In this episode, we conclude our exploration the history of the State Highway System with the last episode in this 6-part miniseries. This episode focused on the post-1969 era in the stat highway system: the changes in the highway system after 1969; the impact of the environmental quality acts, and the growing involvement of the regional transportation agencies. We also explore the changes in governance of state highways.
Our interview is with Gary Ruggerone, who was the Caltrans District 5 Environmental Branch Chief from June 1980 until December 2010 when he retired from Caltrans. He started as as an Environmental Planner in D7 in March 1979, one of 5 environmental planners hired off the very first Environmental Planner Civil Service Exam. He was directly involved with Caltrans during the early days of CEQA and NEPA and is joining us to provide valuable insight on the impact of the CEQA. Gary is currently the Owner/Principal Environmental Planner of Piedra Environmental Consultants, a local environmental planning firm specializing in CEQA and NEPA analysis and regulatory permit compliance for transportation-related projects. A life-long resident of California, Gary earned a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona, and a Master of Arts in Population Aquatic Biology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Here’s the link to the show:
And here’s the link on Anchor.FM:
Here are some relevant links for the episode (I’ll likely edit this to add more links in later):
- California Highways – Chronology: Phase VI: A Final Spurt (1970-1996)
- California Highways – Chronology: Local Control and Relinquishments (1997-Present)
- Gribblenation: Hidden California State Route 710 and the Pasadena Gap in the Long Beach Freeway
- CEQA: The California Environmental Quality Act
- USEPA: National Environmental Policy Act Review Process
- Caltrans: Standard Environmental Reference (SER)
- CTC: State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP)
- CTC: State Highway Operation and Protection Program (SHOPP) and Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP)
Episode 1.07 will start our next background miniseries, which will look at numbering in the state. We’ll start off with an exploration of the patterns of state highway numbering and postmiles. We’ll continue with 1.08, which will explore US highway numbering; 1.09, which will explore Interstate numbering and all things Interstate; and 1.10, which will look at the County Sign Route system. As always, we’re looking for interviews for future episodes. If you have any leads, please contact us:
- For 1.08: Someone familiar with AASHTO’s role in highway numbering.
- For 1.09: Someone familiar with an interesting aspect of the Interstate Numbering process. This will be a short interview, as the episode itself looks to be long. We might talk to one of the maintainers of an Interstate website.
- For 1.10: Someone familiar with the county sign route system, either from the Caltrans office that coordinates the program or the a county Public Works person.
We encourage you to explore our back catalog through this site or our Anchor.FM home.