of the Sweetwater River, with westbound traffic traversing the north bank of the river and eastbound traffic traversing the south bank. Both sides join near the junction with Interstate 805 and continue east for several miles. As the freeway turns north, it becomes Route 125 and Route 54 exits at Jamacha Boulevard.

Route 54 follows Jamacha Boulevard northeast until reaching Campo Road. The portion of Route 54 along this arterial road is shared with San Diego County Route S17 and historically has been signed for S17 only.

Route 54 then shares a brief concurrency with Route 94, although this is not documented in the legal definition of either route, following Campo Road 0.5 miles east. Route 54 continues northeast on Jamacha Road to El Cajon, while Campo Road (Route 94) splits off to the southeast. Route 54 currently ends at the El Cajon city limit.

History

Route 54 first opened between Sweetwater Road (at the site of present day North 2nd Avenue in Chula Vista) and Jamacha Boulevard in Spring Valley. The South Bay Freeway was constructed as a freeway only between its western terminus and Reo Drive, a short distance west and east of the I-805 junction, with the remainder built as an expressway.

Route 54 was extended west as a freeway to I-5 at the same time the Sweetwater River flood control channel was constructed in the early 1990s. The expressway portion from Reo Drive to South Worthington Street was upgraded to a freeway in the late 1990s, and a part-time HOV lane opened in each direction, east of I-805 only, around this time.

The State relinquished Route 54, from the southern El Cajon city limit to I-8 only, to the City of El Cajon in 1999.[2] The portion of Route 54 within El Cajon was then incorrectly designated Interstate Business Route 54 by the City, but most business route signage has since been removed.

The remaining expressway portion of Route 54, running from South Worthington Street to Jamacha Boulevard, was replaced by a freeway in two phases in the 2000s. The first phase corresponded with construction of Route 125 north of Jamacha Boulevard and was completed in 2003. The second phase corresponded with construction of the South Bay Expressway toll road and was completed in 2007. The HOV lanes were converted to regular mixed traffic lanes shortly thereafter.

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 entire route is in San Diego County.

Location Postmile
[6][7][8]		 Exit
[9]		 Destinations Notes
National City 0.00 1 I-5 (San Diego Freeway) Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north)
0.40 1C National City Boulevard, Broadway Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.90 1D Highland Avenue, 4th Avenue Signed as exit 1 eastbound
1.88 2 I-805 (Jacob Dekema Freeway)
National City 2.97 3 Plaza Bonita Center Way, Reo Drive
4.21 4 Woodman Street
4.99 5 Briarwood Road
6.30 6 SR 125 south (South Bay Expressway)
6.70 SR 125 north Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Gap in SR 54; east end of freeway
T10.99 SR 94 (Campo Road) – Campo, San Diego
T11.85 Willow Glen Drive – Jamul, Harbison Canyon
T13.71 Chase Avenue
El Cajon T14.21 East end of state maintenance at El Cajon city limit
T16.26 I-8 – San Diego, El Centro Interchange
T16.26 2nd Street Continuation beyond I-8
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
     Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

References

  1. ^ January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
  2. ^ a b Not Quite South Bay Freeway (CA 54 and BR 54)
  3. ^ CA Codes (shc:250-257)
  4. ^ 2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Caltrans. p. 77. http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/Named_Freeways.pdf. Retrieved 2007-03-28. 
  5. ^ "Assembly Concurrent Resolution No.157". California Secretary of State. http://info.sen.ca.gov/pub/05-06/bill/asm/ab_0151-0200/acr_157_bill_20060912_chaptered.pdf. Retrieved 2008-06-22. 
  6. ^ California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
  7. ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
  8. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 1999, 2005, and 2006
  9. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 54 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-05.

External links