California State Route 99 - Route Description

Route Description

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System.

From its southern terminus at I-5 in Wheeler Ridge (Wheeler Ridge Interchange) to Sacramento, Route 99 passes through the major cities of the San Joaquin Valley, including Bakersfield, Tulare, Visalia, Fresno, Madera, Merced, Modesto, and Stockton. A majority of this segment is built to freeway standards, However, there are portions that are a four-lane divided highway, including the section near Merced that has two at-grade intersections. The portion of the highway between Fresno and Modesto has been designation the "100th Infantry Battalion Memorial Highway."

The freeway sections connect and serve the numerous small cities—and large urban centers as well—that mostly support the agriculture and industry of the California Central Valley. These segments provide a fast medium-distance haulage route connecting agricultural production with related processing and packing businesses. Most of the freeway also parallels the Union Pacific's Fresno Subdivision.

In Sacramento, Highway 99 first joins with Interstate 80 Business as part of the Capital City Freeway, then runs concurrent with I-5. These SR 99 concurrences are not officially designated by Caltrans, but mapmakers often show it as such. SR 99 signage had existed along that route for motorists' convenience, but was removed in 2000, and replaced by SR 99 signs instead.

Highway 99 then splits from I-5 in Northern Sacramento, and then heads along the eastern segment of the Sacramento Valley through Yuba City, and Chico to its northern terminus at Route 36 near Red Bluff. Most of Highway 99 from Sacramento to Red Bluff is a two-lane highway, except for the parts in Yuba City and Chico that are built to freeway standards. The portion between Salida and Manteca is designated the "442nd Regimental Combat Team Memorial Highway."