State Route 14 (California)
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State Route 14 is a north-south state highway largely in the Mojave Desert of California, also known as the High Desert, just east of the crest of the Sierra Nevada in its northern part. It connects U.S. Route 395 in Inyokern to Interstate 5 in Santa Clarita. With US 395 it connects the western part of Greater Los Angeles with such places as Reno, Nevada. While its southern part runs through the suburbanized and rural canyon areas that can have heavy commuter traffic, its northern section generally affords an attractive, stark view of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. It is in mostly desert terrain, so those who travel it should make the appropriate precautions for travel upon it, especially in the thinly-settled portions north of Mojave during the hot summers.
Route 14, known as the Antelope Valley Freeway south of the community of Mojave, is the designation for old U.S. Highway 6 between US-395 and Interstate 5 after California truncated US-6 at Bishop in 1964. The old surface road south of and in Mojave is still known as Sierra Highway. (Sierra Highway is also signed as State Route 14U (unrelinquished) in Santa Clarita.) North of Mojave the road is known as the Midland Trail. As part of the former transcontinental US-6, non-freeway segments are also known as the Grand Army of the Republic Highway.
It passes through Palmdale, Lancaster, and Rosamond, all of which have grown rapidly beginning in 1983. It is co-routed with Route 138 from Palmdale Boulevard (138 East) in Palmdale to Avenue D (138 West) north of downtown Lancaster. The route also intersects with the new Route 58 bypass north of downtown Mojave, as well as Route 178's west and east legs north of Red Rock Canyon.
This is an unfinished route, as the Caltrans definition states that the route begins at Sunset Blvd. and Pacific Coast Hwy (PCH), even though there is no right of way built there. Temescal Canyon Rd. seems to be the actual route, but the wide road leading inland from PCH dead-ends at Sunset Blvd. The only proof that this proposal was considered is the mileposts on Route 14, which do not go to zero at I-5 at its present terminus, whereas the exit numbers do go to zero, which means that it will never be built. This portion was intended to be the Reseda Freeway, as it would have gone through that area of Los Angeles.
The long offramps at the Sierra Highway interchange near Santa Clarita were meant to be a freeway-to-freeway connection with Route 126, but due to successful opposition by Santa Clarita Valley residents, it was blocked and all that was built were the long ramps.
Parts of Route 14's interchange with Interstate 5 near Los Angeles collapsed during both the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
State law
Legal Definition of Route 14: [California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 314]
| Route 14 is part of the [Freeway and Expressway System], as stated by section 253.2 of the California State Highway Code. |
Other names
- Aerospace Highway: From the Pearblossom Highway (Route 138) to Route 395.
References
External links
- [WestCoast Roads- California 14]
- [Caltrans: Route 14 highway conditions]
- [California Highways: CA-14]
- [Western Exit Guide - California 14]
- [Cal-NExUS: Route 14 North]
- [Cal-NExUS: Route 14 South]
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