California State Route 54

A road through Jamacha is mentioned in The San Diego Union as early as February 1908,[10] and was oiled in 1935 from US 80 (Main Street) around El Cajon to Sweetwater Valley and in other places by the Sweetwater River.[11][12]

In 1956, the route of what would become the South Bay Freeway had been determined; it would run from Sweetwater Road in National City to Spring Valley and the intersection of Sweetwater Road and Jamacha Boulevard.[13] Three years later, the California State Legislature added Route 280 from near the Sweetwater River to El Cajon to the state highway system.[14] The South Bay Freeway was included in the county's 1960–1961 budget as the most important project.[15] By 1961, E Street in Chula Vista continued along the Sweetwater River; it turned northeast and became Sweetwater Road before it entered into Lemon Grove.[16]

Bids were accepted in November 1962 for the part of the freeway from eastern National City and Valley Road to La Presa and Jamacha Road; it was to loosely parallel Sweetwater Road.[17] This portion of freeway opened on September 27, 1963, and the entire project cost $2.25 million (about $15 million in 2021 dollars);[18] however, although it was a four-lane freeway, it was declared as an expressway since all intersections were at-grade intersections. While the road was originally planned to have eight lanes, only four were constructed due to the additional cost.[13][19] Meanwhile, SR 54 was officially designated in the 1964 state highway renumbering as the road from I-5 near the Sweetwater River to I-8 in El Cajon,[20] replacing Route 280.[13]

The South Bay Freeway east of I-805

SR 54 was extended west as a freeway to I-5 from I-805 at the same time the Sweetwater River flood control channel was built;[21] the state proposed routing the flood channel in between the two roadways of the freeway in 1963, and it would also delineate the boundary between the cities of Chula Vista and National City.[22] Later that year, the county proposed an extension of the freeway east to US 80 and Third Street in El Cajon.[23] In 1966, the U.S. Army's Board of Engineers supported the construction of the flood channel, to protect future development in the surrounding region from floods; the integration of SR 54 was included in the proposal.[24]

Two years later, county officials expressed concerns over the delay of state and federal approval and considered building the freeway without the flood control component of the project.[25] The county hoped to build both projects at the same time to save $4 million (about $24 million in 2021 dollars)[18] in costs. This was since it was estimated to require three years' worth of legislation to be accomplished in a single year by the county board of supervisors[26] in order to use the Interstate Highway System funds that were set to expire in 1972.[27] Congress approved the project,[28] but in late 1968, the target date for completion of the system would be pushed back two years.[29]

By 1971, the projected start of construction had slipped to within three to four years from then;[30] however, Caltrans had approved the project.[31] In July 1974, the California Coastal Commission unanimously decided to halt the entire project, since many of the necessary approvals from governmental bodies had not been obtained; this overrode an exemption granted by the San Diego Coast Regional Commission.[32] Both the mayors of Chula Vista and National City were dismayed;[33] Mayor Kile Morgan of National City stated that "we in the South Bay are getting tired of being kicked around", in reference to other stalled projects such as SR 157 and SR 125.[34] Meanwhile, the interchange at I-805 was under construction, with completion scheduled for the next year.[35] A U.S. Fish and Wildlife report predicted that the project would destroy 20 acres (8.1 ha) of marshland and harm three bird species that were endangered, among other negative environmental consequences; the conclusions were disputed by local officials.[36]

In 1976, Caltrans said that SR 54 had not been included in plans for the next six years, due to a lack of funds and a shift in priorities from new roads to maintenance.[37] The water subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives later recommended that the wildlife refuge be put on hold, since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) had not finished their proposal.[38] Over the next few years, support for the project was expressed by a local citizens' group,[39] the Chula Vista city council,[40] and the San Diego Chamber of Commerce.[41]

By 1980, the USACE was working to obtain funds, which was the major obstacle for completion; public concerns about the project were that it was not needed and would be too costly.[31] The USACE announced in 1981 that an environmental impact report was necessary before the project could begin,[28] after the Endangered Species Act of 1973; the least tern and light-footed clapper rail were considered endangered, and construction would have affected their habitat.[42] The next year, the environmental impact report process began, financed by the USACE.[43]

Work on the part west of I-805 and the I-5 interchange started in May 1984, with the construction of a detour for I-5; USACE paid for some of the costs, and federal funds related to the Interstate Highway System were also used.[44] That same year, the county agreed to create a wildlife preserve on 188 acres (76 ha) of marshland to resolve the environmental concerns.[45] Meanwhile, the existing part of the South Bay Freeway had become the "most dangerous five-mile stretch of highway in the county", as declared by the local fire chief, due to the 282 traffic accidents that had occurred on the road from 1977 to January 1985.[46] By early 1986, the extension of the SR 54 freeway to El Cajon was declared a "lower priority" by Caltrans.[47]

That year, the Sierra Club filed a lawsuit[48] that halted progress on the project the next year, due to concerns about damage to the least tern and light-footed clapper rail bird populations caused by the construction of a nearby hotel and the roads to it would have. Chief U.S. District Judge Gordon Thompson stopped the work because the preserve had not been created.[49][50] It was estimated that the shutdown resulted in the state losing $25,000 (about $52,000 in 2021 dollars)[18] a day, as well as over 185 layoffs.[51]

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received 300 acres (120 ha) of land in the Sweetwater Marsh from the Santa Fe Land Company to mitigate environmental damage, and the lawsuit reached a settlement.[52] Construction resumed in early November 1989.[53] The halt meant that the project had to be rebid; one bridge was partially completed, and was thus known as "the bridge to nowhere".[54] The eastbound roadway opened to traffic on December 10, 1990,[21] at an approximate cost of $89.3 million (about $157 million in 2021 dollars).[18] In 1992, during the construction process, mastodon bones and stone hammers were found.[55] The items were dated to be older than 120,000 years old and may be some of the earliest signs of human settlement in North America.[55] Other animal bones were found at the site, near Reo Drive in National City, including those of a bison, a camel, a gopher, and horses.[56] The westbound roadway was completed in July 1992.[52]

SR 94 westbound at the eastern intersection with SR 54

The expressway portion east of I-805 to South Worthington Street was upgraded to a freeway in the late 1990s, and an HOV lane opened in each direction, east of I-805 only. The first part from I-805 to near Woodman Street was finished in November 1993. The second part was to begin the construction phase in 1994; this was complete by 1998.[57][58] The state legislature allowed for the relinquishment of SR 54 from the El Cajon city limit to I-8 to the City of El Cajon in 1999,[59] and the transfer took place that year.[4]

The remaining expressway portion of SR 54 was replaced by a freeway in two phases in the late 1990s and the 2000s. The first phase corresponded with construction of SR 125 north of Jamacha Boulevard to SR 94; construction began in 1996 and was completed in 2003.[60][61] The second phase consisted of the construction of the SR 125 toll road and opened on November 19, 2007. While California Transportation Ventures owned the franchise on the tolled portion of SR 125, the interchange with SR 54 was constructed with $160 million (about $204 million in 2021 dollars)[18] of public finances.[62] From 2005 to 2007, 1,500,000 cubic metres (53,000,000 cu ft) of rock were blasted through in 160 separate explosions to allow for the interchange to be built.[63] The project to convert the HOV lanes to regular mixed traffic lanes was authorized in 2006. Caltrans determined that the lack of space for law enforcement to pull over carpool lane violators, as well as a missing barrier that separated the HOV lanes from regular traffic, made the lanes less effective.[4][64]

As of October 2014, Caltrans had considered relinquishing the eastern part of SR 54 from the SR 94 junction up to the El Cajon city limits to the County of San Diego.[4] Two years later, the CTC approved a Caltrans proposal to revoke the proposed freeway status of the unconstructed portion of SR 54 since Jamacha Boulevard and the other existing roads would be able to handle the projected traffic load; this would allow the unused land to be sold.[65]