Pacific Coast Highway (US)

State Route 1, often called Highway 1, is a state highway that runs along a large length of the Pacific coast of the U.S. state of California. It is famous for running by some of the most beautiful coastlines in the world, leading to its designation as an All-American Road.

In Southern California, the California Legislature has designated the segment between Interstate 5 in Dana Point and U.S. Route 101 near Oxnard as Pacific Coast Highway (commonly referred to as PCH for short); between U.S. Route 101 at the Las Cruces junction (8 miles south of Buellton) and U.S. Route 101 in Pismo Beach and between U.S. Route 101 in San Luis Obispo and U.S. Route 101 in San Francisco, the legislature has designated State Route 1 as the Cabrillo Highway; and between Manzanita Junction near Marin City and U.S. Route 101 in Leggett, the legislature has designated State Route 1 Shoreline Highway. However, subsequent to naming the highway the Pacific Coast Highway, Cabrillo Highway, and Shoreline Highway, the legislature has given some segments of Route 1 additional names as described in the State Law section. In addition to this, some segments have been given alternative names by local governments.

Route description

Orange County

Route 1 has its southern terminus at Interstate 5 south of San Juan Capistrano. From there, named as Pacific Coast Highway, it heads north into downtown Dana Point, where for one mile (1.6 km) northbound traffic continues along the original PCH alignment whilst southbound traffic is diverted onto parallel Del Prado. Once reunified as PCH, Route 1 then heads north along the coast through Laguna Beach and Crystal Cove State Park. Route 1 then moves slightly inland and drops "Pacific" from its name, passing through Newport Beach as Coast Highway. It once again becomes PCH upon entering Huntington Beach, where it borders city and state beaches. It continues along the coast, leaving Orange County after passing through Seal Beach.

Los Angeles and Ventura Counties

PCH then enters Los Angeles County and the City of Long Beach and continues in a northwesterly direction to meet Lakewood Boulevard State Route 19 (and Los Coyotes Diagonal at the Long Beach Traffic Circle) more than two miles (3 km) from the coast. From the traffic circle it continues inland in a westerly direction through Long Beach including approximately one mile adjacent to the southern boundary of Signal Hill. Although it does not border the coastline, State Route 1 retains the PCH name as it continues westerly through the Los Angeles districts of Wilmington and Harbor City, and the cities of Lomita and Torrance. It then turns northerly through the cities of Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach. Upon entering Manhattan Beach, it becomes Sepulveda Boulevard, and continues through El Segundo and Los Angeles International Airport, directly passing underneath two runways. Route 1 then turns northwesterly shifting to Lincoln Boulevard before turning to the southwest, first as Olympic Boulevard, then as the approach to Interstate 10 in Santa Monica. Route 1 rejoins the scenic coastline in Santa Monica and continues in a westerly direction; along the Santa Monica coastline it is known locally as Palisades Beach Road, and formerly Roosevelt Highway. Upon leaving Santa Monica, it regains the PCH name as it continues westerly near the coast through the wealthy Los Angeles communities of Pacific Palisades and Castellammare Beach before reaching the City of Malibu.

From Malibu, PCH continues along the coast through Point Mugu State Park to just beyond the park's western boundary. As the PCH approaches the Oxnard plain it passes through a notch in the mountain that forms Point Mugu. The cut left a very large rock formation at the tip of the point that is called the Mugu Rock. At that point, PCH leaves the coast and heads northerly and then northwesterly along the northeastern boundary of Naval Air Station Point Mugu for several miles and continues to Wooley Road in Oxnard. From the South Oxnard railroad grade crossing north of Statham Boulevard in Oxnard to Wooley Road, State Route 1 is known locally as Oxnard Boulevard. At Wooley Road the direction of State Route 1 changes from northwest to north; however, the Oxnard Boulevard name continues to Vineyard Avenue, Route 232. From Vineyard Avenue, State Route 1 continues north as PCH and joins U.S. Route 101 in Oxnard approximately five miles inland from the coast. It is noted that about a seven-mile (11 km) stretch of PCH between Calleguas Creek near the south boundary of the Point Mugu Naval Air Weapons Station and the South Oxnard railroad grade crossing north of Statham Boulevard was built to freeway standards. However, today only part of that stretch, from Calleguas Creek to Pleasant Valley Road in Oxnard, a distance of over five miles (8 km), is operating as a freeway. The remaining distance from Pleasant Valley Road to the railroad grade crossing is operating as an expressway (including three signalized intersections).

Central Coast

After traveling through Ventura, State Route 1 separates from US 101 to travel along the beach from Emma Wood State Beach to the Mobil Pier Undercrossing, where it rejoins US 101 about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the Santa Barbara County line near La Conchita. State Route 1 then merges with US 101 (although signage is nonexistent) for 54 miles (87 km), passing through Santa Barbara. Route 1, now named Cabrillo Highway, splits again from US 101 north of the Gaviota Tunnel, and heads through the coastal cities of Lompoc, Guadalupe, and Grover Beach before joining US 101 for the third time at Pismo Beach.

State Route 1 splits from US 101 at San Luis Obispo and resumes as Cabrillo Highway continuing north as a freeway through Morro Bay and Cayucos until it again becomes a winding, two lane road with occasional passing lanes. It follows along the coast through San Simeon, past the elephant seal colony at Piedras Blancas Lighthouse, and to the cliffs of Big Sur. Then several miles north, the highway crosses the scenic Bixby Creek Bridge, a reinforced concrete arch with a 320-foot (98 m) span that passes over the Bixby Creek gorge, and the Rocky Creek Bridge. The highway between San Simeon and Carmel was built between 1919 and 1937.

From there, State Route 1 passes through Carmel before becoming a freeway in Monterey. The freeway portion of Route 1 from Route 68 (west) to Munras Avenue opened in 1960. The segment from Munras Avenue in Monterey to North Fremont Blvd/Del Monte Blvd in Seaside opened in 1968, and bypasses the original highway alignment (North Fremont Blvd) through Sand City and Seaside. North of Seaside, the freeway was built over the original SR 1 alignment through Fort Ord in 1973. North of Fort Ord, SR 1 veers to the left of the original alignment and bypasses Marina to the west. This segment including the interchange with Route 156 and the short, 2-lane Castroville Bypass opened in 1976. Originally Route 1 followed the Route 156 alignment to the Route 183 intersection in Castroville, then turned northwest, following the present-day Route 183 through Castroville before rejoining its existing alignment at the northern terminus of the Castroville Bypass.

At the interchange with State Route 156 near Castroville, SR 1 continues north as a 2-lane rural road to Moss Landing. Despite heavy traffic on this segment, it was not upgraded to a freeway because doing so would require cutting through a wildlife refuge area east of Moss Landing. Another freeway segment begins at Watsonville and continues to the State Route 17 interchange at Santa Cruz. Upon reaching downtown Santa Cruz, it continues as Mission Street and Coast Road before regaining the Cabrillo Highway name.

San Francisco Bay Area and the Redwood Empire

Before the completion of the present highway in 1937, a narrow, winding, steep road known as Pedro Mountain Road connected Montara with Pacifica. That highway was completed in 1914 and provided competition to the Ocean Shore Railroad, which operated between San Francisco and Tunitas Creek from 1907 to 1920.

Before reaching Pacifica, the highway travels through a treacherous stretch where it is dubbed Devil's Slide. Here the road is in constant danger of sliding into the Pacific Ocean. This stretch of road is periodically closed, the last time from April 2, 2006 to August 3, 2006. Previous closures include about five months in 1995 and about three months in 1983.^[4] To avoid these problems, a tunnel is being constructed to bypass the slide area, opening in 2011 according to Caltrans.

SR 1 turns into a multi-lane freeway in Pacifica before joining Interstate 280 in Daly City. SR 1 used to run along the coast between Pacifica and Daly City but this segment was damaged and rendered unusable after a 5.3 magnitude earthquake on March 22, 1957. A small stub remains near Thornton Beach. Just short of reaching the city of San Francisco, Route 1 splits from Interstate 280 and the Cabrillo Highway designation ends at the Daly City / San Francisco border, where the road becomes Junipero Serra Boulevard. Shortly thereafter, the highway makes a slight left, becoming the six-lane wide 19th Avenue where, in spite of being a city street, it retains a dense traffic flow. Route 1 turns into Park Presidio Boulevard after it passes through the city's Golden Gate Park. It then joins US 101 for a fourth time on the approach to the Golden Gate Bridge known as Doyle Drive.

After crossing the bridge and entering Marin County, SR 1 then splits from US 101 again near Marin City, where it, now as the Shoreline Highway, returns to a winding, two lane road as it goes through various coastal cities and towns between Muir Beach and Fort Bragg. It cuts through the center of many of the coastal communities between these two, including Bodega Bay and Point Arena, in which it becomes Main Street, before following School Street to the northwest. Similarly, in Fort Bragg itself, the highway is known as Main Street. North of Fort Bragg, the highway follows the coast for a while, then cuts through a redwood forest, before terminating at US 101 in Leggett in Mendocino County.

History

Two portions of present SR 1 were added to the state highway system for the third bond issue, passed in 1919. These were Route 56 from San Simeon to Carmel (connecting with existing county highways at each end) and Route 60 from Oxnard to San Juan Capistrano, intended as links in a continuous coastal roadway from Oregon to Mexico.^[5]^[6] A 1921 law extended Route 56 south over the county road to Cambria,^[7] and Route 60 was extended from Oxnard to El Rio in 1925. The latter law made Route 60 a continuous coastal loop, with both ends at Route 2 (now I-5 and US 101).^[8] Route 56 was extended further south to Route 2 in San Luis Obispo in 1931.^[9]

A large expansion of the state highway system in 1933 resulted in Route 56 being extended in both directions. To the south, a second section was added, beginning at Pismo Beach on Route 2 and heading south through Guadalupe and Lompoc to Route 2 near Las Cruces. (A short piece near Orcutt had been part of Route 2, which followed present SR 135.) To the north, Route 56 was continued along the coast from Carmel through Santa Cruz to San Francisco. Several disjoint pieces were added north of San Francisco, one from Route 1 (US 101) north of the Golden Gate to the county line near Valley Ford, another from the Russian River near Jenner (where the new Route 104 ended) to Westport, and a third from Ferndale to Route 1 near Fernbridge. Except for the gaps in Route 56 north of San Francisco, these additions completed the coastal highway, with other sections formed by Routes 1, 2, and 71.^[10]^[11]

When state routes were marked in 1934, Route 56 (Las Cruces to Fernbridge, including the gaps) became Sign Route 1, and Route 60 (San Juan Capistrano to El Rio) became Sign Route 3.^[12] The latter became U.S. Route 101 Alternate by 1936, as both ends were at US 101; this change also allowed the extension of US 66 to end at another U.S. Route.^[13] The gaps were finally filled in 1951, though the Department of Public Works was not required to maintain the newly-added portions immediately. A short connection from near Rockport to Route 1 at Leggett was also included,^[14] as the existing county road north from Rockport to Ferndale had not yet been paved.^[15] The Route 1 designation was legislatively adopted in the 1964 renumbering for both Routes 56 and 60, replacing US 101 Alternate on the latter; the Leggett connection became State Route 208.^[16] However, until 1968, the portion along 19th Avenue was officially part of Interstate 280, with SR 1 following present I-280 to the SR 82 interchange.^[17] In 1980, another section was added northwest of Ventura, when US 101 was moved to a new alignment,^[18] and in 1984 SR 1 replaced SR 208, with the old alignment to Fernbridge, never constructed south of Ferndale, becoming SR 211.^[19] This part of the Pacific coast, the only long section in California not served by a state highway, has been termed California's "Lost Coast".

Major intersections and exit list