California State Route 133

Infobox road
state=CA
type=SR
route=133
alternate_name=Laguna Canyon Road, Laguna Freeway,

---

length_mi=13.635
length_ref=
length_round=3
history=State highway in 1933; SR 133 in 1964
direction_a=South
terminus_a=Jct|state=CA|SR|1 in Laguna Beach
junction=jct|state=CA|I|5 in Irvine
direction_b=North
terminus_b=Jct|state=CA|SR|241 near Irvine
previous_type=SR
previous_route=132
next_type=SR
next_route=134

State Route 133 (SR 133) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It connects SR 1 in Laguna Beach through the San Joaquin Hills with several freeways in Irvine, ending at the SR 241 toll road in the latter city.

The portion north of SR 73 in Laguna Beach is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and it is built as an expressway from SR 73 to Laguna Canyon Road (just south of I-405 in Irvine). SR 133 is a freeway (the Laguna Freeway) to I-5, and a tollway (part of the Eastern Toll Road) to SR 241 near the Santa Ana Mountains.

Route description

State Route 133 begins at the Pacific Coast Highway (SR 1) as Broadway Street 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 (County Route S18). SR 133 widens to four lanes and becomes a highway after its interchange with the San Joaquin Hills Toll Road (SR 73).Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed December 2007 via [http://mapper.acme.com/ ACME Mapper] ]

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, San Diego Freeway (I-405). SR 133 then continues as a freeway and serves Barranca Parkway and the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5). After crossing I-5, SR 133 becomes part of the Eastern Toll Road along the northwest side of Marine Corps Air Station El Toro, crossing an interchange with Irvine Boulevard at exit 12 before ending at SR 241. Toll booths are located on the south-facing ramps just north of Irvine Boulevard.

History

As 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 at Irvine with Laguna Beach, by 1917. [Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 ( [http://www.archive.org/details/californiahighwa00blowrich Archive.org] or [http://books.google.com/books?id=osgNAAAAYAAJ Google Books] ), pp. 192-196] [Official Automobile Blue Book, [http://books.google.com/books?id=Mt0NAAAAYAAJ Volume Eight] , 1918, p. 548] The road was added to the state highway system in 1933 as Route 185, an unsigned designation. [cite CAstat|year=1933|ch=767|p=2040: "State Highway Route 60 near Laguna Beach to State Highway Route 2 near Irvine."] [cite CAstat|year=1935|ch=29|p=286: "Route 185 is from Route 60 near Laguna Beach to Route 2 near Irvine."] The entire route was added to the new California Freeway and Expressway System in 1959; [cite CAstat|year=1959|ch=1062|p=3115] the planned upgrade had already been named the Laguna Freeway by the California Highway Commission on November 26, 1957. [California Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/Named_Freeways.pdf 2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California] , p. 73] The highway received a sign route number - State Route 133 - in the 1964 renumbering.cite CAstat|year=1963|ch=385|p=1182: "Route 133 is from Route 1 near Laguna Beach to Route 5 near Irvine."]

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. There were initially no other interchanges along the route. [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] The state decided not to build the remainder of the freeway in late 1975 , [Thomas Fortune, Los Angeles Times, State Cancels Its Plans for Laguna Canyon Freeway, October 17, 1975] and in 1996 the portion south of SR 73 was removed from the Freeway and Expressway System.cite CAstat|year=1996|ch=1154: "Route 133 from Route 73 to Route 241."; "Route 133 is from Route 1 near Laguna Beach to Route 241."] 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. [Pat Brennan, Orange County Register, [http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/news/abox/article_1343696.php Nature's new scene] , November 3, 2006]

A new State Route 231 was added to the state highway system in 1988, connecting I-5 northwest of Irvine with SR 91, [cite CAstat|year=1988|ch=1364|p=4561] and in 1991 the south end was shifted southeast to the north end of SR 133, with the old route becoming SR 261. [cite CAstat|year=1991|ch=775|p=3483] 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. 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. [Megan Garvey, Los Angeles Times, Latest Toll Road in O.C. Is Major Test for Concept, October 15, 1998]

Major intersections and exit list

:"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 entire route is in Orange County.

References

External links

* [http://www.westcoastroads.com/california/ca-133.html California @ WestCoastRoads - California 133]
* [http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/sr133 California Highway Conditions: SR 133]
* [http://www.cahighways.org/129-136.html#133 California Highways: SR 133]