State Route 33 (SR 33) is a north–south
state highway
A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...
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 sove ...
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 ...
. It runs north from
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
in
Ventura through the
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
and the western side of the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
to
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
at a point east of
Tracy. SR 33 replaced part of
U.S. Route 399
U.S. Route 399 was a U.S. Highway in the state of California that ran from Ventura to Bakersfield. It was established in 1934 and decommissioned in 1964, as it was only long, less than the minimum that the American Association of State Highway ...
in 1964 during the "great renumbering" of routes. In the unincorporated sections of
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
it is known as the West Side Highway. In addition, the
California Legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legislatu ...
designated the entire Kern County portion as the Petroleum Highway in 2004. The southernmost portion in Ventura is a freeway known as the Ojai Freeway, while it is known as the Maricopa Highway from
Ojai
Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...
to
Maricopa
Maricopa can refer to:
Places
* Maricopa, Arizona, United States, a city
** Maricopa Freeway, a piece of I-10 in Metropolitan Phoenix
** Maricopa station, an Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona
* Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
* Marico ...
.
Route description
State Route 33 begins in
Ventura as a short
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 ...
("Ojai Freeway"). SR 33 then continues north as Maricopa Highway, an undivided surface road, through
Ojai
Ojai ( ; Chumash: ''’Awhaỳ'') is a city in Ventura County, California. Located in the Ojai Valley, it is northwest of Los Angeles and east of Santa Barbara. The valley is part of the east–west trending Western Transverse Ranges and is ...
, following Matilija Canyon past the easternmost extremity of the
Santa Ynez Mountains
The Santa Ynez Mountains are a portion of the Transverse Ranges, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges of the west coast of North America. It is the westernmost range in the Transverse Ranges.
The range is a large fault block of Cenozoic age create ...
in
Los Padres National Forest
Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...
, and passing over the
Transverse Ranges
The Transverse Ranges are a group of mountain ranges of southern California, in the Pacific Coast Ranges physiographic region in North America. The Transverse Ranges begin at the southern end of the California Coast Ranges and lie within Santa ...
at Pine Mountain Summit. As SR 33 comes down into the Cuyama Valley, it comes up to a junction with
SR 166
The following highways are numbered 166:
Canada
* Prince Edward Island Route 166
India
* National Highway 166 (India)
Japan
* Japan National Route 166
United States
* U.S. Route 166
* Alabama State Route 166
* Arizona State Route 166 (former ...
east of
Cuyama. Route 33 continues with Route 166 as they enter
Kern County
Kern County is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 909,235. Its county seat is Bakersfield.
Kern County comprises the Bakersfield, California, Metropolitan statistical area. The county sp ...
for about to
Maricopa
Maricopa can refer to:
Places
* Maricopa, Arizona, United States, a city
** Maricopa Freeway, a piece of I-10 in Metropolitan Phoenix
** Maricopa station, an Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona
* Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
* Marico ...
where the routes separate. In Maricopa, Route 33 turns northwest, following the western side of the
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven ...
. Between
Taft and
Avenal
Avenal (Spanish for "Oat field") is a city in Kings County, California, United States. Avenal is located southwest of Hanford, at an elevation of . It is part of the Hanford– Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA Code 25260), which en ...
it roughly parallels
Interstate 5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
and the eastern foothills of the
Temblor and
Diablo ranges; for the first of the portion following the axis of the
Midway-Sunset Oil Field
The Midway-Sunset Oil Field is a large oil field in Kern County, San Joaquin Valley, California in the United States. It is the largest known oilfield in California and the third largest in the United States.
The field was discovered in 1894, ...
. Northwest of Avenal, it turns due west to enter
Coalinga
Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas.
It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''.
Th ...
, then turns northeast and soon becomes
concurrent
Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to:
Law
* Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea''
* Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with I-5 for . Thereafter, it departs due north near
Cantua Creek, turns northwest at
Mendota, through
Firebaugh and meets
State Route 152 in
Dos Palos
Dos Palos (Spanish for "Two Timbers") is a city in Merced County, California, United States. Dos Palos is located south-southwest of Merced, the county seat, at an elevation of . The population was 5,798 at the 2020 census, up from 4,950 at the ...
, in which it runs concurrently due west for approximately ten miles. It departs again west of
Los Banos, turning north to
Santa Nella (where it has an interchange with I-5), and roughly parallels I-5 and the
San Joaquin River
The San Joaquin River (; es, Río San Joaquín) is the longest river of Central California. The long river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through the rich agricultural region of the northern San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suis ...
until its northern terminus at I-5 and Bird Road southeast of Tracy.
When passing through the Avenal/Coalinga area travelers pass near a series of prisons and government facilities. They include:
Avenal State Prison
Avenal State Prison (ASP) is a male-only state prison in the city of Avenal, Kings County, California, United States.
Facilities
The structures on ASP's include "17 open dorm buildings, six 200-bed open dorm E-bed buildings, six converted gymna ...
,
Pleasant Valley State Prison
Pleasant Valley State Prison (PVSP) is a minimum-to-maximum security state prison in Coalinga, Fresno County, California. The facility has housed convicted murderers Sirhan Sirhan, Erik Menendez, X-Raided, and Hans Reiser, among others.
Hist ...
, and the
Coalinga State Hospital
Coalinga State Hospital (CSH) is a state mental hospital in Coalinga, California.
The facility opened on September 5, 2005; it was the first state hospital to be constructed in California in more than 50 years. It is a maximum security facilit ...
.
In the portions of the route in
Kern
KERN (1180 AM broadcasting, AM) is a commercial radio, commercial radio station city of license, licensed to Wasco, California, Wasco-Greenacres, California, and serving the Bakersfield metropolitan area. The station is owned by American General ...
and
Fresno Counties, SR 33 passes through one of the United States' largest
petroleum
Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crud ...
extraction fields, with hundreds of nodding oil pumps along the highway. Some of the fields visible from the highway include the Midway-Sunset,
South
South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
North Belridge,
Cymric,
McKittrick,
Lost Hills, and
Coalinga
Coalinga ( or ) is a city in Fresno County and the western San Joaquin Valley, in central California about 80 miles (128 km) southeast of Salinas.
It was formerly known as ''Coaling Station A'', ''Coalingo'', and ''Coalinga Station''.
Th ...
oil fields.
Most of SR 33's route passes through sparsely populated, relatively desolate portions of the San Joaquin Valley. Travelers along it should use caution, since emergency services are typically dozens of miles away. Carrying extra water and coolant is especially advised, since summertime temperatures in the area routinely surpass .
Several segments of this route are 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 ...
,
but only two segments, one south of the northern city limits of Ojai, and one near SR 152 are 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 ...
.
Several segments are eligible to be included in the
State Scenic Highway System;
however, only the portion from 6.4 miles north of the
SR 150 junction to the Ventura–Santa Barbara county line is a scenic highway as designated by
Caltrans
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an Executive (government), executive department of the U.S. state of California. The department is part of the Government of California#State agencies, cabinet-level California State Tran ...
,
meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.
This scenic segment is also designated as part of the Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway, a
National Forest Scenic Byway
The National Forest Scenic Byways are roads that have been designated by the U.S. Forest Service as scenic byways. Many are also National Scenic Byways (NSB). The program was initiated in 1987.
__TOC__
List
The following roadways were listed by t ...
.
History
Before the US 399 designation was deleted in 1964, SR 33 followed
SR 166
The following highways are numbered 166:
Canada
* Prince Edward Island Route 166
India
* National Highway 166 (India)
Japan
* Japan National Route 166
United States
* U.S. Route 166
* Alabama State Route 166
* Arizona State Route 166 (former ...
east from
US 99
U.S. Route 99 (US 99) was a main north–south United States Numbered Highway on the West Coast of the United States until 1964, running from Calexico, California, on the US–Mexico border to Blaine, Washington, on the U.S.-Canada borde ...
at
Wheeler Ridge
Wheeler Ridge is an unincorporated community in the southwestern San Joaquin Valley, within Kern County, California. It is at the junction of the valley floor and the Wheeler Ridge landform of the Tehachapi Mountains.
Geography
The community is ...
to
Maricopa
Maricopa can refer to:
Places
* Maricopa, Arizona, United States, a city
** Maricopa Freeway, a piece of I-10 in Metropolitan Phoenix
** Maricopa station, an Amtrak station in Maricopa, Arizona
* Maricopa County, Arizona, United States
* Marico ...
in lieu of the segment from Ventura to Maricopa, and followed the old US highway from Taft to Maricopa. Today, SR 166 remains on the segment between Wheeler Ridge and Maricopa.
SR 33 used to extend north to
Interstate 205
Interstate 205 may refer to either of two unconnected Interstate Highways in the United States, both of which are related to Interstate 5
* Interstate 205 (California), a connector in the San Francisco Bay Area
* Interstate 205 (Oregon–Washing ...
in Tracy, but this segment was relinquished after the segment of Interstate 5 from SR 33 to I-205 was completed.
When Caltrans implemented its
exit numbering program in 2002, SR 33's section of the Ojai Freeway was not included and is one of the very few stretches of freeway in California to not feature exit numbers.
Major intersections
See also
*
References
Further reading
*.
External links
California @ AARoads.com - State Route 33Caltrans: Route 33 highway conditions
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Los Padres National Forest