Misplaced Pages

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47-527: The section of Highway 37 between Sears Point and Vallejo was the Sears Point Toll Road , a toll road managed by Golden Gate Ferry , before it was purchased by the State in 1938. The highway has been proposed to be built to freeway standards since the early 1950s. However, the proposal was met with many economic and environmental obstacles, making the task all but impossible for much of the route. The route

94-408: A barrier erected after the death of his 18-year-old son, Frankie, on "Blood Alley". At this time, the situation with this stretch only worsened as the death toll between 1990 and 1996 rose to thirty-one. At first, Caltrans thought the barrier would make matters worse since it would be difficult for emergency vehicles to attend to accidents; environmental issues were also cited. Caltrans was waiting for

141-526: A divided two-lane expressway in a more easterly, then southeasterly, direction as it crosses Tolay Creek and proceeds through the Napa Sonoma Marsh at the northern edge of San Pablo Bay . Before the construction of the barrier in 1995, this portion of SR 37 was three lanes with the middle lane alternately serving as a passing lane for each direction. This stretch of highway was given the nickname of "Blood Alley" for its high-rate of fatal accidents. With

188-432: A federal oil embargo only allowed widening of the approach between Fairgrounds Drive and I-80. In 1977, a levee broke and flooded a portion of the developed land, turning it into protected wetlands that is home to endangered species. Because of its new status, environmental studies were needed in order to continue the project. Soon after, the project was split into different phases to handle problems with particular areas. It

235-491: A freeway. In 2004 and 2005, following over fifty years of complications, the remaining non-freeway section in Vallejo was upgraded as well. SR 37 is also known as Randy Bolt Memorial Highway from SR 29 to Skaggs Road (honoring a California Department of Justice agent who was killed in the line of duty in an accident along SR 37), and Sears Point Toll Road , which was originally a toll road that ran from SR 121 to Vallejo. SR 37

282-419: A full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). 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. Train 's 2012 album California 37 is named after State Route 37, with the album cover prominently featuring

329-582: A highway that has not been constructed, SR 37 begins in Novato with a junction at U.S. Route 101 and heads northeast as a freeway for about a quarter mile before becoming a four-lane expressway. The route passes over the Petaluma River into Sonoma County before meeting the southern terminus of State Route 121 at a signal-controlled intersection near Sears Point and the Sonoma Raceway . The route continues as

376-525: A northeasterly direction along the White Slough before turning east as it crosses over State Route 29 and heads to its eastern terminus at I-80 as the James Capoot Memorial Highway (honoring a Vallejo police officer who was killed in the line of duty). In the early 1990s, the stretch between Fairgrounds Drive, which serves as the entrance to Discovery Kingdom, and Mini Drive was upgraded to

423-526: A number of commuters, particular Solano county residents who commute west to jobs in Sonoma or Marin counties. In May 2023, the California Transportation Commission unanimously approved a plan to toll both directions, as well as widen the highway from a two-lane road to one with carpool lanes by converting the existing shoulders. The proposed toll in each direction would be half of the toll on

470-434: A railroad grade crossing). The project was completed in the summer of 2005, and fully open to traffic on August 20. The highway is increasingly subject to flooding as the 21-mile (34 km) route is near sea level. The road was closed for a total of 28 days during the winter of 2016-17 . On the morning of Friday February 15, 2019, the westernmost portion of the westbound highway (between Atherton Ave. and U.S. Route 101 )

517-563: A wide four-lane business route. After another brief merger with another freeway, this time SR 99, SR 12 heads east into the Sierra foothills (with shared segments with SR 88 and SR 26) before ending at the junction with SR 49 just north of San Andreas . SR 12 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , and in Sebastopol, from US 101 to Sonoma, and from I-80 to SR 88 is part of

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564-636: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Legislative Route 8 (California pre-1964) State Route 12 ( SR 12 ) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels in an east–west direction from State Route 116 in Sebastopol in Sonoma County to State Route 49 just north of San Andreas in Calaveras County . The route connects the Sonoma and Napa valleys with

611-719: Is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community. SR 12 has been designated by various state laws and through local usage as the Valley of the Moon Scenic Route (the portion running through Sonoma County, though the first sign with this name is at the intersection of Farmers Lane and Fourth Street in Santa Rosa); Luther Burbank Memorial Highway from Santa Rosa to Sebastopol (after botanist Luther Burbank ). SR 12

658-794: Is also known as Sonoma Highway between Santa Rosa and the west side of the city of Sonoma ; Broadway between Sonoma Plaza and its junction with SR 121 in Schellville ; Carneros Highway for the length of its concurrency with 121 between Schellville and its junction and the north end of its concurrency with SR 29 near Napa ; Jameson Canyon Road from where its concurrency with SR 29 ends in American Canyon to its junction with I-80 in Cordelia ; and Rio Vista Highway from I-80 to SR 160 east of Rio Vista , and informally as "Blood Alley" from Lodi to Fairfield . The segment through Lodi to

705-723: Is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System , but is not part of the National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration . SR 37 is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System , but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation . The stretch of road east of Sears Point

752-518: Is plagued by flooding which can be exacerbated by levee breaks near Vallejo. Most of the highway crosses a marsh that is home to endangered salt marsh harvest mice . A section of highway was once known as "Blood Alley" for its high rate of fatal accidents. A concrete barrier built in the 1990s eliminated those fatal head-on collisions. By 2022, there have been proposals to reinstate tolls between Sears Point and Vallejo to help pay for flooding and other improvements. Intended to run from State Route 251 ,

799-712: Is the Western Railway Museum . At Rio Vista , SR 12 crosses the Helen Madere Memorial Bridge over the Sacramento River , entering the California Delta . This stretch of the river has twice been the site of much-publicized inland excursions by humpback whales, presumably veering off course while making their annual migrations along the Pacific coast. In 1985 Humphrey the whale swam about as far as

846-602: The Napa River . Four miles after joining SR 29 it splits off towards the east on Jameson Canyon Road; this section is also the 1928 re-alignment of the Lincoln Highway , the first road across America. After a brief merge with Interstate 80, SR 12 branches off to the east as an expressway through Fairfield and Suisun City . East of Suisun it becomes two lanes again and crosses south of Travis Air Force Base , through rolling fields with numerous wind turbines. Just past Braid's Bridge

893-431: The National Highway System , a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration . SR 12 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System ; however, it is only designated as a scenic highway from its intersection with Danielli Avenue east of Santa Rosa to its junction with London Way near Agua Caliente , meaning that it

940-936: The Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and the Sierra Foothills . It is constructed to freeway standards from the Fulton Road/South Wright Road stoplight in Santa Rosa , to its partial interchange with Farmers Lane (also in Santa Rosa). There are six segments that are overlaps with other highways: in the Napa and Sonoma valleys with SR 121, in the southern Napa Valley with SR 29, a short overlap with I-80 at Cordelia Junction in Fairfield , another short overlap with SR 99 in Lodi, and overlaps with SR 88 and SR 26 in

987-468: The Bay Area. After environmental studies on the White Slough, Caltrans widened and elevated that section of the road and converted it to a freeway. To accommodate bicycles and pedestrians, a cycleway was built along the eastbound side of the freeway. Finally, Caltrans completed the overpass which crossed SR 29, Broadway, and Mini Drive (bypassing Marine World Parkway, three traffic signaled intersections, and

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1034-585: The Redwood Highway. The road opened for traffic in 1928. On November 29, 1932, the California State Highway Commission received a recommendation to purchase the road and was able to invest $ 418,000 USD by 1936. However, the U.S. Navy owned rights to the right-of-way of part of the route, and opposed the purchase. This resulted in congressional actions to establish a clear title deed for the route. House Representative Richard J. Welch

1081-623: The Rio Vista Bridge. In 2007 a humpback mother and calf dubbed Delta and Dawn circled for several days just upstream of the bridge, seemingly reluctant to pass under it again after having spent the previous three or four weeks upriver near Sacramento . From the Sacramento River to the junction with Interstate 5, SR 12 crosses several of the waterways of the California Delta and the low-lying fields between them. Through Lodi it becomes

1128-654: The San Pablo Bay shore between the Sacramento Highway and the Black Point cut-off (LRN 8) near Sears Point. It was expected to cost $ 775,000 USD , with a toll not exceeding $ 0.35. Toll road officials explained the purpose of the road; to stimulate motor vehicle usage by reducing the commute times and expenses of motorists traveling from the East Bay and Sacramento areas by offering a more direct route toward Marin, Sonoma and

1175-483: The Sierra foothills. The highway is mainly two lane rural highway, with the exception of short segments in Santa Rosa and Fairfield/Suisun City, the overlaps with I-80 and SR 99, and segments within developed areas, such as Santa Rosa and Lodi. SR 12 begins in the west at its junction with SR 116 in Sebastopol . After passing east through Santa Rosa on a mix of freeway, surface street, and expressway, it turns south into

1222-604: The Sonoma Valley, passing the Jack London State Historic Park at Glen Ellen . It winds through Sonoma on surface streets, where the historic Vallejo Estate and Sonoma Mission , both part of the Sonoma State Historic Park , are. South of Sonoma, SR 12 turns east, joining SR 121 for nearly nine miles, then turns south briefly as it leaves SR 121 and joins the four-lane expressway SR 29 to cross

1269-485: The State to purchase the road was granted by the Attorney General on October 26, 1938. The highway then became signed as State Route 48 until the 1964 renumbering. By 1955, talks began about upgrading the highway. After a proposition to turn much of the route into a toll road failed, it was decided a four-lane freeway would be the best decision. However, opposition from residents in surrounding neighborhoods as well as

1316-410: The ability to create a causeway to span the area instead. Poulos continued his campaign despite opposition, and was granted the barrier in 1995. The barrier was not built without controversy, as it also eliminated the passing lanes. However, since the barriers were built, there were no longer any crossover accidents as of 2005. While the median was built, a few problems needed to be resolved in order for

1363-407: The corridor, and based on transportation funding levels it would take until 2088 to come up with that amount of money. In 2022, California State Senator Bill Dodd introduced new legislation that would make the route a toll road again between Sears Point and at least Mare Island. The proposed law would use the toll revenues to help pay for the flooding and traffic improvements. It has been opposed by

1410-430: The default computer wallpaper of Microsoft 's Windows XP operating system. Plans call for a western extension of its western terminus to State Route 1 near Bodega Bay . Plans also called for Route 12 to be built as a freeway from Farmers Lane to Melita Road, in Santa Rosa; however, as of 2014, this project was delayed due to community opposition. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on

1457-631: The early 1950s. However, the proposal was met with many economic and environmental obstacles, making the task all but impossible for much of the route. As late as 1926, Golden Gate Ferries , owners of the Sears Point Toll Road Co., began plans to build the Sears Point Toll Road, with a contract awarded to Oakland-based Hutchinson Company in October 1927. The paved toll road was to be built on top of an ancient Native American trail along

California State Route 37 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1504-488: The highway. As a result, crews placed timbers and sheeting to protect foliage, and added holes into the median barrier to allow the mice to cross the highway. To protect White Slough while still allowing the widening of SR 37, the White Slough Protection and Development Act was passed in 1990. It allowed up to 13 acres of wetlands to be filled but required at least four times as much wetland restoration elsewhere in

1551-536: The mid-19th century considerable modification of the Napa Sonoma Marsh began to occur, such that in contemporary times, there is considerable upland between Sears Point and San Pablo Bay. Numerous local conservation organizations are presently working to restore hundreds of acres of these historic tidal wetlands as part of the Sears Point Wetlands and Watershed Restoration Project. The region can be accessed via State Route 37 or State Route 121 . Sears Point

1598-557: The middle lane removed, accidents dropped dramatically. SR 37 becomes a four-lane freeway on Mare Island , approaching northern Vallejo. After it crosses over the Napa River Bridge, it continues as a freeway, overlapping the old highway alignment and passing north of the old road known as Marine World Parkway (due to its proximity to the Six Flags Discovery Kingdom , previously known as Marine World). SR 37 travels in

1645-447: The overlap with SR 99 is on Kettleman Lane. Before the 1964 renumbering, this route was signed as Sign Route 12 for most of its length. However, SR 12 was designated as Legislative Route 51 (LR 51) from SR 116 to SR 121 before the 1964 renumbering. Portions of the route from SR 29 to I-80 ran concurrently with State Route 29 or with State Route 37 ; this was also LR 8 and a former routing of US 40 . The portion from I-80 to then- US 99

1692-553: 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 to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions ). Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines;

1739-435: The road to work both safely and in an environmentally friendly way. Emergency personnel needed to quickly access accidents and provide them easy transport to nearby hospitals. To alleviate this problem, Caltrans implemented electric gate technology, which would allow emergency vehicles to cut through certain parts of the median. The other problem was to both protect the plant life and the salt marsh harvest mice residing around

1786-565: The route's highway shield . AFI released a song titled "Rabbits Are Roadkill on Rt. 37" on its 2006 album Decemberunderground . Sears Point Sears Point is a prominent landform that juts into the San Pablo Bay in Sonoma County, California , United States. This hill is the southernmost peak of the Sonoma Mountains and forms the southwestern ridge above Tolay Lake . Starting with European settlement of this area in

1833-542: The section between Sears Point and Vallejo was known as the Sears Point Toll Road, a toll road managed by Golden Gate Ferry that was built over an ancient Native American trail. When it was purchased by the State in 1938, tolls were removed; it then became signed as State Route 48 until 1964. Route 37 was redefined in the 1964 state highway renumbering as a route starting at SR 251 , then SR 17 , near Nicasio and ending at I-80 near Lake Chabot. The whole of SR 37 has been proposed to be built to freeway standards since

1880-430: The state-owned Bay Area bridges. 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 to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( for

1927-478: Was closed due to flooding caused by a levee break. Marin County declared a state of emergency, and public works crews worked 24 hours a day pumping water and repairing the levee. It was expected to be closed for at least a week, however the highway fully reopened on the morning of Wednesday, February 20, 2019. In 2017, it was estimated that it would cost $ 4 billion to fix all the flooding, traffic, and other issues along

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1974-452: Was designated as LR 53 in 1919; from US 99 to SR 49, it was designated as LR 24. In 1976, the discontinuity resulting from the concurrency with State Route 84 was removed. In January 1996, photographer Charles O'Rear pulled off the highway east of Schellville near the Napa – Sonoma county line to photograph the lush hillside by the road. The image became known as Bliss and was used as

2021-418: Was first divided between the newly created marshlands and the section between SR 29 (Sonoma Boulevard) and I-80. With Marine World being relocated, the city was able to the widen the latter section and build an overpass across Fairgrounds Drive in 1992. While the Vallejo section of SR 37 was being updated, another problem with the route would hinder its progress. The section between Sears Point and Mare Island

2068-481: Was named after Franklin Sears, who settled on 600 acres (2.4 km ) south of Sonoma in 1851. Later, he partnered with his father-in-law to purchase some 15,000 acres (61 km ), part of which is the present-day Sonoma Raceway racetrack. 38°9′4″N 122°26′52″W  /  38.15111°N 122.44778°W  / 38.15111; -122.44778 This geographical article related to Sonoma County, California

2115-568: Was once part of the historical El Camino Real . As a result of the State Highways Acts of the early 20th century, the Black Point Cut-off was built over it and opened to traffic in 1917. This highway followed the current alignment east of Sears Point, before diverting northeast along present-day Route 121. It was first designated Legislative Route 8 (LRN 8), later being signed as State Route 37. Prior to being under State control,

2162-483: Was one of the earliest government officials to pressure the State of California to acquire the toll road in order to convert it into a toll-free highway. He argued that having only one toll road to travel in order to reach the Golden Gate Bridge would benefit commuters; he also cited the ten and seventh-tenths-mile difference in distance between the toll road and a route through Napa. A Navy Department deed permitting

2209-410: Was plagued with fatal accidents, earning its nickname of "Blood Alley". Between 1966 and 1970, 27 people lost their lives on it. In a preliminary effort to reduce the fatalities, officials established both a daylight test section, requiring all cars to keep their headlights on during the day, and passing lanes. However, these efforts were ineffective. In 1993, local resident Jim Poulos campaigned to have

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