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State Scenic Highway System (California)

Highway system of California, US From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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The State Scenic Highway System in the U.S. state of California is a list of highways, mainly state highways, that have been designated by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) as scenic highways. They are marked by the state flower, a California poppy, inside either a rectangle for state-maintained highways or a pentagon for county highways.[1][2]

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The California State Legislature makes state highways eligible for designation as a scenic highway, listing them in the Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the California Streets and Highways Code.[3] For a highway to then be declared scenic by Caltrans, the local government with jurisdiction over abutting land must adopt a "scenic corridor protection program" that limits development, outdoor advertising, and earthmoving, and Caltrans must agree that it meets the criteria. The desire to create such a designation has at times been in conflict with the property rights of abutters, for example on State Route 174.[4][5]

Any county highway that is believed to have outstanding scenic qualities is considered eligible, and the county with jurisdiction must follow Caltrans' same approval process as state highways to be declared scenic.[1]

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California Historic Parkways

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Entering the Arroyo Seco Parkway in Pasadena
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The Cabrillo Freeway, looking south from the Cabrillo Bridge in Balboa Park

California Historic Parkways are defined in the Streets and Highways Code, sections 280–284, as a subset of the State Scenic Highway System. Such historic parkways must have been constructed prior to 1945, and have been determined by either Caltrans or the Office of Historic Preservation in the California Department of Parks and Recreation to have historical significance. They must not at time of designation be traversed by more than 40,000 vehicles per day on an annual daily average basis. They also must be "bounded on one or both sides by federal, state, or local parkland, Native American lands or monuments, or other open space, greenbelt areas, natural habitat or wildlife preserves, or similar acreage used for or dedicated to historical or recreational uses".[3]

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List of eligible and designated scenic state highways

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SR 1 and State Scenic Highway markers
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SR 2 entering Angeles National Forest from the south
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Subalpine meadow at SR 4/Ebbetts Pass
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SR 24 running through Lafayette, with Mount Diablo in the distance
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View northeast from near Pine Mountain Summit on SR 33
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SR 49 through the historic mining community of Downieville.
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View from US 50/Echo Summit towards Lake Tahoe
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SR 62 and State Scenic Highway markers in Whitewater.
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SR 68 eastbound approaching the Monterey Peninsula.
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SR 75/San Diego–Coronado Bridge, 2016
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SR 78 in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, looking east
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SR 88 in Alpine County near Red Lake
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SR 89 through Emerald Bay State Park overlooking Lake Tahoe
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US 101 northbound near Gaviota Tunnel.
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SR 116 bridge over the Russian River in Guerneville.
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SR 154 and State Scenic Highway markers
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SR 160 southbound about 5 miles (8.0 km) north of Rio Vista.
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SR 168, heading up Bishop Creek.
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SR 190/Death Valley Scenic Byway in Death Valley National Park.
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San Gorgonio Mountain seen from SR 243 near Banning.
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I-280 and State Scenic Highway markers
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US 395 descending south into Owens Valley
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Descending from Mission Pass on I-680 northbound

The following is a list of eligible scenic state highway segments that the California State Legislature has added to Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the California Streets and Highways Code,[3] and officially designated segments that Caltrans has approved to be signed.[6]

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Designated county highways

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Mulholland Highway through Leo Carrillo State Park, with Sandstone Peak in the distance

Any county highway segment that is believed to have outstanding scenic qualities is considered eligible to be listed along with the state's scenic highway program. The county with jurisdiction must apply that segment to Caltrans using the same approval process as state highways (neither the California State Legislature via the California Streets and Highways Code nor Caltrans maintain a master list of every eligible county highway).[1]

The following county roads have officially been designated as county scenic highways by Caltrans:

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See also

References

External links

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