Ultimate Interstates:Corridor 1
Ultimate Interstate 1 is an interstate highway corridor that travels up the California Coastline from Los Angeles to the San Francisco Bay Area ending in San Rafael. This route could also be extended northward along the Oregon and Washington coastline to Olympia, WA.
Routing
The route would largely replace US 101 throughout most of the state. However through the bay area it would travel along the existing I-880 east bay freeway and continue northward along I-580 utilizing the San Rafael bridge crossing where it would end at the existing US-101 interchange in San Rafael. From there the route could continue northward along US-101, however this would require significant upgrades to the highway north of Santa Rosa. If the route continued northward it would eventually cross into Oregon and continue north along the coast, connecting coastal cities like Newport, Coos Bay and Astoria and a potential westward extension of I-84 west of Portland. From there the route would continue northward into Washington state US-101 to Aberdeen WA then turning east along US-12 and then WA-8, ultimately terminating in Olympia at I-5.
I-1 could also be designated as I-101 as well, however this interstate designation has been proposed as a possible route along the east coast .
Purpose and Need
The purpose and need of Corridor 1 is due to the high volume of truck and commercial traffic that uses this corridor, and to provide additional interstate access to San Francisco and cities along the coast. The Interstate 1 designation is not 100% necessary for the highway to be of interstate caliber, but does make the route eligible for federal road dollars as an interstate route. Another benefit of the Interstate 1 system is the possibility of having interstate spur routes available as shown below allowing the further expansion of the interstate system to more places along the corridor. Additionally, there is an economic benefit that exists to having an interstate designation that could spur new commerce and economic development along the corridor.
Challenges
The US 101 highway designation is iconic. much like the US-66 designation of America's most famous highway. US-101 shares that fame and has a long history in the United States and it would be a shame to see it decommissioned. It is possible however to retain the US-101 number and co-sign the Interstate 1 designation along the upgraded portions of the route. However California's route numbering conventions do not allow for the use of long concurrencies of 2 or more routes along the same highway. Similarly the numbering convention does not allow for duplication of highway numbers anywhere in the system, and I-1 would conflict with the already extant CA-1 or Pacfic Coast Highway. A more rational option could be to have the route designated as a hidden interstate route, making it eligible for the interstate highway dollars and retaining it's historic and familiar US-route designation.
Alternate Routing
A possible alternate routing for Interstate 1 could follow the existing US-101 northward from San Jose up the peninsula and ending at I-80 in San Francisco. This would make it nearly impossible to extend the route northward through San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge. This would likely involve massive amounts of right of way acquisition, eminent domain land-grabs and tunneling projects that would prove to be very costly. Not to mention the extreme opposition that would exist for any freeway proposal through the city of San Francisco.
Potential Auxiliary Routes
- I-101 (Unsigned)
- Bayshore Freeway
- Currently signed as US-101 and would retain that designation. This route would be included in the interstate system as an unsigned interstate route.
- I-201
- West Valley Freeway
- Currently signed as CA-85
- I-301
- Monterey Spur
- Route would consist of sections of CA-156 and CA-1 from Prunedale to Carmel.
- I-401
- San Mateo Bridge & J. Arthur Younger Freeway
- Currently signed as CA-92
- I-501
- Arthur H Breed Freeway
- Currently signed as I-580 and I-238
- I-601
- Junipero Serra Freeway
- Currently signed as I-280
- I-701
- Spur highway from San Jose to Santa Cruz
- Currently signed as CA-17 and I-880
- I-801
- North Bay Freeway - Potential Interstate Corridor from Novato to Vallejo
- Currently signed as CA-37
- I-901
- Potential Interstate Connector from Grants Pass, OR to Crescent City, CA
- Currently signed as US-199
Plausibility
The likelihood of an interstate 1 corridor along the pacific coast is extremely low, expecially the portion of the route north of San Francisco. More likely we would see continued upgrades to the US-101 corridor with the highway being elevated to interstate freeway standards along the entire length from Los Angeles to Santa Rosa north of San Francisco. Due to the historic nature of the highways us number routing it seems entirely likely that it will continue to retain this number due to historic and nostalgic reasons. US-101 is an Iconic road in the US and its loss would be significant.