California State Route 121

State Route 121 marker

State Route 121
Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 421
Maintained by Caltrans
Length: 33.57 mi[1] (54.02 km)
Major junctions
South end: SR 37 at Sears Point
  SR 12 near Sonoma
SR 29 in Napa
North end: SR 128 near Lake Berryessa
Highway system
SR 120SR 123

State Route 121 (SR 121) is a California state highway in the Wine Country that runs northerly from its junction with State Route 37 at Sears Point, past the Tolay Lake basin and across Tolay Creek near Infineon Raceway, veers east at a junction with State Route 116 and Bonneau Road at Schellville, runs eastward through the Carneros region of the southern Sonoma Valley and Napa Valley (concurrent first with State Route 12, then with State Route 29), then northeastward to end near Lake Berryessa in Napa County.

The California Legislature named the route Carneros Highway from its southern terminus to its junction with Route 29 in Napa. The stretch between the junctions with Route 116 and Napa Road near the Sonoma/Napa county line is known locally as Fremont Drive. Addresses along the stretch between routes 37 and 116 sometimes use the postal address Arnold Drive, even though that name officially applies only to the county road north of 116.

Route description

This route 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]

The route begins at SR 37 in Sears Point. As it continues northward through Sonoma County, it meets SR 116. It then enters Schellville, where it begins a short overlap with SR 12. Upon leaving, it begins another overlap with SR 29, which happens to be a freeway, in Napa County. When it leaves, it continues northward and meets SR 221 in Napa. As it leaves the city, it continues northward for several miles before reaching its north end at SR 128.

History

The section from SR 37 to SR 29 in Napa remains virtually unchanged since its definition in 1963. The northern section, however, was slightly altered since its definition the same year due to a realignment of various other freeways.[5]

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

CountyLocationPostmile
[6][7]
DestinationsNotes
Sonoma
SON 0.00-11.62
Sears Point0.00 SR 37 Vallejo, NovatoSouth end of SR 121
 6.69 SR 116 west (Arnold Drive) / Bonneau Road Glen Ellen, Petaluma
Schellville7.44 SR 12 west (Broadway) Sonoma, Boyes Hot Springs, Glen EllenSouth end of SR 12 overlap
 R10.79Napa Road
Napa
NAP 0.00-22.08
NapaR4.47
R8.66[N 1]
SR 29 south / SR 12 east American Canyon, Vallejo, FairfieldNorth end of SR 12 overlap; south end of SR 29 overlap
 South end of freeway on SR 29
 North end of freeway on SR 29
R10.30[N 1]
R4.47
SR 29 north / Imola Avenue west CalistogaInterchange; north end of SR 29 overlap
6.01 SR 221 south (Soscol Avenue south) / Imola Avenue east Vallejo
6.55Soscol Avenue north – Downtown Napa
 9.40Silverado Trail, Trancas Street
 16.07Wooden Valley Road – Fairfield
 22.08 SR 128 Winters, Lake Berryessa, RutherfordNorth end of SR 121
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. 1.0 1.1 Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 29 rather than SR 121.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to California State Route 121.