California State Route 33

"CA 33" redirects here. For the congressional district, see California's 33rd congressional district.

State Route 33
Route information
Defined by S&HC § 333
Maintained by Caltrans
Length:	289.699 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.
Major junctions
South end:	SR 1 / US 101 in Ventura
	SR 119 in Taft SR 269 in Avenal SR 152 near Los Banos
North end:	I-5 near Tracy
Highway system
State highways in California(list • pre-1964) History • Unconstructed • Deleted • Freeway • Scenic ← SR 32 SR 34 →

State Route 33 (SR 33) is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. 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 is a freeway known as the Ojai Freeway.

Route description

Several segments of this route are part of the California Freeway and Expressway System;^[2] also, several are eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System.^[3] 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.^[4]

Beginning in Ventura as a short freeway (the "Ojai Freeway"), Route 33 continues north as an undivided surface road through Ojai, follows Matilija Canyon past the easternmost extremity of the Santa Ynez Mountains, and passes over the Transverse Ranges at Pine Mountain Summit, coming down into the Cuyama Valley to an eventual junction with SR 166. Route 33 continues with Route 166 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; for the first 15 miles (24 km) of this portion it follows 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, and meets State Route 152 in Dos Palos, with which it runs concurrently for approximately ten miles. It departs again to the northwest near Los Banos, turns north at Santa Nella (where it has an interchange with I-5), and roughly parallels I-5 and the San Joaquin River until its final terminus at I-5 at Yarmouth.

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

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 new Coalinga Mental Hospital.

SR 33 heading south through Kern County.

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.

A foggy winter day looking northbound south of Brown Material Road near Blackwells Corner.

Most of SR 33's route is 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 (37 °C).

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.

Major intersections

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [1][5][6]	Destinations	Notes
Ventura VEN 0.00-57.51	Ventura	0.00	US 101 (Ventura Freeway, SR 1) – Los Angeles, San Francisco	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		0.17	Main Street – Ventura	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		1.57	Stanley Avenue	Southbound exit and entrance are on the left
		2.65	Shell Road
		R4.49	Cañada Larga Road
		R5.64	Casitas Vista Road
	North end of freeway
	Mira Monte	11.21 R14.41[N 1]	SR 150 west (Baldwin Road) – Lake Casitas, Carpinteria, Santa Barbara	South end of SR 150 overlap
	Ojai	16.58[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 junctions
San Luis Obispo SLO 0.00-4.95		2.80	SR 166 west – Cuyama, Santa Maria	South end of SR 166 overlap
Kern KER 0.00-73.74			Cerro Noroeste Road – Mount Abel Recreation Area
			Soda Lake Road – Soda Lake, California Valley	Serves Carrizo Plain National Monument
	Maricopa	R11.56	SR 166 east (Poso Street) to I-5 south – Los Angeles	North end of SR 166 overlap
	Taft	17.89	SR 119 (Taft Highway)	Former US 399 north
		23.41	Midway Road – Fellows
	McKittrick	33.45	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
			Lerdo Highway – Shafter
			Brown Material Road
	Blackwells Corner	60.09	SR 46 – Lost Hills, Wasco, Bakersfield, Paso Robles	Former US 466
Kings KIN 0.00-18.99		7.80	SR 41 – Kettleman City, Fresno, Paso Robles
	Avenal	17.14	SR 269 (Skyline Boulevard) to I-5 – Huron, Lemoore NAS
Fresno FRE 0.00-R83.05			Jayne Avenue – Stratford
	Coalinga	15.37	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
	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
			Manning Avenue – San Joaquin
		53.40	Adams Avenue – Tranquillity
		59.43	California Avenue, Panoche Road to SR 180 east – Fresno
	Mendota	61.45	CR J1 (Belmont Avenue)
		62.25	SR 180 east (Oller Street) – Fresno
	Firebaugh		13th Street – Madera
		70.19	12th Street to I-5 north
Merced MER R0.00-30.30	Dos Palos	R1.17	Blossom Street – South Dos Palos, Central District
		R5.64 R32.37[N 3]	SR 152 east / Elgin Avenue – Merced	Interchange; south end of SR 152 overlap
	Los Banos	21.27[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 Angeles	Interchange
		11.27[N 3] R13.24	SR 152 west / San Luis Drive (to Gonzaga Road) – Gilroy	Interchange; north end of SR 152 overlap
	Santa Nella	R16.26	Henry Miller Avenue – Volta
		R16.64	I-5 (West Side Freeway) – San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles	Interchange
	Gustine	26.46 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	Newman	0.68	Merced Street – Livingston
		2.06	CR J18 (Stuhr Road) to I-5 – Livingston, Turlock
	Crows Landing	6.84	Crows Landing Road, Fink Road to I-5
	Patterson	12.57	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
	Westley	19.55	CR J16 (Grayson Road, Howard Road) to I-5
San Joaquin SJ 0.00-5.00	Vernalis	0.82	SR 132 / Vernalis Road – Modesto, San Francisco	Interchange
		4.83	I-5 (West Side Freeway) – Stockton, Sacramento, Los Angeles	Interchange
		5.00	Ahern Road – Tracy	Continuation beyond I-5; former SR 33 north
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi      Concurrency terminus •      Closed/Former •      Incomplete access •      Unopened

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} California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
2. ^ CA Codes (shc:250-257)
3. ^ CA Codes (shc:260-284)
4. ^ "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways". California Department of Transportation. December 7, 2007. http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/LandArch/scenic_highways/. Retrieved June 22, 2011. 
5. ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
6. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006

Additional reading

• King, Peter H. (July 7, 2008). "A workaday road that cuts through the state's back story: Two-lane Highway 33 isn't a fabled route, but it's rugged and real". Los Angeles Times: A1, A8. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-oncal7-2008jul07,0,624210.story .

External links

• California @ WestCoastRoads.com - State Route 33
• Caltrans: Route 33 highway conditions