California State Route 33

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"Ojai Freeway" redirects here. Not to be confused with Ojai Road.

State Route 33

SR 33 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length289.699 mi[1] (466.225 km)
This route is broken into pieces, and the length does not reflect the overlaps that would be required to make the route continuous.
Existed1934–present
Tourist
routes		National Forest Scenic Byway.svgCalifornia Scenic State.svg Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway
Major junctions
South end US 101 in Ventura
Major intersections
North end I-5 near Tracy
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesVentura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Merced, Stanislaus, San Joaquin
Highway system
← SR 32→ SR 34

State Route 33 (SR 33) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. It runs north from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura through the Transverse Ranges and the western side of the San Joaquin Valley to Interstate 5 at a point east of Tracy. SR 33 replaced part of U.S. Route 399 in 1964 during the "great renumbering" of routes. In the unincorporated sections of Kern County it is known as the West Side Highway. In addition, the California Legislature 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 to Maricopa.

Route description

View northeast from near Pine Mountain Summit on SR 33, the highest elevation on the route. The Lockwood Valley and Mount Pinos are in the distance.
SR 33 heading south through Kern County
A foggy winter day looking northbound south of Brown Material Road near Blackwells Corner.

State Route 33 begins in Ventura as a short freeway ("Ojai Freeway"). SR 33 then continues north as Maricopa Highway, an undivided surface road, through Ojai, following Matilija Canyon past the easternmost extremity of the Santa Ynez Mountains in Los Padres National Forest, and passing over the Transverse Ranges at Pine Mountain Summit. As SR 33 comes down into the Cuyama Valley, it comes up to a junction with SR 166 east of Cuyama. Route 33 continues with Route 166 as they enter Kern County for about 20 miles (32 km) to Maricopa where the routes separate. In Maricopa, Route 33 turns northwest, following the western side of the San Joaquin Valley. Between Taft and Avenal it roughly parallels Interstate 5 and the eastern foothills of the Temblor and Diablo ranges; for the first 15 miles (24 km) of the portion following the axis of the Midway-Sunset Oil Field. Northwest of Avenal, it turns due west to enter Coalinga, then turns northeast and soon becomes concurrent with I-5 for 13 miles (21 km). Thereafter, it departs due north near Cantua Creek, turns northwest at Mendota, through Firebaugh and meets State Route 152 in Dos Palos, 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 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, Pleasant Valley State Prison, and the Coalinga State Hospital.

In the portions of the route in Kern and Fresno Counties, SR 33 passes through one of the United States' largest petroleum extraction fields, with hundreds of nodding oil pumps along the highway. Some of the fields visible from the highway include the Midway-Sunset, South and North Belridge, Cymric, McKittrick, Lost Hills, and Coalinga 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 100 °F (38 °C).

Several segments of this route are part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[2] 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,[3] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[4] Several segments are eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System;[5] 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,[6] 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.[7] This scenic segment is also designated as part of the Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway, a National Forest Scenic Byway.[8]

History

Before the US 399 designation was deleted in 1964, SR 33 followed SR 166 east from US 99 at Wheeler Ridge to Maricopa 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 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

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see California postmile § Official postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column. All exits are unnumbered.

CountyLocationPostmile
[1][9][10]		DestinationsNotes
Ventura
VEN 0.00-57.51		Ventura0.00 US 101 (Ventura Freeway, SR 1) – Los Angeles, San FranciscoInterchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance; south end of SR 33; US 101 exit 70B
0.17Main Street – VenturaInterchange; southbound exit and northbound entrance
1.57Stanley AvenueInterchange; southbound exit and entrance are on the left
​2.65Shell RoadInterchange
​R4.49Cañada Larga RoadInterchange
​R5.64Casitas Vista RoadInterchange
Casitas Springs North end of freeway
Mira Monte11.21
R14.41[N 1]
 SR 150 west (Baldwin Road) – Meiners Oaks, Lake Casitas, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara		South end of SR 150 overlap
Ojai16.58[N 1]
11.21
 SR 150 east (Ojai Avenue) – Ojai, Santa Paula		North end of SR 150 overlap
​48.50
 Lockwood Valley Road to I-5 – Lockwood Valley
Santa Barbara
SB 0.00-8.18		No major intersections
San Luis Obispo
SLO 0.00-4.95		​2.80
 SR 166 west – Cuyama, New Cuyama, Santa Maria		South end of SR 166 overlap
Kern
KER 0.00-73.74		MaricopaR11.56


 SR 166 east (Poso Street) to I-5 south – Los Angeles		North end of SR 166 overlap
Taft17.89 SR 119 (Taft Highway)Former US 399 north; western terminus of SR 119
McKittrick33.45
 SR 58 west – California Valley, Santa Margarita		South end of SR 58 overlap
34.29

 SR 58 east to I-5 – Buttonwillow, Bakersfield		North end of SR 58 overlap; no left turn from SR 33 south to SR 58 east, access is via a left turn at Lokern Road
Blackwells Corner60.09 SR 46 – Lost Hills, Wasco, Bakersfield, Paso RoblesFormer US 466
Kings
KIN 0.00-18.99		​7.80 SR 41 – Kettleman City, Fresno, Paso Robles
Avenal17.14
 SR 269 (Skyline Boulevard) to I-5 – Huron, Lemoore NAS		Southern terminus of SR 269
Fresno
FRE 0.00-R83.05		​10.50
 Jayne Avenue to I-5 – Stratford
Coalinga15.37

 Polk Street to SR 198 west – King City
15.71
 SR 198 west (Elm Avenue) / Coalinga Plaza (Fifth Street) – King City		South end of SR 198 overlap
​24.32
 SR 198 east (Dorris Avenue) / Shell Road – Lemoore, Hanford		North end of SR 198 overlap
​R29.02
17.96[N 2]

 I-5 south (West Side Freeway) / SR 145 north (Fresno-Coalinga Road) – Los Angeles, Kerman		Interchange; south end of I-5 overlap; I-5 exit 337; southern terminus of SR 145
​ South end of freeway on I-5
​ North end of freeway on I-5
​29.96[N 2]
R39.82
 I-5 north (West Side Freeway) / Derrick Avenue – San Francisco, Sacramento		Interchange; north end of I-5 overlap; I-5 exit 349
Mendota59.43

 California Avenue, Panoche Road to SR 180 east – Fresno
61.45 CR J1 (Belmont Avenue)
62.25
 SR 180 east (Oller Street) – Fresno		Western terminus of SR 180
Firebaugh70.19

 12th Street to I-5 north
Merced
MER R0.00-30.00		Dos Palos YR5.64
R32.37[N 3]
 SR 152 east / Elgin Avenue – Merced		Interchange; south end of SR 152 overlap
Los Banos21.27[N 3]

 SR 165 (Mercey Springs Road) to I-5 south – Turlock
​13.85[N 3] I-5 (West Side Freeway) – San Francisco, Sacramento, Los AngelesInterchange; I-5 exits 403A-B
​11.27[N 3]
R13.24
 SR 152 west / San Luis Drive (to Gonzaga Road) – Gilroy		Interchange; north end of SR 152 overlap; SR 152 exit 60
Santa NellaR16.64 I-5 (West Side Freeway) – San Francisco, Sacramento, Los AngelesInterchange; I-5 exit 407
Gustine26.46
4.35[N 4]

 SR 140 west (Sullivan Road) to I-5		South end of SR 140 overlap
6.06[N 4]
27.11
 SR 140 east / First Avenue – Merced		North end of SR 140 overlap
Stanislaus
STA 0.00-27.09		Newman2.06
 CR J18 (Stuhr Road) to I-5 – Livingston, Turlock
Crows Landing6.84
 Crows Landing Road, Fink Road to I-5
Patterson12.57

 CR J17 west (Sperry Avenue) to I-5		South end of CR J17 overlap
13.18
 CR J17 east (Las Palmas Avenue) – Turlock		North end of CR J17 overlap
Westley19.55
 CR J16 (Grayson Road, Howard Road) to I-5
San Joaquin
SJ 0.00-5.00		Vernalis0.82 SR 132 / Vernalis Road – Modesto, San FranciscoInterchange
​4.83 I-5 (West Side Freeway) – Stockton, Sacramento, Los AngelesInterchange; north end of SR 33; I-5 exit 452
​5.00Ahern Road – TracyContinuation beyond I-5; former SR 33 north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. ^ a b Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 150 rather than SR 33.
  2. ^ a b Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along I-5 rather than SR 33.
  3. ^ a b c d Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 152 rather than SR 33.
  4. ^ a b Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 140 rather than SR 33.

References

  1. ^ a b c California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. ^ "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  3. ^ Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (South) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  5. ^ "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  6. ^ California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 16, 2017.
  7. ^ California Department of Transportation (2012). Scenic Highway Guidelines (PDF). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. p. 5. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 5, 2024. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  8. ^ Staff. "Jacinto Reyes Scenic Byway (Route 33)". America's Byways. Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on October 23, 2011. Retrieved October 23, 2011.
  9. ^ California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  10. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to California State Route 33.
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