California State Route 120#Priest grades

Image:Tioga-Pass-Entrance-Station.jpg

Image:SR 120 Yosemite.jpg.]]

File:California State Route 120 Markers at Yosemite National Park.jpg

File:Tuolumne Meadows - Pywiack Dome summit looking SW - 3.JPG viewed from Pywiack Dome.]]

SR 120 begins as a freeway intersecting Interstate 5 to extend Interstate 205 through Manteca. In east Manteca the freeway ends at SR 99 and becomes a highway which continues to head east through Escalon, Oakdale and other various small towns. East of Oakdale there are no highly populated areas for {{convert|90|mi|km}} as it heads into the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and into Yosemite National Park.

Inside Yosemite, state routes are federally maintained and are not included in the state route logs, but the park may still sign these state routes at intersections. The highway continues into the park as Big Oak Flat Road and heads towards Crane Flat. After leaving Crane Flat, Big Oak Flat Road turns southeast towards Yosemite Valley, while SR 120 continues east as Tioga Pass Road (or often simply Tioga Road).{{cite web|url=http://www.yosemite.ca.us/library/tioga_road/reconstruction.html|title=The Tioga Road; a History 1883-1961 (1961, 1980), "Reconstruction," by Keith A. Trexler|work=yosemite.ca.us}} The highway retains that name as it travels through Tuolumne Meadows, over Tioga Pass at an elevation of 9,945 feet, and through the Lee Vining Canyon on its {{convert|59|mi|km|adj=on}} journey to its intersection with U.S. Route 395, at Lee Vining. After a jog to the south along US 395, it continues east as Mono Mills Road,{{cite web|url=http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/6/u1/|title=Floodgap Roadgap's Summer of 6 -- U.S. Highway 6, Part 1: US 6 in California (Bishop to Nevada State Line; Inyo County, Mono County)|work=floodgap.com}} skirting the south end of Mono Lake and providing access to the Mono Lake South Tufa as well as the historical site of Mono Mills before cresting Sagehen Summit and ending with the intersection of U.S. Route 6 at Benton. Both the portions through Yosemite National Park and the stretch between Mono Lake and Benton are subject to winter closure. Usually the highway is open through Tioga Pass by the Memorial Day weekend at the end of May, and typically closes for the winter sometime in November.{{cite web|url=https://dot.ca.gov/travel/winter-driving-tips|title=Winter Driving Tips|publisher=Caltrans|accessdate=January 2, 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wroads.htm|title=Yosemite National Park Winter Road Closures|work=National Park Service|access-date=January 29, 2023}}

Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road is officially both a National Scenic Byway and a National Forest Scenic Byway.{{cite web |author = Staff |url = http://byways.org/explore/byways/2302/ |title = Tioga Road/Big Oak Flat Road |work = America's Byways |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = November 29, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111120100918/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2302 |archive-date = November 20, 2011 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }} The segment through the Lee Vining Canyon between the eastern edge of Yosemite and US 395 is designated as the Lee Vining Canyon Scenic Byway, a separate National Forest Scenic Byway.{{cite web |author = Staff |url = http://byways.org/explore/byways/2298/ |title = Lee Vining Canyon Scenic Byway |work = America's Byways |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = October 23, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111023091305/http://byways.org/explore/byways/2298 |archive-date = October 23, 2011 |url-status = dead |df = mdy-all }}

SR 120 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,{{CAFESystem}} and both the western portion and the eastern portion west of US 395 are part of the National Highway System,{{FHWA NHS map|region=californianorth|access-date=September 30, 2017}} a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.{{FHWA NHS}} SR 120 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System,{{CA scenic}} but it is not officially designated as a scenic highway by the California Department of Transportation.{{Caltrans scenic|access-date=September 30, 2017}} The Tioga Pass Road was designated as a California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the American Society of Civil Engineers in 2002.{{cite web |url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=49970 |title=The Tioga Pass Road Historical Marker |author= |website=The Historical Marker Database |access-date=March 6, 2021}}

File:The national parks portfolio (1921) (14582187938).jpg

File:Granite Mtns Wilderness CA.JPG Granite Mountain Wilderness is immediately north of Route 120, just east of Mono Lake.{{Cite web |url=http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bishop/wilderness/granite_mountain.html |title=BLM Granite Mountain Wilderness |access-date=August 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828193825/http://www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/bishop/wilderness/granite_mountain.html |archive-date=August 28, 2016 |url-status=dead }}]]

During the Gold Rush, SR 120 was originally known as Big Oak Flat Road, after the village of Big Oak Flat through which it passes in the Sierra foothills. It was a pack trail from Stockton which became popular with prospectors about 1849. By 1874 it was a wagon road which extended to Yosemite Valley.

In 1921, the California State Assembly authorized San Joaquin County to transfer the county road connecting Manteca with then-Route 5 (now I-5) at Mossdale to the state.Statutes 1921 p. 1627: [https://books.google.com/books?id=CNQ3AAAAIAAJ&pg=RA3-PA17 State highway in San Joaquin County] It was numbered Route 66, as was a 1933 extension from Manteca east to Route 13 in Oakdale. Also in 1933, Route 40 was extended east from Mono Lake to Route 76 (US 6) at Benton.California Department of Transportation, [http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/state_highway_routes_selected_information_1995_revised.pdf State Highway Routes: Selected Information], 1994 with 1995 revisions The route from Manteca to Benton was marked as Sign Route 120 in 1934,{{cite journal |first = T.H. |last = Dennis |date = August 1934 |url = https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich |title = State Routes Will Be Numbered and Marked with Distinctive Bear Signs |journal = California Highways and Public Works |volume = 11 |issue = 8 |pages = [https://archive.org/details/californiahighwa193436calirich/page/20 20]–21, 32 |issn = 0008-1159 |via = Archive.org }} and was soon extended west to Mossdale,H.M. Gousha Company, [http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/droz-ca42.jpg California] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071013161636/http://members.cox.net/mkpl2/hist/droz-ca42.jpg |date=October 13, 2007 }}, 1942 replacing what had been part of U.S. Route 99W.American Association of State Highway Officials, [https://books.google.com/books?id=Yg8iAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Stockton+6%2C+French+Camp+7%2C+Mossdale+6%2C+Manteca log of U.S. Highways], American Highways, ca. 1932

West of Priest is a section of highway with over one hundred curves and hairpin turns, known as the "New Priest Grade." With a 4% grade, it opened in 1915 and was built by a group of local volunteers who desired an alternative to the very steep (17%) Old Priest Grade.{{cite web|title=Priest Grade, Grizzly Gulch|url=http://www.pinemountainlake.com/Priest-Grade,-Grizzly-Gulch~335619~21389.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/20131004063446/http://www.pinemountainlake.com/Priest-Grade,-Grizzly-Gulch~335619~21389.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=October 4, 2013|publisher=Pine Mountain Lake Association|access-date=June 6, 2013}} Today, both grades are paved, but trailers and RVs are prohibited from Old Priest Grade.{{cite web|title=CA-120 E|url=https://www.google.com/maps?saddr=CA-120+E/New+Priest+Grade+Rd&daddr=CA-120+E&hl=en&ll=37.818836,-120.287418&spn=0.031698,0.066218&sll=37.8167,-120.285745&sspn=0.031698,0.066218&geocode=FSYBQQIdV2LU-A;FcL-QAIdBszU-A&mra=prv&t=m&z=15|publisher=Google, Inc.|access-date=June 6, 2013}} There is a 7,500-pound weight limit on the old grade.

In 1956, National Park Service developed plans to relocate the Big Oak Flat Road from Crane Flat to the park's eastern boundary, and reconstruct the unimproved central section of the Tioga Road. NPS management wanted to "open up" the High Sierra section of the park to vastly increased numbers of visitors, and planned a new visitor center and other facilities at Tuolumne Meadows, as well as campgrounds and other facilities along the Tioga Road. This brought fierce opposition from the Sierra Club, led by famed photographer Ansel Adams. Adams and his supporters opposed the blasting of a great granite dome southwest of Tenaya Lake, as well as routing the highway along the western shore of the lake. Internally, however, many Sierra Club members supported the project. At the time, Sierra Club opposition created a serious rift in the long-time close relationship between the environmental organization and the National Park Service. In the end, the government proceeded to build the project as originally planned, with only minor modifications.{{cite web|title=Tioga Road (HAER No. CA-149)|url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Tioga_Road_(HAER_No._CA-149)_written_historical_and_descriptive_data |publisher=Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service, U.S. Dept. of the Interior|access-date=October 8, 2024}}

On November 25, 2020, the first diverging diamond interchange in the state of California opened to traffic at the interchange with Union Road (exit 4) in Manteca.{{cite web|title=State Route 120 / Union Road Interchange Project|url=https://mantecaddi.net/|publisher=City of Manteca|access-date=February 14, 2024}}

{{Clear}}

{{CAinttop|exit|post_ref=
{{Caltrans bridgelog|date=July 2007}}California Department of Transportation, [http://traffic-counts.dot.ca.gov/ All Traffic Volumes on CSHS], 2005 and 2006|exit_ref=
California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, [http://www.dot.ca.gov/trafficops/exit/docs/onetwentyeast.pdf SR-120 Eastbound] and [http://www.dot.ca.gov/trafficops/exit/docs/onetwentywest.pdf SR-120 Westbound], accessed February 2008

}}

{{CAint|exit

|county=San Joaquin

|cspan=13

|county_note=SJ R0.49-21.18

|location=Lathrop

|postmile=R0.49

|exit=1

|road={{Jct|state=CA|I|5|city1=San Francisco|city2=Los Angeles|city3=Stockton|city4=Sacramento}}

|notes=Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north); west end of SR 120; former US 50 west; I-5 exit 461

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=Manteca

|lspan=9

|postmile=R1.33

|exit=1C

|road=Yosemite Avenue

|notes=Signed as exit 1 eastbound

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=R2.30

|exit=2

|road=McKinley Avenue{{cite web |last1=Wyatt |first1=Dennis |title=McKinley Interchange is Manteca Game Changer |url=https://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/local-news/mckinley-interchange-manteca-game-changer/ |website=Manteca/Ripon Bulletin |access-date=January 6, 2024}}

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=R3.32

|exit=3

|road=Airport Way (CR J3) – Sharpe Depot

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=R4.31

|exit=4

|road=Union Road

|notes=Diverging diamond interchange: first one constructed in California and opened to traffic on November 25, 2020

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=R5.31

|exit=5

|road=South Main Street

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|postmile=T6.87

|line=yes

|postmile2=5.82Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 99 rather than SR 120.

|exit=6

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|99|dir1=south|city1=Modesto|city2=Fresno|city3=Los Angeles}}

|notes=West end of SR 99 overlap; SR 99 exit 241

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=6.65

|line=yes

|postmile2=6.20

|pmspan=2

|place=East end of freeway on SR 99

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|mile=none

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|99|dir1=north|city1=Sacramento|road|Yosemite Avenue|location2=Central Manteca}}

|notes=Interchange; east end of SR 99 overlap; SR 99 exit 242

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=8.84

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J5|county1=San Joaquin|name1=Jack Tone Road}}

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|postmile=11.64

|exit=

|road=French Camp Road

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|location=Escalon

|lspan=2

|postmile=none

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J6|county1=San Joaquin|CR|J7|dir2=north|county2=San Joaquin|name2=Escalon-Bellota Road, McHenry Avenue|city1=Farmington|city2=Modesto}}

|notes=West end of CR J7 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|postmile=R16.92

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J7|dir1=south|county1=San Joaquin|name1=Main Street|road|Kern Street}}

|notes=East end of CR J7 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|county=Stanislaus

|cspan=3

|county_note=STA 0.00-T18.17

|location=none

|type=concur

|postmile=3.16

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J9|dir1=north|county1=Stanislaus|name1=Valley Home Road|city1=Valley Home}}

|notes=West end of CR J9 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|type=concur

|postmile=none

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J14|dir1=north|county1=Stanislaus|name1=Twenty-Six Mile Road}}

|notes=West end of CR J14 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=Oakdale

|type=concur

|postmile=5.12

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|108|dir1=west|name1=F Street|city1=Modesto|CR|J9|county2=Stanislaus|CR|J14|dir3=south|county3=Stanislaus|name3=Yosemite Avenue}}

|notes=West end of SR 108 overlap; east end of CR J9 / CR J14 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|county=Tuolumne

|cspan=9

|county_note=TUO R0.00-R41.52

|location=none

|postmile=8.19

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J59|county1=Tuolumne|name1=La Grange Road|city1=La Grange|city2=Merced}}

|notes=Northern terminus of CR J59

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|postmile=none

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|E15|county1=Tuolumne|name1=O'Byrnes Ferry Road|city1=Copperopolis}}

|notes=Southern terminus of CR E15

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|location=none

|postmile=12.08

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|108|dir1=east|city1=Sonora}}

|notes=East end of SR 108 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|location=Chinese Camp

|postmile=15.52

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|49|dir1=north|city1=Sonora}}

|notes=West end of SR 49 overlap

}}

{{Jctbridge|exit

|state=CA

|location_special=Tuolumne River / Don Pedro Reservoir

|postmile=R19.61

|place=James E. Roberts Bridge

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|type=concur

|postmile=R23.90

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|49|dir1=south|city1=Coulterville|city2=Mariposa}}

|notes=East end of SR 49 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=Buck Meadows

|postmile=R39.46

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|CR|J132|to2=yes|SR|132|county1=Tuolumne|name1=Smith Station Road, Greeley Hill Road|city1=Coulterville|city2=Merced}}

|notes=Eastern terminus of CR J132

}}

{{Jctplace|exit

|state=CA

|location_special=Yosemite National Park

|lspan=6

|postmile= 

|place=East end of state maintenance at western park boundary

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=toll

|postmile=none

|place=Big Oak Flat Entrance Station; park fee or pass required for entry{{cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/fees.htm|title=Yosemite National Park Fees & Passes|work=National Park Service|access-date=December 31, 2021}}

}}

{{CAint|exit

|county=Mariposa

|cspan=2

|county_note=MPA R41.52-43.75

|postmile=none

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|road|Big Oak Flat Road|to2=1|SR|41|SR|140|city1=Yosemite Valley}}

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=none

|place=Tuolumne Grove
(winter closure gate near the eastern end of the grove){{cite web | title=View of eastbound Tioga Road at the open winter closure gate east of Tuolumne Grove | url=https://www.google.com/maps/@37.7606317,-119.8024893,3a,75y,53.1h,87.35t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s4wCWYkeU8Q5Ez0mb5jHmYg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 | work=Google Street View | date=October 2018 | access-date=January 2, 2023}}

}}

{{CAint|exit

|county=Tuolumne

|cspan=2

|county_note=TUO 43.75-R56.15

|type=toll

|postmile=none

|place=Tioga Pass Entrance Station (closed in winters); park fee or pass required for entry

}}

{{CAint|exit

|postmile=none

|place=West end of state maintenance at eastern park boundary

}}

{{CAint|exit

|county=Mono

|cspan=8

|county_note=MNO R0.00-58.99

|location=none

|postmile=R8.54

|place=Westbound winter closure gate

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=Lee Vining

|type=concur

|postmile=R12.06

|line=yes

|postmile2=50.74Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along US 395 rather than SR 120.

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|US|395|dir1=north|city1=Lee Vining|road|Airport Road|location1=Reno}}

|notes=West end of US 395 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=June Lake Loop North Junction

|postmile=46.40

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|SR|158|dir1=south|city1=June Lake}}

|notes=Northern terminus of SR 158

}}

{{CAint|exit

|type=concur

|location=Mono Mills Junction

|postmile=45.96

|line=yes

|postmile2=13.37

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|US|395|dir1=south|city1=Bishop}}

|notes=East end of US 395 overlap

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|postmile=18.49

|exit=

|place=Eastbound winter closure gate

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|postmile=39.05

|exit=

|place=Westbound winter closure gate

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=none

|postmile=51.86

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|road|Benton Crossing Road|US|395|to2=y|location1=Owens River|city2=Crowley Lake}}

|notes=

}}

{{CAint|exit

|location=Benton

|postmile=58.99

|exit=

|road={{Jct|state=CA|US|6|location1=Tonopah|city2=Bishop}}

|notes=East end of SR 120

}}

{{Jctbtm|col=6|keys=concur,toll}}

{{reflist|group="N"}}

• {{portal-inline|California Roads}}

{{reflist|30em}}

• Map: "Stanislaus National Forest, California," U.S. Forest Service, 1979.

{{commonscat}}

{{Wikisource|Tioga Road (HAER No. CA-149) written historical and descriptive data}}

{{wikisource|Big Oak Flat Road (HAER No. CA-147) written historical and descriptive data}}

{{Attached KML|display=inline,title}}

{{CASR external links|SR|120}}

• [http://www.undiscovered-yosemite.com/tioga-road-history.html A Brief History Of The Tioga Road]
• [https://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/conditions.htm Tioga Road (Highway 120 through the Yosemite National Park) conditions]
• [http://www.aaroads.com/california/ca-120.html California @ AARoads.com - State Route 120]
• [http://www.cahighways.org/113-120.html#120 California Highways: SR 120]

{{Yosemite National Park}}

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Category:U.S. Route 99