California State Route 125

State Route 125 (SR 125) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that serves as a north–south freeway in the San Diego area. It runs from SR 11 and SR 905 in Otay Mesa, near the Mexican border, to SR 52 in Santee. SR 125 also connects SR 54, SR 94, and I-8.

The first parts of SR 125 were added to the state highway system in 1933, connecting Route 94 with US 80. In the 1964 state highway renumbering, what was signed as Route 67 was transferred to the new SR 125. After several delays in funding and in planning, the highway was extended north to SR 52 and south to SR 54 in the early 2000s.

The southern portion of SR 125 from SR 11 and SR 905 to SR 54 near Chula Vista is a toll road called the South Bay Expressway. This portion was completed in 2007 after many years of planning and litigation related to concerns over the destruction of endangered species habitat. The toll road was operated by a public-private partnership known as South Bay Expressway LLC. However, the partnership declared bankruptcy in 2010 and sold the road to the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) in 2011. Since then, following a decrease in the toll amount, traffic using the highway has increased.

The definition of the SR 125 route continues to SR 56, but this portion has not been constructed, and there are no plans to do so.

Route description

SR 125 begins as the South Bay Expressway toll road at an interchange with SR 11 and SR 905. The route heads north through an undeveloped area, encountering its first toll plaza just before entering the city of Chula Vista. The freeway cuts through the Eastlake neighborhood of Chula Vista before leaving the city and turning to the northeast, passing through Sweetwater Summit Regional Park near Sweetwater Reservoir. SR 125 intersects with SR 54, where the tolled portion ends. SR 54 runs concurrently with SR 125 north to the Jamacha Road exit. SR 125 continues north again through the unincorporated area of La Presa. The freeway briefly enters Lemon Grove before intersecting with SR 94 and crossing into the city of La Mesa.

Passing to the west of Mount Helix, SR 125 interchanges with I-8 before continuing north through the city of El Cajon near Grossmont College. The freeway continues into suburban Santee, where the route terminates just north of the SR 52 interchange. Traffic can continue onto SR 52 or Mission Gorge Road at the terminus.

SR 125 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, 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 route is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System, but it is only a scenic highway from SR 94 to I-8 as designated by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), 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. In 2018, SR 125 had an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 10,200 vehicles between the Otay River Bridge and Olympic Parkway, and 183,000 vehicles between SR 94 and Lemon Avenue, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.

History

Route 67

Added to the state highway system in 1933, and defined in 1935, Route 198 extended from US 80 onto La Mesa Boulevard and Palm Avenue to SR 94 by 1938. In 1947, the San Diego County Highway Development Association requested that the highway from Sixth Avenue in Mission Valley to US 80 be constructed as a freeway. Although state senator Fred Kraft criticized the proposal in July 1953 because he believed that it would be too expensive and would not reduce congestion in the long-term, especially around the junction with US 80 in Grossmont, approval for the Route 94 freeway extended to the junction with US 80 by October, with the Grossmont part of the route signed as Route 67. The Route 67 freeway was completed in March 1957, from Campo Road and Route 94 to US 80; the project was completed for $1,625,000 (about $ in dollars).

Planning and Poway extension

Planning for what would become SR 125 north of I-8 began in 1954. Route 282 was defined as a route from Brown Field through La Mesa extending to Route 277 in 1959, and in 1961 the latter terminus was changed to Route 278. The California Highway Commission selected a route for the highway in mid-1963. In the 1964 state highway renumbering, SR 125 was designated as the highway from SR 75 near Brown Field to SR 56. Route 198 was renumbered as SR 67; the portion south of I-8 was renumbered as SR 125.

In early 1964, the La Mesa City Council expressed their preference for Route 282, which had been nicknamed the Ramona Freeway, to run on the routing of Fletcher Parkway, contrary to local businesses that wanted the highway to be routed west of the parkway. A few months later, state engineer Jacob Dekema indicated that there were four routes under consideration for the portion from Brown Field to Sweetwater Lake. The project would not be completed until well after 1972. The state had selected a route for that part of the highway by June, and for the routing west of Fletcher Parkway extending to Mission Gorge Road by July. The following year, the California Highway Commission approved a routing north of Mission Gorge Road into Poway and ending at SR 56.

In the 1970s, planning continued for the construction of the route, as well as modifications to the existing roadway. The City of La Mesa began discussions regarding adding SR 125 from SR 94 to I-8 into the scenic highway system in 1968; the county Planning Commission continued pursuing these plans in 1970. SR 125 was lengthened by the Legislature to extend to the Mexican border in 1972. In 1973, then-governor Ronald Reagan vetoed a bill to delete part of SR 125 from state plans, over concerns that not enough transportation studies had been done on the matter. An improved interchange with SR 94 was being planned the next year. Soon after, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) raised concerns about the remainder of SR 125 not being constructed, due to objections from the community relating to freeway construction in general.

Construction began on the SR 94 interchange in October, and continued into late 1975, at a cost of $11 million (about $ in dollars). Parts of the interchange with SR 94 were open by July 20. The City of Chula Vista considered SR 125 as possibly having scenic value when constructed, and considered asking the state to add it to the state highway system; this influenced a rule that construction projects near possible scenic routes in the city had to take natural aesthetics into account. The La Mesa City Council asked the state to modify the interchange with I-8 in July; the original interchange did not allow for access to SR 125 from I-8 east or to I-8 west from SR 125.

In January of the following year, state Assemblyman Wadie Deddeh proposed legislation to remove the southern portion of SR 125 from the state highway plans again. Soon afterward, the Comprehensive Planning Organization (CPO) moved to support retaining SR 125 from Poway to Santee in the county transportation plan, despite opposition from a county supervisor and the mayor of Escondido. Deddeh's bill passed the state Assembly Transportation Committee a month later; in the meeting, Deddeh noted the construction of I-805 to handle the traffic demands of the region, as well as a lack of funding that would result in the construction being delayed for at least 20 years. Despite a petition from the mayor of Escondido, the CPO again declined to remove SR 125 from the county transportation plan in March.

The new interchange with SR 94 was completed in July 1976. In August, the California Highway Commission (CHC) announced that SR 75 south of SR 54 had been removed from the state highway plan. The next year, the county supervisor, a San Diego City councilman, and the mayors of La Mesa and National City wrote a letter to then-Governor Jerry Brown to ask that this portion of SR 125 and other freeways be constructed. There were concerns about the types of congestion seen in Los Angeles coming to San Diego due to the incomplete freeway system. San Diego City Councilman Tom Gade wrote a telegram to the Caltrans Director Adriana Gianturco about the possible deletions; in response, Gianturco clarified that the plans were only being reconsidered and had not been removed, and a CHC member criticized the tone of the original telegram, calling it "intemperate." However, the city of Chula Vista was opposed to the construction at the time, which was a factor in the removal of SR 125 from the highway plans.

In March 1980, the CPO approved the funding for the redesign of the interchange with I-8. By early 1980, SR 125 was denoted with signs saying "To 94" at Grossmont Summit; plans were to provide access north to Fletcher Parkway in the revamp of the interchange. On December 30, 1980, the City of Poway included SR 56 in the city plan extending east through the city to a northern extension of SR 125.

By 1981, an environmental impact report had been completed on the proposed changes to the I-8 intersection, and the $50 million (about $ in dollars) project to add ramps and widen I-8 was awaiting clearance from the Federal Highway Administration. That year, Poway removed SR 125 from their city plan, leading to a lawsuit from the City of San Diego. In 1983, both the cities of San Diego and Poway supported the extension of SR 56 to SR 67, although the City of Poway wanted the route moved and had reservations about the freeway ending there. The next year, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) suggested routing SR 125 through the city of Poway, rather than terminating the route further to the south as Poway had requested. Jacob Dekema was asked to advise the city of Poway in the dispute following his departure from the Caltrans district director position.

The proposal to extend SR 125 north into Poway was discussed as late as 2003 by a local advisory group working with the San Diego Association of Governments. The City of Poway opposed the plan in 2001, saying that SR 67 should be improved instead; it had been removed from city plans in 1980. So far, no proposals to extend SR 125 further north have been included in SANDAG's 2050 Regional Transportation Plan.

Construction from SR 52 to SR 54

In 1986, the project revamping the I-8 interchange was under way, at a cost of $80 million (about $ in dollars); it would allow for SR 125 to be extended north past I-8 to Fletcher Parkway. That year, SR 125 was truncated to begin at SR 905 by the Legislature, as the latter was formed as a route from I-5 to the border. In 1988, work was under way to add lanes to SR 125 from south of Lemon Avenue to the northern terminus, at a cost of $17.2 million. The next year, some Bonita residents raised objections about the proposed extension south of La Mesa, as they were concerned about additional congestion and urbanization from the freeway going through Bonita.

The California Transportation Commission decided to reallocate the funding for the part of SR 125 from SR 94 to SR 54; they shifted it towards finishing the 40th Street portion of I-15. A year later, the city of Santee expressed concerns about expanding SR 125 and SR 52 to Santee before both those roadways were connected to SR 67, due to the increased traffic that would result. However, Caltrans said this was unavoidable due to a lack of funds to make the connections right away.

La Mesa residents also expressed concerns about the destruction of homes under some of the proposals for the Amaya Drive interchange design, which the city council also endorsed. However, the council approved the construction and design of the Fletcher Parkway interchange in January 1991, over those objections. Further interchange-related concerns were raised from Lemon Grove homeowners the next year. In August 1993, Caltrans agreed to design the new freeway to keep it west of the Sweetwater Reservoir, which satisfied Spring Valley while raising concerns from those living in Bonita, who would be closer to this new routing.

The northern portion of SR 125 would be built in stages, at the same time as the portion south of SR 94. The reconstruction of the interchange with I-8 was completed in April 1993. The construction process began in April 1996, at a cost of $177 million in sales tax revenue. The first phase of the construction of the eastern portion of the SR 54 freeway corresponded with the construction of SR 125 north of Jamacha Boulevard to SR 94; construction began in 1996 at the cost of $313.5 million, using money from sales tax revenue. The plans were to exclude the controversial ramps at Troy and Palm streets. After weather-related construction delays due to the El Niño season of the winter of 1997–1998, as well as a contractor declaring bankruptcy, the extension of SR 52 between Mission Gorge Road and SR 125 was dedicated on May 9, 1998, as well as SR 125 from Mission Gorge Road to Grossmont College Drive.

Others raised some complaints during construction on the freeway south of SR 94. A proposed drainage basin raised concerns about a potential breeding ground for mosquitoes being located near homes. Caltrans was later ordered by local courts to pay settlements in the millions of dollars to local business owners for undervaluing property taken by eminent domain.

The portion from Fletcher Parkway to ramps located at Amaya Drive was finished at the beginning of 2001. The segment north to Navajo Road was due to open later that year, and the part from there to Grossmont College Drive was to begin construction in early 2001.

The H. Lee House, a historic site built in 1928, was relocated by Caltrans for $1.5 million to the City Center Park in Lemon Grove. The portion from SR 94 to Jamacha Boulevard was completed in 2003 for $277 million; at this time, the only part of the freeway from SR 54 to SR 52 not complete was between Navajo Road and Grossmont College Drive. During the construction, residents were inconvenienced by dirt, excess noise, and lights operating at nighttime. The entire freeway from SR 52 to I-8 was completed by mid-2004.

South Bay Expressway

Construction

Environmental impact studies began on the part of SR 125 south of SR 54 in 1987. In 1990, Caltrans proposed building the southern portion as a toll road, operated by private firms; California Transportation Ventures (CTV) and PrivaCAL both applied for the role. In September, state officials approved this proposal, which was expected to cost $400 million. In the 1991 agreement, Caltrans agreed not to build more than one high-occupancy vehicle lane in each direction on I-805 to reduce competition from SR 125. CTV soon declared that they would be considering many potential routings for the road, including some that Caltrans had declined. The next year, while the company hoped to start the environmental impact study, objections were raised about increased pollution and traffic from the road, as well as the part of the franchise agreement that would allow for the company to collect a settlement if SR 905 was constructed with more than six lanes, since it would compete with the proposed toll road.

The California Transportation Commission agreed to ensure that the southern connection from SR 125 to the new toll road would be funded in May 1996. Much of the routing for SR 125 south of SR 54 was determined in March 1997, and the Federal Highway Administration determined the "San Miguel Connector" routing that would connect the new freeway with SR 54 in August. The selection of the route, due to concerns over the destruction of the habitat of the Least Bell's Vireo, led to objections from county officials due to the proximity to homes and passing through the Bonita Golf Course and a Little League

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