Interstate – California Highways: Route by Route

CARxR 1.11: Highway NamingCARxR 1.11: Highway Naming

May 28, 2023| Daniel| 0 Comment| 4:27 pm

In our penultimate episode of the season, we explore highways and their names. Tom and Daniel discuss how highways got their names in the past, as well as how highways are named today through the legislature. You’ll see a discussion of historical names, destination-based names, and memorial names. We’ll also explore auto trail names, as well as some of the more notorious names that highways have been given. Lastly, listen until after the end credits for a discussion about an aspect of naming that people often forget.

Our last episode in the season will explore the organizations related to the state highways. We’ll then have a short hiatus while we write season two, and then we’ll start exploring the California state highway system, route by route.

Here’s the link to the show:

And here’s the link on Spotify for Podcasters:

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CARxR 1.09: Highway Numbering: Interstate HighwaysCARxR 1.09: Highway Numbering: Interstate Highways

March 25, 2023| Daniel| 0 Comment| 1:04 pm

In this episode, we continue our exploration of numbering of state highways by turning our attention to the Interstate Highway system. This system, started in 1956, uses the red, white, and blue shields. It is the third episode in a four part miniseries on highway numbers in California. In this episode we talk about the history of the Interstate Highway system, how the Interstate Highways are numbered, the history of California’s chargable interstates (i.e., highways that counted towards the federal 42,500 mile limit), the history of California’s non-chargeable interstates, some interstate submissions that were never approved, and we opine about some of the most common questions about California interstates.

There is no interview. We’re going to move the interview segments into separate bonus episodes, owing to the difficulty of obtaining and scheduling the interviews.

The remaining episode in this miniseries will explore the numbering of and the history of California’s signed county route system.

Here’s the link to the show:

And here’s the link on Spotify for Podcasters:

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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, 2022| Daniel| 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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Episode 0.02 – Route 105 – It Only Takes a Century (Sample Episode)Episode 0.02 – Route 105 – It Only Takes a Century (Sample Episode)

May 28, 2022| Daniel| 0 Comment| 4:18 pm

This is a sample episode to show what the Route by Route format will be, as we don’t expect to start exploring routes until the second season. The first season will be mostly background: The history of the California State Highway system, explorations of how highways are numbers, exploring how highways are named, and the entities you’ll be hearing about in the episodes, such as the CTC. But we know you want the routes, so we decided to do a sample one for you. This episode focuses on Route 105.

The episode covers the following topics:

Legislative Route 105
1965-1968 Interstate 105
Post 1968 Interstate 105 – The Century Freeway
Why I-105 doesn’t end at I-5
The construction and the consent decree
Names on the Highway
Significant Problems
Major Current Projects

Here’s the link to the show:

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

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