California State Route 126

State Route 126
Santa Paula Freeway, Telegraph Road Defined by S&HC § 426, maintained by Caltrans
Length:	47.167 mi[1] (75.908 km) SR 126 is broken into pieces, and the length does not reflect the overlaps that would be required to make the route continuous.
West end:	SR 1 / US 101 in Ventura
Major junctions:	SR 150 in Santa Paula SR 23 in Fillmore
East end:	I-5 in Santa Clarita
State highways in California (list - pre-1964) < SR 125 SR 127 > History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

State Route 126 The origins of SR 126 are based on an important historical route roughly following an original dirt trail and wagon path that has been in existence since the 19th Century, connecting the towns and ranchos of the Santa Clara Valley. SSR126 is now a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The route runs from U.S. Route 101 in Ventura to Interstate 5 in Santa Clarita. From 1964 until 2002, a second segment of Route 126 ran from I-5 to State Route 14 through Santa Clarita via Magic Mountain Parkway and what was then called San Fernando Road (now Railroad, Main, and Newhall); it has since been decommissioned.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[2] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System.^[3]

Route description

State Route 126 generally follows the Santa Clara River through the valley, passing through the towns of Fillmore and Santa Paula.

The section connecting Santa Paula and Ventura is a freeway, with Route 126 becoming a four-lane throughway east of Santa Paula to its eastern terminus. It is legally known as the Santa Paula Freeway. The section through the city of Fillmore is known as Ventura Street and upon entering Los Angeles County west of Castaic, it is known as Henry Mayo Drive. State Route 126 is the main route from Ventura County to the San Joaquin Valley via Interstate 5. The section between the City of Santa Paula and I-5 is officially designated The Korean War Veterans' Memorial Highway.

The highway is a important connector highway in Ventura County, and serves as an alternate route into the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys, the High Desert of Antelope Valley, and Los Angeles. The freeway portion of the highway - sometimes called the Santa Paula Freeway - begins in Ventura at U.S. Route 101. It proceeds northeast through the city, and then through the agricultural area to its northeast, continuing through Santa Paula and terminating at Hallock Drive east of State Route 150. SR 126 continues as divided highway thereafter and is sometimes known West Ventura Street for postal service. This section extends through Fillmore, the edge of Piru and the important historical Rancho Camulos. It is signed as State Route 126 throughout its length.

History

In the late 1950s, the freeway was originally planned to continue all the way to the Antelope Valley Freeway in what is now Santa Clarita. In the face of anti-development pressure from Ventura County citizens, and suffering from severe financial problems as a result of the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the late-1970s California tax revolt, Caltrans abandoned these plans. The only remnants of these plans are the two long ramps to and from the Antelope Valley Freeway at the Sierra Highway exit 6A in Santa Clarita. Newhall Ranch Road in Santa Clarita, a six to eight-lane divided local road,^[4] continues from the current terminus of CA-126 at Interstate 5 and roughly follows the original 1958 route to just past Bouquet Canyon Road on the north side of the Santa Clara River. Current plans are for this road to be connected^[5] to Golden Valley Road via an eight-lane bridge across the Santa Clara River. This bridge would connect the road directly to CA-14 at the Golden Valley exit, 1 mile south of the originally planned CA-126 connector.

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][6][7]	#[8]	Destinations	Notes
Ventura VEN 0.00-R34.64	Ventura	0.00	1A	US 101 north (Ventura Freeway, SR 1 north) – San Francisco	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		0.00	1B	Main Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		1.45	1C	Victoria Avenue to US 101 south (Ventura Freeway, SR 1 south)	Signed as exit 1 eastbound
		2.80	3	Kimball Road
		R5.03	5	SR 118 (Wells Road) – Saticoy
		R8.91	9	Briggs Road
	Santa Paula	R10.38	10	Peck Road
		R11.37	11	Palm Avenue
		R12.04	12	SR 150 (10th Street) – Santa Paula
		East end of freeway
	Fillmore	21.14		SR 23 (A Street) – Moorpark
Los Angeles LA R0.00-R5.83		R5.46	40A	Castaic Junction	Interchange; eastbound exit only
	Santa Clarita	R5.83	40	I-5 (Golden State Freeway) – Sacramento, Los Angeles	Interchange; signed as exits 40B (south) and 40C (north)
		R5.83		Newhall Ranch Road	Continuation beyond I-5

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: California State Route 126

• California @ WestCoastRoads - State Route 126
• Caltrans: Route 126 highway conditions
• California Highways: SR 126

References