Трасса 65 в Калифорнии: Описание и планы развития

Highway in California

The southern segment of State Route 65 begins at a partial interchange with State Route 99 north of Bakersfield. From here to Porterville is a mostly 40 mile (64 km) rural two lane highway through hills and grasslands while passing through the communities of Ducor and Terra Bella. This stretch of roadway is often considered very dangerous given the heavy amount of semi trucks that drive this corridor. SR 65 expands to a four lane freeway through Porterville, downgrading into a four lane expressway upon leaving the city. The highway remains an expressway, passing Strathmore and up to Lindsay. The highway is then reduced to a rural two lane highway through agricultural areas while passing through Exeter. SR 65's southern segment ends at the junction of State Route 198. This section has been designated the All America City Highway.

The northern segment of State Route 65 begins at the interchange with Interstate 80 in Roseville as a freeway heading northwest to Blue Oaks Boulevard where the freeway turns north towards Lincoln. It turns northwest briefly onto a bypass of Lincoln at Industrial Avenue/Lincoln Boulevard (the state route's former alignment) where it then turns west as the freeway ends at Nelson Lane. The highway is then downgraded to a four lane expressway, turning north again, downgraded further to a two lane highway, until it meets up with its original alignment just north of the community of Sheridan. After passing through Wheatland, it assumes its freeway designation a few miles north of the town, ending at State Route 70 in Olivehurst. In 2000, Caltrans issued a Project Study Report (PSR) that analyzed six alternative alignments for the proposed Wheatland Bypass. After extensive public meetings, Caltrans identified Alternative E as the preferred alternative. Alternative E would start at the northern end of the Lincoln Bypass, and proceed due north, crossing the Bear River on a new bridge to the east of the existing SR 65 alignment. It would bypass Wheatland to the east, and then turn west and pass along the southern edge of Beale Air Force Base before connecting to south end of the freeway segment at South Beale Road. If completed, the Wheatland Bypass would enable continuous freeway travel from I 80 to Marysville (via SR 70). Although Caltrans completed the PSR in 2000 that identified the preferred alignment, the Wheatland Bypass remains unfunded. State and local officials cannot present a timetable for completing the bypass until $300 million is secured to complete the required environmental studies and construction. North of its present northern terminus at SR 70 in Olivehurst, the legislative designation of SR 65 continues west/northwest to SR 99 in (or south of) Yuba City. Caltrans has planned since 1986 to extend SR 65 as a freeway west or northwest from SR 70 to SR 99 via a third bridge across the Feather River south of Yuba City to alleviate traffic on the two existing bridges between Yuba City and Marysville. Funding issues and environmental concerns have stalled the extension of SR 65 to Yuba City and the third Feather River Bridge.

The initial segment was created in 1933 as Legislative Route 129. It was defined from LRN 4 (formerly US 99 and currently SR 99) near Bakersfield to LRN 263 (currently SR 180) in Kings Canyon National Park. The entire route was signed Route 65. In the 1950s, California was developing plans for a statewide freeway network. Within the San Joaquin Valley, routes were discussed on the west side and along U. S. Route 99 (Golden State Highway). However, officials in Stanislaus County believed that an additional major north south freeway was needed to serve the east side of the valley. In 1955, they formally proposed the Eastside Freeway, which would be the eastern companion to the Westside Freeway. In 1959, the state defined Legislative Route 249, which would run from the junction of LRN 10 (currently SR 198) and LRN 129 to LRN 17 (currently I 80). This would mark the birth of the Eastside Freeway. In 1964, California's state highways were renumbered. The portion of LRN 129 between Exeter and SR 180 would be removed and become SR 245. The remainder of LRN 129, all of LRN 249, and U. S. Route 99E (section north of Roseville), would be combined to create SR 65. A second phase of the Lincoln bypass was completed in June 2014; it expanded to four lanes between Nelson Lane and West Wise Road, with two lanes in each direction. The interchange at Sunset Boulevard was opened to traffic in March 2010, eliminating the last traffic signal between I 80 and the city of Lincoln. It effectively also upgraded SR 65 from expressway to freeway status from the Sunset Boulevard interchange to just north of the Twelve Bridges Drive interchange (then later to Nelson Lane in 2012 when the Lincoln bypass opened).

With the projected growth of the Central Valley, interest has reemerged in constructing all or part of the unconstructed portion of SR 65. A multi county committee has been formed to discuss the transportation needs of the Eastern Central Valley, including the construction of SR 65 over twenty years. The committee will look at what route the road will take, what type of road would be built (highway, expressway, or freeway), and what the road would eventually become (also known as the ultimate transportation corridor or UTC). In the southern section, plans are underway to convert all of the two lane highway portions to a four lane expressway. In addition, the short segment to Exeter would be moved to allow for a continuous roadway. Originally, the widening project was going to be a joint effort between Kern and Tulare counties, but priority changes in Kern County have delayed its portion to a future date.