State Route 133 (SR 133) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California, serving as an urban route in Orange County. It connects SR 1 in Laguna Beach through the San Joaquin Hills with several freeways in Irvine, ending at the SR 241, a toll road in the latter city. It is built as an expressway from SR 73 to Laguna Canyon Road (just south of I-405 in Irvine), and past this, SR 133 is a freeway (the Laguna Freeway) to I-5, and a tollway (part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor) to SR 241 near the Santa Ana Mountains.
 State Route 133 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 SR 133 highlighted in red | ||||
| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by Caltrans and TCA | ||||
| Length | 13.635 mi[1] (21.943 km) | |||
| History | State highway in 1933; SR 133 in 1964 | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| South end |  SR 1 in Laguna Beach | |||
| ||||
| North end |   SR 241 Toll near Irvine | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | United States | |||
| State | California | |||
| Counties | Orange | |||
| Highway system | ||||
| ||||
SR 133 was constructed as a county road by the 1910s; the portion from I-405 to I-5 was upgraded to a freeway four decades later. The state canceled plans to extend the freeway segment south, and the southern part of the road remains an undivided highway. In 1998, most of the Eastern Transportation Corridor opened, and the connector between I-5 and SR 241 was designated as a toll extension of SR 133.
Route description
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SR 133 begins at SR 1, the Pacific Coast Highway, as Broadway in Laguna Beach, a block from the Pacific Ocean. The name changes to Laguna Canyon Road as the highway leaves downtown Laguna Beach and enters Laguna Canyon, soon narrowing to one lane in each direction. After entering the canyon, which lies between Laguna Coast Wilderness Park (west side of SR 133) and Aliso and Wood Canyons Wilderness Park (east side of SR 133), the first major intersection is with El Toro Road (CR S18). SR 133 widens to four lanes and becomes an expressway after its interchange with SR 73, the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road.[2]
As it continues through the Laguna Coast Wilderness Park, SR 133 follows a four-lane alignment on the west side of the canyon, moved from the old two-lane road in the center of the canyon in late 2006. Laguna Canyon Road splits to the northwest where the canyon ends in Irvine. North of the park, the highway becomes the Laguna Freeway after crossing an at-grade intersection with Laguna Canyon Road, followed by an interchange at exit 8, I-405, the San Diego Freeway. SR 133 then continues as a freeway and serves Barranca Parkway and the I-5, the Santa Ana Freeway. After crossing I-5, SR 133 becomes part of the Eastern Transportation Corridor along the northwest side of Orange County Great Park (built on the site of the decommissioned Marine Corps Air Station El Toro), crossing an interchange with Irvine Boulevard at exit 12 before ending at SR 241.
SR 133 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System north of SR 73,[3] and is part of the National Highway System,[4] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[5]
History
editAs part of its construction of concrete roads, started by a 1913 bond issue, Orange County paved the county road through Laguna Canyon, connecting State Highway Route 2 (the forerunner of US 101 and I-5) at Irvine with Laguna Beach, by 1917.[6][7] The road was added to the state highway system in 1933 as Route 185, an unsigned designation.[8][9] The entire route was added to the new California Freeway and Expressway System in 1959;[10] the planned upgrade had already been named the Laguna Freeway by the California Highway Commission on November 26, 1957.[11] The highway received a sign route number—State Route 133—in the 1964 renumbering.[12]
The opening of the first—and only—piece of the Laguna Freeway was celebrated in Laguna Beach on October 1, 1952, connecting the north end of Laguna Canyon with a planned extension of the Santa Ana Freeway at a trumpet interchange and bypassing the old route on Sand Canyon Avenue. Other than the interchange at I-405, no other access was present along the Laguna Freeway between Laguna Canyon Road and I-5 until ramps connecting to and from Barranca Parkway were completed in August 1990.[2][13][14][15] The state decided not to build the remainder of the freeway in late 1975,[16] and in 1996 the portion south of SR 73 was removed from the Freeway and Expressway System.[17] Widening of the part north of SR 73 to a four-lane expressway was completed in late 2006, moving the road out of the canyon bottom and allowing better access to areas in Laguna Coast Wilderness Park.[18]
A new SR 231 was added to the state highway system in 1988, connecting I-5 northwest of Irvine with SR 91,[19] and in 1991 the south end was shifted southeast to the north end of SR 133, with the old route becoming SR 261.[20] To prevent the route from changing numbers as it crossed I-5, the southern portion was renumbered SR 133 in 1996, with the remainder becoming an extended SR 241.[17] The Eastern Transportation Corridor, which includes SR 133 north of I-5, was completed on October 15, 1998, opening a new shortcut from Orange County to the northeast.[21]
Tolls
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The tolled portion of SR 133 (from I-5 in the south to SR 241 in the north) employs a barrier toll system, where drivers are charged flat-rate tolls based on what particular toll booths they pass through. Since May 13, 2014, the road has been using an all-electronic, open road tolling system.[22] And on October 2, 2019, the license plate tolling program, under the brand name "ExpressAccount", was discontinued.[23] Drivers may still pay using the FasTrak electronic toll collection system or via a one time payment online. Drivers must pay within 5 days after their trip on the toll road or they will be assessed a toll violation.[24]
Tolls are collected at the northbound exit and southbound entrance of Irvine Boulevard and at the Orange Grove Toll Plaza, which spans the on-and off-ramps to Northbound SR 241 (traffic to and from Southbound SR 241 instead, pay at the Tomato Springs Toll Plaza located on SR 241 immediately south of the SR 241 interchange). As of July 2022[update], the standard two-axle car toll for both the northbound offramp and southbound onramp of Irvine Boulevard is a flat rate of $2.12. The Orange Grove Toll Plaza instead uses a congestion pricing scheme based on the time of day for FasTrak users, while non-FasTrak drivers must pay the $3.50 maximum toll regardless of the day and time.[25]
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 entire route is in Orange County.
| Location | Postmile [1][26][27] | Exit [28] | Destinations | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laguna Beach | 0.00 | SR 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) – San Clemente, Newport Beach | Southern terminus of SR 133; SR 1 was former US 101 Alt. | |||
| 3.42 |      CR S18 north (El Toro Road) to SR 73 south – Aliso Viejo, Lake Forest, Laguna Hills, Laguna Woods | Southern terminus of CR S18 | ||||
| | SR 73 Toll / El Toro Road (CR S18) – San Diego, Long Beach | No northbound access to SR 73 south; SR 73 north exit 6, south exit 7 | ||||
| Irvine | | Lake Forest Drive | ||||
| 7.71 | Laguna Canyon Road / Pavona Street | |||||
| 7.71 | South end of freeway | |||||
| 8.38 | 8 |  I-405 (San Diego Freeway) – Long Beach, San Diego | Signed as exits 8A (south) and 8B (north) southbound; no northbound entrance from I-405 north; I-405 exit 2 | |||
| 8.93 | 9 | Barranca Parkway | ||||
| 9.57 | 10A |   I-5 south (Santa Ana Freeway) – San Diego | Southbound exit and northbound entrance; I-5 south exit 96B | |||
| 9.57 | 10B |  I-5 north (Santa Ana Freeway) – Santa Ana | Signed as exit 10 northbound; I-5 exit 95; former US 101 | |||
| 9.57 | South end of toll road | |||||
| 11.90 | 12 | Irvine Boulevard | Tolled northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
| | 13.64 | 14A | SR 241 Toll south (Foothill Toll Road) – Santa Margarita | SR 241 north exit 27 | ||
| | 13.64 | Orange Grove Toll Plaza | ||||
| | 13.64 | 14B |  SR 241 Toll north (Foothill Toll Road) – Riverside | Northern terminus of SR 133; SR 241 south exit 27 | ||
| 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi | ||||||
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.
- ^ a b Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed December 2007 via ACME Mapper
- ^ "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: Los Angeles, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 29, 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.
- ^ Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 (Archive.org or Google Books), pp. 192-196
- ^ Official Automobile Blue Book, Volume Eight, 1918, p. 548
- ^ California State Assembly. "An act to amend sections 2, 3 and 5 and to add two sections to be numbered 6 and 7 to an act entitled 'An act to provide for the acquisition of rights of way for and the construction, maintenance..." Fiftieth Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 767 p. 2040.: "State Highway Route 60 near Laguna Beach to State Highway Route 2 near Irvine."
- ^ California State Assembly. "An act to establish a Streets and Highways Code, thereby consolidating and revising the law relating to public ways and all appurtenances thereto, and to repeal certain acts and parts of acts specified herein". Fifty-first Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 29 p. 286.: "Route 185 is from Route 60 near Laguna Beach to Route 2 near Irvine."
- ^ California State Assembly. "An act to amend Sections 306, 320, 332, 351, 362, 365, 369, 374, 382, 388, 397, 407, 408, 409, 410, 415, 422, 435, 440, 446, 453, 456, 460, 467, 470, 476, 487, 492, 493, 494, 506, 521, 528, and 529..." 1959 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 1062 p. 3115.
- ^ California Department of Transportation, 2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California Archived October 14, 2012, at the Wayback Machine, p. 73
- ^ California State Assembly. "An act to add Section 253 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 300) to Chapter 2 of Division 1 of, and to repeal Section 253 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 300) of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of, the..." 1963 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 385 p. 1182.: "Route 133 is from Route 1 near Laguna Beach to Route 5 near Irvine."
- ^ Long Beach Press-Telegram, Laguna Freeway Unit Dedication Oct. 1, September 29, 1952
- ^ Los Angeles Times, Traffic Opens on Laguna Highway Unit, October 2, 1952, p. A6
- ^ Paulson, Wendy (August 14, 1990). "IRVINE : Barranca-Freeway Interchange Opens". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- ^ Thomas Fortune, Los Angeles Times, State Cancels Its Plans for Laguna Canyon Freeway, October 17, 1975
- ^ a b California State Assembly. "An act to amend Section 564 of the Code of Civil Procedure, to amend Section 19993.7 of, and to add Section 65088.5 to, the Government Code, and to amend Sections 11474, 44013.5, and 44521 of, and to repeal Sections 39047.4..." 1995–1996 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 1154.: "Route 133 from Route 73 to Route 241."; "Route 133 is from Route 1 near Laguna Beach to Route 241."
- ^ Pat Brennan, Orange County Register, Nature's new scene, November 3, 2006
- ^ California State Assembly. "An act to add Sections 188.4 and 531 to the Streets and Highways Code, relating to transportation". 1987–1988 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 1364 p. 4561.
- ^ California State Assembly. "An act...relating to highways". 1991–1992 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 775 p. 3483.
- ^ Megan Garvey, Los Angeles Times, Latest Toll Road in O.C. Is Major Test for Concept, October 15, 1998
- ^ "All Electronic Tolling". Transportation Corridor Agencies. Archived from the original on October 16, 2012. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ^ "ExpressAccount". Transportation Corridor Agencies. October 2, 2019. Retrieved April 4, 2020.
- ^ "Ways to Pay Tolls". Transportation Corridor Agencies. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ^ "The Toll Roads Rate Card" (PDF). Transportation Corridor Agencies. July 1, 2022. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ^ 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 Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, 2006
- ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, SR-133 Northbound and SR-133 Southbound, accessed December 2007
External links
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- Caltrans: State Route 133 highway conditions
- Caltrans Traffic Conditions Map
- California Highway Patrol Traffic Incidents
- Transportation Corridor Agencies official website – includes toll information on SR 133 and the other Toll Roads of Orange County
- California @ AARoads - California 133
- California Highways: SR 133