State Route 149 (SR 149) is a short state highway in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
that helps to connect
Oroville and
Chico through rural
Butte County. Connecting
State Route 70 at Wicks Corner with
State Route 99 east of
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
*Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in No ...
, it forms part of the primary north–south highway through the eastern
Sacramento Valley
, photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg
, photo_caption= Sacramento
, map_image=Map california central valley.jpg
, map_caption= The Central Valley of California
, location = California, United States
, coordinates =
, boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...
, a Focus Route of the
Interregional Road System.
SR 149 was formerly part of the Oroville-Chico Highway; the majority of the latter was merged into other routes. In the mid-1970s, the highway was reallocated onto a newer two-lane alignment. A project to widen the two-lane road to a four-lane
expressway
Expressway may refer to:
* Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
* Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional s ...
was completed in late 2008, removing the
bottleneck
Bottleneck literally refers to the narrowed portion (neck) of a bottle
A bottle is a narrow-necked container made of an impermeable material (such as glass, plastic or aluminium) in various shapes and sizes that stores and transports liquids ...
from the Oroville-Chico highway.
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
Butte 70/149/99 Highway Improvement Project
Retrieved February 2008.
Route description
State Route 149 begins at Wicks Corner as a divided highway, at an interchange with
SR 70 several miles north of
Oroville. This is the north end of the State Route 70
freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
, which passes through a gap between the
Campbell Hills
The Campbell Hills are a low range of hills in southern Butte County, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately ...
and
South Table Mountain on its way from Oroville. SR 149 heads northwest across gently rolling terrain before descending into the valley of the
Dry Creek. As it begins to climb out of the valley, SR 149 ends at an interchange with
SR 99. The latter highway continues the corridor northwest to
Chico, quickly dropping back into the
Butte Creek valley.
The route is a divided highway with four lanes.
SR 149 is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System
The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (commenci ...
,
and is 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
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
.
History
By the late 1910s, a "natural prairie road" linked
Oroville to
State Highway Route 3 southeast of
Chico, following the present Table Mountain Boulevard, Openshaw Road, and Oroville-Chico Highway to Midway (Route 3). The primary route between these two cities was the all-state highway route, following
Route 21 (now
SR 162) west from Oroville to Route 3 near
Richvale
Richvale (also, Richland, Silbys Switch, Silsby) is a small census-designated place (population 244) in Butte County, California, US, south of Chico and west of Oroville. The primary crop grown in the area surrounding Richvale is rice, irriga ...
.
Butte County dedicated a newly improved Oroville-Chico Highway on July 4, 1926; it became part of the state highway system in 1933 as the northern portion of the
Woodland
A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...
-Chico
Route 87. (The rest of Route 87 became part of
Sign Route 24, which turned east at Oroville along present
State Route 70, in 1934.)
In the 1950s and 1960s, about three-quarters of the Oroville-Chico Highway was absorbed by other routes. A new two-lane alignment of
U.S. Route 99E
The following roads have been numbered 99E:
United States
* U.S. Route 99E (central California), Manteca to Stockton
* U.S. Route 99E (northern California), Sacramento to Red Bluff
* U.S. Route 99E (Oregon)
* Oregon Route 99E
Oregon Route 99E i ...
(
Legislative Route 3, now
SR 99) between east of
Richvale
Richvale (also, Richland, Silbys Switch, Silsby) is a small census-designated place (population 244) in Butte County, California, US, south of Chico and west of Oroville. The primary crop grown in the area surrounding Richvale is rice, irriga ...
and Chico opened in the mid-1950s, using part of the Oroville-Chico Highway south of Durham Dayton Highway and bypassing the remainder to the junction south of Chico.
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
Index to California Highways and Public Works
1937-1967, June 1997, p. 75 In the early 1960s, U.S. Route 40 Alternate
U.S. Route 40 has at least eight extant special routes.
Current routes WaKeeney business loop
U.S. Route 40 Business (US-40 Bus.) is a business route through WaKeeney, Kansas, that was recommended in 1979 as substitute for the formerly pro ...
( Legislative Route 21, now SR 70) was relocated due to the damming of Lake Oroville
Lake Oroville is a reservoir formed by the Oroville Dam impounding the Feather River, located in Butte County, northern California. The lake is situated northeast of the city of Oroville, within the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area, in the ...
across its old alignment. The bridge over the West Branch Feather River northwest of the dam opened in August 1962, resulting in US 40 Alt. using the Oroville-Chico Highway (which was relocated to a new four-lane freeway
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms ...
alignment) south of Wicks Corner. The remainder, which was never part of a sign route, became Route 149 in the 1964 renumbering.[: "Route 149 is from Route 70 near Wicks Corner to Route 99 near Chico."]
SR 149 was relocated onto a new two-lane alignment in the mid-1970s, leaving behind Openshaw Road.[ Caltrans began studies for interchanges at each end in September 1992. The ]California Transportation Commission
The California Transportation Commission (CTC) is an independent government transportation commission established in 1978. The CTC replaced and assumed the responsibilities of four prior independent agencies, the California Highway Commission, ...
approved funding for four-laning SR 149 in April 1994 and the two interchanges in May 1996, with construction to begin in 1998 and cost $47 million. Due to state budget problems and the need to study environmental impacts
Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...
, the project was repeatedly pushed back; these impacts and inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reductio ...
had more than doubled the cost to $120 million in 2004. In particular, an endangered species
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...
of meadowfoam
''Limnanthes'', the type genus of the family Limnanthaceae, consists of annual herbaceous plants commonly known as the meadowfoams. The seven species are all native to coastal and adjoining regions (inland valleys, foothills and mountains) of we ...
was discovered on the south embankment, forcing a redesign. Construction began in September 2005 on a new freshwater
Fresh water or freshwater is any naturally occurring liquid or frozen water containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids. Although the term specifically excludes seawater and brackish water, it does include ...
marsh
A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...
near the State Route 70 intersection to replace beaver pond
A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way th ...
s in the path of the highway, and it was completed in March 2006.[
Ground was broken for the highway project in April 2006, with major construction beginning in May.]Chico Enterprise-Record
The ''Chico Enterprise-Record'' is the daily newspaper of Chico, California. Also known as the E-R, the newspaper was first published in Bidwell Bar, California as the Butte Record in 1853 and is now part of the MediaNews Group corporation, who ...
Project has taken a long time to get to this point
, July 21, 2006 Caltrans estimated completion in late 2009 for the completion of the four-lane expressway
Expressway may refer to:
* Controlled-access highway, the highest-grade type of highway with access ramps, lane markings, etc., for high-speed traffic.
* Limited-access road, a lower grade of highway or arterial road.
*Expressway, the fictional s ...
, including a new directional interchange at each end, at which State Route 70 and State Route 99 will exit and enter to the right of the main Oroville-Chico movement. Most access was closed, with Shippee Road providing the sole at-grade crossing of the expressway, and an overcrossing near State Route 70 giving access to local property. Shippee Road was relocated to the southeast, allowing for the future construction of an interchange. In addition, State Route 70 was relocated to the west between SR 149 and State Route 191, and local access on State Route 99 between SR 149 and the Durham Dayton Highway interchange was replaced by frontage road
A frontage road (also known as an access road, outer road, service road, feeder road, or parallel road) is a local road running parallel to a higher-speed, limited-access road. A frontage road is often used to provide access to private drivew ...
s.[ The entire project was completed in November 2008,] at a cost of $125 million.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
External links
*California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the cabinet-level California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA). Caltrans is headquartered in Sacrame ...
Butte 70/149/99 Highway Improvement Project
California Highway Conditions: SR 149
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149
State Route 149
U.S. Route 99
U.S. Route 40