California State Route 152

State Route 152
Route information
Defined by S&HC § 452
Maintained by Caltrans
Length:	104.419 mi (168.046 km) (plus about 1.5 mi (2.5 km) on US 101)
History:	State highway in 1916; SR 152 in 1934
Major junctions
West end:	SR 1 in Watsonville
	US 101 in Gilroy I-5 near Santa Nella SR 165 in Los Banos
East end:	SR 99 near Chowchilla
Highway system
State highways in California(list • pre-1964) History • Unconstructed • Deleted • Freeway • Scenic ← SR 151 SR 153 →

State Route 152 (SR 152) is a state highway that runs near the latitudinal middle of the U.S. state of California from Watsonville to Route 99 southeast of Merced. Its western portion provides the best access to and from Interstate 5 toward southern California for motorists in or near San Jose.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System.

Route description

Eastbound traffic and signs on Route 152 at its interchange with Route 156.

Route 152 begins near Route 1 as a series of local streets that run through downtown Watsonville, E.Lake Ave carries it till the intersection of Casserly Rd where the winding two-lane highway begins that crosses the Santa Cruz Mountains through Hecker Pass to reach Gilroy where it is again carried on a series of local streets. It is then overlapped onto to north-south U.S. Route 101 for a small stretch before it separates and returns to heading West/East again.

After exiting the large commercial developments near U.S. 101, Route 152 consists of a single lane in each direction, with narrow shoulders, rain ditches on either side of the road, no center dividers, and posted speed limit of 55 mph (89 km/h), making it prone to head-on collisions. Headlights are required at all times along this portion. This segment is a significant bottleneck for traffic traveling along Route 152 between the San Francisco Bay area and the Central Valley. Upon reaching Route 156 near Hollister, the road expands to two lanes in each direction, and climbs and curves and through the mountains of the Diablo Range, crossing them through the Pacheco Pass into the San Joaquin Valley.

Route 152 continues as a four-lane divided expressway, descending along the northern and eastern shore of the massive San Luis Reservoir. The route passes in between the San Luis Dam and the O'Neill Forebay. The route continues east and passes a large Path 15 substation and then meets Interstate 5 as an expressway. It becomes a speed-limited city street Pacheco Blvd. while passing through Los Banos before returning to an expressway until its eastern terminus at Route 99. Here, eastbound 152 traffic merges on to southbound 99 a few miles northwest of the city of Madera, and approximately 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Fresno. Motorists wishing to travel north on Route 99 are advised to take Route 233 north through Chowchilla to connect to northbound 99. Another possible northbound route exists by exiting Route 152 at State Route 59, and proceeding directly north to the city of Merced, where Route 59 meets Route 99.

The landmarks located on Route 152 include the Pacheco Pass, the Gilroy Gardens, the San Luis Reservoir, the Casa de Fruta and the Merry Cherries.

History

The road became popular as a route east during the California Gold Rush. The Butterfield Overland Mail ran along this route from 1858 to 1861. A portion of Route 152 from Bell Station to Pacheco Pass was a toll road from sometime in the 1840s until 1878. In that year, Merced County and Santa Clara County purchased the road. It was eventually upgraded to a state route. Historic references say the portion of the route west of SR33 was named Legislative Route 32 before being designated State Route 152.

Major intersections

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile	Destinations	Notes
Santa Cruz SCR T0.31-8.29	Watsonville	T0.31	SR 1 north – Santa Cruz	Interchange; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		T1.20	Green Valley Road to SR 1 south – Monterey
		T2.50	Freedom Boulevard – Freedom
		T2.80- T2.93	West Lake Avenue, West Beach Street, Main Street to SR 129 – Monterey	Main Street was former SR 1 south
		T3.27 0.00	Lincoln Street
		R1.99	Holohan Road, College Road – Freedom, Santa Cruz
		3.69	Carlton Road, Casserly Road
Santa Clara SCL 0.00-R35.16		5.03	CR G8 (Watsonville Road) – Morgan Hill, San Jose
	Gilroy	7.93	Santa Teresa Boulevard	Serves Gavilan College
		M9.43	US 101 Bus. south (Monterey Street)	West end of US 101 Bus. overlap
		M9.78	US 101 Bus. north (Monterey Street) / Welburn Avenue	East end of US 101 Bus. overlap
		M10.28 R7.53	US 101 north / CR G9 (Leavesley Road) – San Jose	Interchange; west end of US 101 overlap
		West end of freeway on US 101
		East end of freeway on US 101
		R6.08 R9.91	US 101 south / 10th Street – Los Angeles	Interchange; east end of US 101 overlap
		12.81	CR G9 (Ferguson Road)
		14.89	CR G7 (Bloomfield Avenue)
			San Felipe Road – Hollister
		R21.98	SR 156 west – Hollister	Interchange; no westbound entrance
		R23.41	Casa de Fruta Parkway	Interchange
Merced MER R0.00-R40.95		11.27	SR 33 north – Santa Nella, Gustine	Interchange; west end of SR 33 overlap
		13.85	I-5 – Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles	Interchange
	Los Banos	21.27	SR 165 (Mercey Springs Road) to I-5 south – Turlock
		R32.37	SR 33 south – Dos Palos, Mendota	Interchange; east end of SR 33 overlap
		R40.77- R0.06	SR 59 – Merced	Interchange
Madera MAD R0.00-15.63
	West end of freeway
		10.80	SR 233 (Robertson Boulevard) to SR 99 north – Chowchilla
	East end of freeway
			Road 16 – Chowchilla
	Califa	15.63	SR 99 south – Madera, Fresno	Interchange; eastbound exit and westbound entrance
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

External links

• Caltrans: Route 152 road conditions