California State Route 29

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State Route 29

SR 29 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length105.648 mi[1] (170.024 km)
Existed1934–present
Major junctions
South end I-80 in Vallejo
Major intersections
North end SR 20 at Upper Lake
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesSolano, Napa, Lake
Highway system
SR 28 SR 32

State Route 29 (SR 29) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that travels from Interstate 80 in Vallejo north to State Route 20 in Upper Lake. It serves as the primary road through the Napa Valley, providing access to the Lake County region to the north and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area to the south.

Route description

SR 29 in Vallejo
A crowd watches the 4th of July parade on SR 29 in Vallejo in 2016
End of SR 29 at SR 20 in Upper Lake

SR 29 begins at Interstate 80 (I-80) just north of the Carquinez Bridge in Vallejo. After running through the downtown area of Vallejo, it travels as a four-lane expressway (on some segments, five) through American Canyon to Napa. It then briefly becomes a freeway as it passes through Napa.

The expressway continues through the southern Napa Valley before terminating in Yountville. SR 29 continues as a 2-lane road through the Napa Valley cities of Oakville, Rutherford, St. Helena, and Calistoga, while also passing many of the region's notable vineyards and wineries. This portion of the highway is often heavily congested with rental cars and tour buses in spring and summer, when tourists flock to Napa Valley.

North of Calistoga, SR 29 climbs Mount Saint Helena, an extinct volcano, at the border between Napa County and Lake County. The road then heads north to Middletown and Lower Lake before going around the southern and western sides of Clear Lake, the largest natural freshwater lake completely within California. In Lakeport, SR 29 becomes a freeway as it bypasses the city. It then reverts as a two-lane highway before it terminates at Route 20 in Upper Lake.

Points of interest along Route 29 include Bothe-Napa Valley State Park, Bale Grist Mill State Historic Park, Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, the St. Helena Toll Road and Bull Trail, the Stone House, and the Lower Lake Stone Jail.

SR 29 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System south of the intersection of Oak Knoll Avenue (approximately 1 mile north of the Napa city limits),[2] and south of Yountville and north of SR 53 is 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] SR 29 is eligible for inclusion in the State Scenic Highway System,[5] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.[6]

History

Historically, the route between the Napa Valley and Middletown was served by the Old Bull Trail Road, built by volunteers in the 1850s, that had grades of up to 35 percent. In 1868, this was replaced by the St. Helena Toll Road, which had more manageable inclines of up to 12 percent. The State of California purchased the toll road in 1925.

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.

CountyLocationPostmile
[1][7][8]
Exit
[9]
DestinationsNotes
Solano
SOL 0.00-5.96
Vallejo0.00
I-80 west / Maritime Academy Drive – California Maritime Academy
Interchange; south end of SR 29; I-80 exit 29A
1.01
Lemon Street to I-780

Curtola Parkway to I-780
2.07Maine StreetFormer SR 141
4.73
SR 37 to I-80 – San Rafael, Sacramento, San Francisco
Interchange; SR 37 exit 19
Napa
NAP 0.00-48.58
American CanyonR2.77Watson Lane, Green Island RoadInterchange
4.71
SR 12 east (Jameson Canyon Road) / Airport Boulevard – Fairfield, Sacramento, Napa County Airport
South end of SR 12 overlap
R6.20 SR 221 / Soscol Ferry Road – Downtown Napa, Lake BerryessaAt-grade intersection being converted to a double roundabout interchange that is scheduled to be open for traffic in Fall 2024.[10][11]
NapaR8.66

SR 121 south / SR 12 west (Carneros Highway) – Sonoma
North end of SR 12 overlap; south end of SR 121 overlap
South end of freeway
Napa10.3116
SR 121 north (Imola Avenue) – Lake Berryessa
North end of SR 121 overlap
11.5518AFirst Street – Downtown Napa
12.0418BLincoln Avenue
13.0619Trancas Street, Redwood RoadFormer SR 221
North end of freeway
Sierra AvenueInterchange; northbound exit and entrance
Yountville19.03California Drive – Yountville, Veterans HomeInterchange
Rutherford24.60
SR 128 east (Rutherford Road) – Lake Berryessa, Winters
South end of SR 128 overlap
Calistoga36.89
SR 128 west (Foothill Boulevard) – Geyserville
North end of SR 128 overlap
Lake
LAK 0.00-52.54
Middletown5.81 SR 175 (Main Street) – Cobb Mountain Area
Lower Lake20.31
SR 53 north / Morgan Valley Road (Main Street) – Clearlake, Business District
27.89 SR 281 (Soda Bay Road) / Red Hills Road – Soda Bay
31.05
SR 175 east – Middletown, Cobb Mountain Area
South end of SR 175 overlap
R40.14
SR 175 west / South Main Street (SR 29 Bus. north), Soda Bay Road – Hopland
North end of SR 175 overlap
South end of freeway
LakeportR41.42102Lakeport Boulevard, Todd Road – Lakeport
R42.6810311th Street, Scotts Valley Road – Lakeport
North LakeportR45.15106Hill Road, Park Way
R47.85108Nice-Lucerne Cutoff (SR 29 Bus. south)
North end of freeway
Upper Lake52.54
SR 20 to US 101 – North Shore Resorts, Williams
North end of SR 29
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

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 (North) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 18, 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 18, 2017.
  7. ^ California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  8. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  9. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 29 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-05.
  10. ^ "Soscol Junction". California Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Eberling, Barry (July 9, 2022). "Here comes Soscol Junction, Napa County's biggest road project in years". Napa Valley Journal. Retrieved March 29, 2023.

External links