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.
 State Route 29 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 29 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
| Length | 105.648 mi[1] (170.024 km) | |||
| Existed | 1934–present | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  I-80 in Vallejo | |||
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| North end |  SR 20 at Upper Lake | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Counties | Solano, Napa, Lake | |||
| Highway system | ||||
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Route description
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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
editHistorically, 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
editExcept 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 ().[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.
| County | Location | Postmile [1][7][8] | Exit [9] | Destinations | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solano SOL 0.00-5.96 | Vallejo | 0.00 |   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 | ||||
| 2.07 | Maine Street | Former 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 Canyon | R2.77 | — | Watson Lane, Green Island Road | Interchange |
| | 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 north (Napa-Vallejo Highway) – Napa, Lake Berryessa | Southern terminus of SR 221; double roundabout interchange;[10][11] Soscol Ferry Road not accessible northbound | |
| Napa | R8.66 |    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 | |||
| Napa | 10.31 | 16 | SR 121 north (Imola Avenue) – Lake Berryessa | North end of SR 121 overlap | |
| 11.55 | 18A | First Street – Downtown Napa | |||
| 12.04 | 18B | Lincoln Avenue | |||
| 13.06 | 19 | Trancas Street, Redwood Road | Former SR 221 | ||
| | North end of freeway | ||||
| | — | Sierra Avenue | Interchange; northbound exit and entrance | ||
| Yountville | 19.03 | — | California Drive – Yountville, Veterans Home | Interchange | |
| Rutherford | 24.60 |  SR 128 east (Rutherford Road) – Lake Berryessa, Winters | South end of SR 128 overlap | ||
| Calistoga | 36.89 | SR 128 west (Foothill Boulevard) – Geyserville | North end of SR 128 overlap | ||
| Lake LAK 0.00-52.54 | Middletown | 5.81 |  SR 175 (Main Street) – Cobb Mountain Area | Eastern terminus of SR 175 | |
| Lower Lake | 20.31 |  SR 53 north / Morgan Valley Road (Main Street) – Clearlake, Business District | Southern terminus of SR 53 | ||
| | 27.89 |  SR 281 (Soda Bay Road) / Red Hills Road – Konocti Harbor, Soda Bay | Eastern terminus of SR 281 | ||
| | 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 | |||
| Lakeport | R41.42 | 102 | Lakeport Boulevard, Todd Road – Lakeport | ||
| R42.68 | 103 | 11th Street, Scotts Valley Road – Lakeport | |||
| North Lakeport | R45.15 | 106 | Hill Road, Park Way | ||
| R47.85 | 108 | Nice-Lucerne Cutoff (SR 29 Bus. south) | |||
| | | North end of freeway | |||
| Upper Lake | 52.54 |    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
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See also
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References
edit- ^ a b c California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- ^ "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 18, 2017.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
- ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
- ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 29 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-05.
- ^ "Soscol Junction". California Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 29, 2023.
- ^ 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
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