California State Route 166

State Route 166 (SR 166) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. It connects the Central Coast to the southern San Joaquin Valley, running from State Route 1 in Guadalupe and through Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County to State Route 99 in Mettler in Kern County.

State Route 166
Map of western California with SR 166 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 466
Maintained by Caltrans
Length95.886 mi[1] (154.314 km)
SR 166 is broken into pieces, and the length does not reflect the US 101 and SR 33 overlaps that would be required to make the route continuous.
Major junctions
West end SR 1 in Guadalupe
 
East end SR 99 at Mettler
Location
CountiesSanta Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Kern
Highway system
← SR 165SR 167 →

Route description

Route 166 starts off in Guadalupe in northwestern Santa Barbara County and heads east towards Santa Maria, the largest city on its eastern journey. It then joins with U.S. Route 101 for the last few miles in Santa Barbara County before crossing the Santa Maria River and splitting off in San Luis Obispo County. For the next 75 miles (121 km), SR 166 crosses the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo county line a total of five times. This stretch follows the Cuyama River through a canyon separating the Sierra Madre Mountains from mountains in San Luis Obispo County, and then opens out into the Cuyama Valley, passing cattle ranches, going through the Russell Ranch Oil Field, and passing Aliso Canyon Road, the turnoff to the South Cuyama Oil Field. On the north during this stretch is the mile-high Caliente Range, which contains Caliente Mountain, the highest peak in San Luis Obispo County.

After going through the towns of New Cuyama and Cuyama, the highway meets SR 33 north of Ventucopa. SR 33 and SR 166 merge until reaching Maricopa, where SR 166 heads due east for its last 20 miles (32 km), intersecting with I-5 about 9 miles (14 km) north of the Grapevine. SR 166 ends at SR 99 in Mettler, and it is the last exit for both I-5 and SR 99 southbound before they merge near Wheeler Ridge.

The western terminus of Route 166 snakes through the Guadalupe-Nipomo Dunes, which end at the Pacific Ocean

In Kern County, Highway 166 is known as the Maricopa Highway. West of Maricopa, where it skirts Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, it is called the Cuyama Highway. In the cities of Santa Maria and Guadalupe, it is known as Main Street.

SR 166 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[2] but is not part of the National Highway System,[3] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[4] The route is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System,[5] but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.[6] From US 101 to SR 33, SR 166 is known as the "CHP Officers Irvine and Stovall Memorial Highway". In February 1998, a large storm swelled the Cuyama River and caused it to wash out a section of the highway. Officers Britt Irvine and Rick Stovall were responding to an early morning call about a truck accident when their CHP cruiser drove off the washed out section.[7]

History

Before 1964, the portion of SR 166 merged with SR 33 was part of US 399.

Major intersections

Except 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 an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

CountyLocationPostmile
[1][8][9]		Exit
[10]		DestinationsNotes
Santa Barbara
SB 0.00-90.99[N 1]		Guadalupe0.00West Main StreetContinuation beyond SR 1
0.00 SR 1West end of SR 166
Santa Maria7.87 SR 135 (Broadway, US 101 Bus.)
8.93
88.60[N 1]		 US 101 south / Main StreetInterchange; west end of US 101 overlap
8.93
88.60[N 1]		West end of freeway on US 101
89.69[N 1]172Donovan Road
90.75[N 1]173 SR 135 south (Broadway, US 101 Bus. south) – Santa Maria
San Luis Obispo
SLO 0.00[N 1]-22.89		​0.81[N 1]
13.51		East end of freeway on US 101
​0.81[N 1]
13.51		 US 101 north / Cuyama LaneInterchange; east end of US 101 overlap
Santa Barbara
SB 22.89-R34.99		 No major junctions
San Luis Obispo
SLO R34.99-R51.09		 No major junctions
Santa Barbara
SB R51.09-R70.14		 No major junctions
San Luis Obispo
SLO R70.14-4.95[N 2]		​74.72
2.80[N 2]		 SR 33 south – Ojai, VenturaWest end of SR 33 overlap; former US 399 south
Kern
KER 0.00[N 2]-24.62		MaricopaR11.56[N 2]
0.01		 SR 33 north (California Street) – Central District, TaftEast end of SR 33 overlap; former US 399 north
​14.86Old River Road – Old River
​22.80 I-5Interchange; I-5 exit 225
Mettler24.62Mettler Frontage Road West – Mettler
24.62 SR 99 – Los Angeles, BakersfieldInterchange; east end of SR 166; former US 99; SR 99 exit 3
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along US 101 rather than SR 166.
  2. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 33 rather than SR 166.
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See also
  •  California Roads portal

References
  1. California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  2. "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the California Streets and Highways Code". Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  3. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: California (South) (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  4. 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.
  5. "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of the California Streets & Highways Code". Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  6. California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
  7. California Department of Transportation; California State Transportation Agency (January 2015). 2014 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. pp. 80, 240, 280. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
  8. California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  9. California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  10. California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, U.S. Route 101 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-07.

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