California Highways: Route by Route Bonus,History CA RxR 3.15: LA Metro Archives (Bonus)

CA RxR 3.15: LA Metro Archives (Bonus)

September 22, 2025September 22, 2025| DanielDaniel| 0 Comment| 11:45 am
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A New Year’s Gift for you: Our last Bonus Episode of Season 3. Episode 3.15 features an interview with Claire Kennedy, Archivist for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Agency (LA Metro). In this role, Claire manages the LA Metro Archives, which date back to the 1800s and the earliest horse-drawn transportation in the city. These archives cover not only the wide variety of transit agencies in Los Angeles, but also the highway and road system as Metro is the Regional Transportation Agency. These archives are a public resource, and are open by appointment; information on how to make an appointment is in the podcast (and below). Note that we had some trouble with Zencastr this episode; we fell back to FreeConferenceCall.com. We’ll pick up in the October with Season 4, which will cover Route 8 through Route 14.

Here’s the link to the show:

And here’s the link on Spotify for Creators:

Here are some relevant links (I may edit this to add more links in later):

We encourage you to explore our back catalog through this site or our Spotify for Creators home.

 

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Episode 1.02: Building a State Highway System: The 1920sEpisode 1.02: Building a State Highway System: The 1920s

August 13, 2022August 13, 2022| DanielDaniel| 0 Comments| 8:57 am

This first season of California Highways: Route by Route establishes the background listeners will need for our subsequent route by route podcasts. We’re starting with a history of the state highway system. In Episode 1.01, we discussed how the highway system started and got through the first three bond acts that created a large number of today’s routes. This second episode explores the 1920s: the start of the gas tax, the Melville Act that allowed the state to take over traversable highways through small cities that cannot afford them, as opposed to just rural highways between cities, the impact of the Breed Bill, and the establishment of the Division of Highways (today’s Caltrans). We’ll go over some of the major highways added during this time period, and most importantly, we’ll discuss the start of the Federal Highway system, better known today as the US Highways. We’ve got a special interview related to that subject: Joel Windmiller, President of the California Chapter of the Lincoln Highway Association.

Here’s the link to the show:

Here’s a link to the show on anchor.fm:

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CARxR Ep. 1.04: Expanding the State Highway System after WWIICARxR Ep. 1.04: Expanding the State Highway System after WWII

October 14, 2022October 14, 2022| DanielDaniel| 0 Comment| 6:33 pm

In this episode, we’re continuing to explore the history of the State Highway System, focusing on the period as WWII was ending, the Interstate system was emerging, and the construction boom was starting. This is part of our first season of California Highways: Route by Route, where we are exploring the background needed for our route by route journey. In this episode, we see the birth of the Freeway System in California, starting with the Collier-Burns act increasing state funding for highways, and State and Federal recommendations for higher-capacity systems. We see the growth in cities and urban areas pushing demand for the same, leading to the definition of the Freeway and Expressway System. We cover the passage of the 1956 Interstate Highway Act, and the subsequent freeway conversion and construction boom. Our guest interview is with Dr. Jonathan L. Gifford of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. He is also the director of the Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy. His doctoral dissertation examined the history and development of the interstate highway system from its origins in the 1930s through its design and deployment in the 1960s and beyond.

Here’s the link to the show:

And here’s the link on Anchor.FM:

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CA RxR 2.06: Route 1: Pacifica and San FranciscoCA RxR 2.06: Route 1: Pacifica and San Francisco

January 12, 2024January 12, 2024| DanielDaniel| 0 Comment| 5:00 am

Episode 2.06 of California Highways: Route by Route continues our exploration of Route 1 by exploring everything about Route 1 from Pacifica, just N of the Tom Lantos Tunnels near Montara (in San Mateo Couny) to and through San Francisco up to the Golden Gate Bridge. This includes communities such as Pacifica, Daly City, and of course, San Francisco. As always, we go over the history of this segment of the route, the history of the route through various communities , the freeway plans, discuss relinquishments, names, and some current plans (although there’s not much in the relinquishment or plans area). As part of the freeway plans in the area, we include a discussion of the freeway revolt and some broader plans for San Francisco. Looking forward, episode 2.07 will continue our exploration of Route 1 with something Route 1-adjacent: The Golden Gate Bridge.

Here’s the link to the show:

 

And here’s the link on Spotify for Podcasters:

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