California State Route 126
 State Route 126 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Paula Freeway | ||||
 | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
| Length | 40 mi[1] (64 km) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| West end |  US 101 in Ventura | |||
 SR 150 in Santa Paula SR 23 in Fillmore | ||||
| East end |  I-5 in Santa Clarita | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
State Route 126 runs from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura to Interstate 5 in Santa Clarita. From 1964 until 2002, a second segment of Route 126 ran from I-5 to State Route 14 via Magic Mountain Parkway and San Fernando Road in Santa Clarita; it has since been decommissioned.
This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System[3].
Route description
State Route 126 generally follows the Santa Clara River through the valley, passing through the towns of Fillmore and Santa Paula.
The section connecting Santa Paula and Ventura is a freeway, with Route 126 becoming a four-lane throughway east of Santa Paula to its eastern terminus. It is legally known as the Santa Paula Freeway. The section through the city of Fillmore is known as Ventura Street and upon entering Los Angeles County west of Castaic, it is known as Henry Mayo Drive. State Route 126 is the main route from Ventura County to the San Joaquin Valley via Interstate 5. The section between the City of Santa Paula and I-5 is officially designated "The Korean War Veterans' Memorial Highway"
The Santa Paula Freeway is a minor freeway in Ventura County. Ironically, the freeway connects Ventura to Santa Clarita, only passing through Santa Paula. There is occasionally confusion that the freeway ends in Santa Paula. It is signed as State Route 126 throughout its length.
The freeway begins in Ventura at U.S. Route 101. It proceeds northeast through the city, and then through the agricultural area to its northeast, before entering Santa Paula and terminating at Hallock Drive east of State Route 150. SR 126 continues thereafter as Telegraph Road.
History
In the 1960s, the freeway was originally planned to continue all the way to the Antelope Valley Freeway in what is now Santa Clarita. In the face of anti-development pressure from Ventura County citizens, and suffering from severe financial problems as a result of the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the late-1970s California tax revolt, Caltrans abandoned these plans. The only remnants of these plans are the two long ramps to and from the Antelope Valley Freeway at the Sierra Highway exit in Santa Clarita.
Points of interest
| Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
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- A California sycamore tree, California Historical Landmark #756, sits at Hall Road, 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Santa Paula (postmile VEN 16.7). In 1846 General John C. Frémont passed this sycamore tree on his way to sign a treaty with General Andrés Pico to secure California for annexation to the United States. The tree has served as a resting place, a polling place, a temporary post office, and an outdoor chapel.
- Rancho Camulos, California Historical Landmark #553, lies 2.2 miles (3.5 km) east of Piru (postmile VEN 30.6).
Major intersections and exit list
- 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 [4][5][6] |
#[7] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ventura VEN 0.00-R34.64 |
Ventura | 0.00 | 1A |  US 101 north (Ventura Freeway)
|
Westbound exit and eastbound entrance |
| 0.00 | 1B | Main Street | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
| 1.45 | 1C |   To US 101 south (Ventura Freeway)
|
Signed as exit 1 eastbound | ||
| 2.80 | 3 | Kimball Road | |||
| R5.03 | 5 |  SR 118 (Wells Road) – Saticoy
|
|||
| R8.91 | 9 | Briggs Road | |||
| Santa Paula | R10.38 | 10 | Peck Road | ||
| R11.37 | 11 | Palm Avenue | |||
| R12.04 | 12 | SR 150 (10th Street) – Santa Paula
|
|||
| East end of freeway | |||||
| Fillmore | 21.14 | SR 23 (A Street) – Moorpark
|
|||
| Los Angeles LA R0.00-R5.83 |
R5.46 | 40A | Castaic Junction | Eastbound exit only | |
| Santa Clarita | R5.83 | 40 | I-5 (Golden State Freeway) – Sacramento, Los Angeles
|
Signed as exits 40B (south) and 40C (north); interchange | |
| R5.83 | Newhall Ranch Road | Continuation beyond I-5 | |||
External links
- California @ WestCoastRoads - State Route 126
- Caltrans: Route 126 highway conditions
- California Highways: SR 126
References
- ^ January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
- ^ CA Codes (shc:250-257)
- ^ CA Codes (shc:260-284)
- ^ California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
- ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
- ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
- ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, SR-126 Eastbound and SR-126 Westbound, accessed February 2008