California State Route 166 - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

State Route 166 is a state highway

State highway

State highway, state road or state route can refer to one of three related concepts, two of them related to a state or provincial government in a country that is divided into states or provinces :#A...

in the U.S. state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

of California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. It connects the Central Coast

Central Coast of California

The Central Coast is an area of California, United States, roughly spanning the area between the Monterey Bay and Point Conception. It extends through Santa Cruz County, San Benito County, Monterey County, San Luis Obispo County, and Santa Barbara County...

to the southern San Joaquin Valley

San Joaquin Valley

The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...

.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System

California Freeway and Expressway System

The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It is defined by the Streets and Highways Code.-List of roads in the system:*State Route 1 *State Route 2...

and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System

State Scenic Highway System (California)

The State Scenic Highway System is a list of highways, mainly state highways, that have been designated by the California Department of Transportation as scenic highways. The California State Legislature, primarily through Section 263 of the Streets and Highways Code, makes highways eligible for...

Route description

Route 166 starts off in Guadalupe

Guadalupe, California

Guadalupe is a small city located in Santa Barbara County, California. According to the U.S. Census of 2010, the city has a population of 7,080. It was incorporated as a city on May 19, 1946...

in northwestern Santa Barbara County

Santa Barbara County, California

Santa Barbara County is a county located in the southern portion of the U.S. state of California, on the Pacific coast. As of 2010 the county had a population of 423,895. The county seat is Santa Barbara and the largest city is Santa Maria.-History:...

and heads east towards the largest city on its eastern journey: Santa Maria

Santa Maria, California

Santa Maria is a city in Santa Barbara County, on the Central Coast of California. The 2010 census population was 100,062, putting it ahead of Santa Barbara for the first time and making it the largest city in the county...

. It then joins with

Concurrency (road)

A concurrency, overlap, or coincidence in a road network is an instance of one physical road bearing two or more different highway, motorway, or other route numbers...

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

San Luis Obispo County, California

San Luis Obispo County is a county located along the Pacific Ocean in the Central Coast of the U.S. state of California, between Los Angeles and the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census its population was 269,637, up from 246,681 at the 2000 census...

. For the next 75 miles (120.7 km), SR 166 crosses the Santa Barbara/San Luis Obispo county line a total of five times. This stretch follows the Cuyama River

Cuyama River

The Cuyama River is a river in southern San Luis Obispo County, northern Santa Barbara County, and northern Ventura County, in the U.S. state of California. It joins the Sisquoc River forming the Santa Maria River...

through a canyon separating the Sierra Madre Mountains from mountains in San Luis Obispo County, and then opens out into the Cuyama Valley

Cuyama Valley

The Cuyama Valley is a valley along the Cuyama River in central California, in northern Santa Barbara, southern San Luis Obispo, southwestern Kern, and northwestern Ventura counties. It is a sparsely inhabited area containing two significant towns – Cuyama and New Cuyama – and is largely used for...

, passing cattle ranches, going through the Russell Ranch Oil Field

Russell Ranch Oil Field

The Russell Ranch Oil Field is an oil and gas field in the Cuyama Valley of northern Santa Barbara and southern San Luis Obispo Counties, California, in the United States...

, and passing Aliso Canyon Road, the turnoff to the South Cuyama Oil Field

South Cuyama Oil Field

The South Cuyama Oil Field is a large oil and gas field in the Cuyama Valley and the adjacent northern foothills of the Sierra Madre Mountains in northeastern Santa Barbara County, California...

. On the north during this stretch is the mile-high Caliente Range

Caliente Range

The Caliente Range is a west-east trending zone of uplift mountains in the Pacific Coast Ranges, in central California. They are home to 5106 foot Caliente Mountain, the highest peak in San Luis Obispo County, California.-Geologic setting:...

, which contains Caliente Mountain

Caliente Mountain

Caliente Mountain is a mountain located in the Southern Coast Ranges of California. The summit, at , is the highest point in San Luis Obispo County and the Caliente Range. The mountain receives a little snowfall during the winter mounths....

, the highest peak in San Luis Obispo County.

After going through the towns of New Cuyama

New Cuyama, California

New Cuyama is a census-designated place in the Cuyama Valley, in Santa Barbara County, California, in the United States. It was named after the Chumash Indian word for "clams", most likely due to the millions of petrified prehistoric clamshell fossils that are found in the surrounding areas...

and Cuyama

Cuyama, California

Cuyama is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County. California. It is located in the Cuyama Valley, near the Carrizo Plain. The Cuyama River runs adjacent to the town, flowing west towards the Pacific Ocean. Cuyama is surrounded by many apricot, peach, and plum orchards. The ZIP Code is...

, the highway meets SR 33

California State Route 33

State Route 33 is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California. SR 33 replaced part of U.S. Route 399 in 1964 during the "great renumbering" of routes. In the unincorporated sections of Kern County it is known as the West Side Highway...

north of Ventucopa

Ventucopa, California

Ventucopa is an unincorporated town in the upper Cuyama Valley of Santa Barbara County, California. It lies on State Route 33 near the eastern bank of the seasonally-dry Cuyama River, about southeast of Cuyama...

. SR 33 and SR 166 merge until reaching Maricopa

Maricopa, California

Maricopa is a city in Kern County, California, United States. Maricopa is located south-southeast of Taft, at an elevation of 883 feet . The population was 1,154 at the 2010 census, up from 1,111 at the 2000 census. Maricopa lies at the junction of Route 166 and Route 33...

, where SR 166 heads due east for its last 20 miles (32.2 km), intersecting with I-5 9 miles (14.5 km) north of the Grapevine

Grapevine, California

Grapevine is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. At an elevation of 1499 feet , the community is located at the foot of a road grade known as The Grapevine through the Grapevine Canyon to Tejon Pass in the Tehachapi Mountains at the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley along...

. SR 166 ends at SR 99

California State Route 99

California State Route 99 , commonly known as Highway 99 or, simply, as 99 , is a north–south state highway in the U.S. state of California, stretching almost the entire length of the Central Valley...

in Mettler

Mettler, California

Mettler, or Mettler Station, is a heavily Hispanic, low-income unincorporated area and census-designated place in Kern County, California. The population was 136 at the 2010 census, down from 157 at the 2000 census...

, and it is the last exit for both I-5 and SR 99 southbound before they merge near Wheeler Ridge

Wheeler Ridge, California

Wheeler Ridge is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located south-southeast of Mettler, at an elevation of 955 feet .A post office operated at Wheeler Ridge from 1923 to 1972....

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

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.

From US 101 to the junction of SR 33, 166 is signed 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, overturned and was buried in mud.^{http://www.chp.ca.gov/memorial/memorial90.html#1998}

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 some county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

{| class=wikitable
!County
!Location
!Postmile

!Exit

Exit number

An exit number is a number assigned to a road junction, usually an exit from a freeway. It is usually marked on the same sign as the destinations of the exit, as well as a sign in the gore....

!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=7|Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara County, California

SB 0.00-90.99Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along US 101 rather than SR 166.
|rowspan=2|Guadalupe

Guadalupe, California

Guadalupe is a small city located in Santa Barbara County, California. According to the U.S. Census of 2010, the city has a population of 7,080. It was incorporated as a city on May 19, 1946...

|0.00
|
|West Main Street
|Continuation beyond SR 1
|-
|0.00
|
|
|
|-
|rowspan=5|Santa Maria

Santa Maria, California

|7.87
|
|
|
|-bgcolor=#ddffdd
|8.93
88.60
|
|
|Interchange; west end of US 101 overlap
|-
|colspan=4 align=center|West end of freeway on US 101
|-
|89.69
|172
|Donovan Road
|
|-
|90.75
|173
|
|
|-
|rowspan=2|San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo County, California

Santa Barbara County, California

SB 22.89-R34.99
|colspan=5 align=center|No junctions
|-
|San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo County, California

SLO R34.99-R51.09
|colspan=5 align=center|No junctions
|-
|Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara County, California

SLO R51.09-R70.14
|colspan=5 align=center|No junctions
|-
|San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo County, California

SLO R70.14-4.95Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 33

California State Route 33

Kern County, California

Spreading across the southern end of the California Central Valley, Kern County is the fifth-largest county by population in California. Its economy is heavily linked to agriculture and to petroleum extraction, and there is a strong aviation and space presence. Politically, it has generally...

KER 0.00-24.62
|
|
|
|Cerro Noroeste Road – Mount Abel Recreation Area
|
|-
|
|
|
|Soda Lake Road – Soda Lake

Soda Lake (San Luis Obispo County)

Soda Lake is a shallow, ephemeral, alkali endorheic lake in the Carrizo Plain in southeastern San Luis Obispo County, California. The lake is located on the southwest side of the northern Carrizo Plain, 103 km east of San Luis Obispo. It can be reached by Soda Lake Road, which runs...

, California Valley

California Valley, California

California Valley is an unincorporated community located in the eastern part of San Luis Obispo County, California, in the northern portion of the Carrizo Plain.Located...

|Serves Carrizo Plain National Monument
|-
|Maricopa

Maricopa, California

Maricopa, California

, Taft

Taft, California

Taft is a city in the foothills at the extreme southwestern edge of the San Joaquin Valley, in Kern County, California. Taft is located west-southwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 955 feet . The population was 9,327 at the 2010 census...

Old River, California

Old River is an unincorporated community in Kern County, California. It is located southwest of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 344 feet .The settlement was founded in the 1870s and named from the old Kern River bed....

|
|-
|
|22.80
|
|
|Interchange
|-
|rowspan=2|Mettler

Mettler, California

|24.62
|
|Mettler Frontage Road West – Mettler

Mettler, California

|
|-
|24.62
|
|
|Interchange; former US 99

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