California 76 is the northernmost east-west highway in San Diego County. Starting at Interstate 5, with connections to the Coast Highway (Historic U.S. 101), California 76 heads east via a relatively new expressway (completed in December 1995) through the San Luis Rey River valley. It skirts the northern fringes of the city of Oceanside before rejoining its original alignment (Mission Avenue/Business California 76) and entering the eastern part of Oceanside. With many traffic signals and heavy traffic, California 76 can be a difficult commute, and while the road narrows, the traffic does not lessen after Oceanside or Bonsall. Connections to unincorporated Fallbrook are available via northbound San Diego County Route S-13 in Bonsall.
Even on the weekends, the ride may be treacherous due to the people headed to the Indian casinos and to the high country. Plans call for expansion of California 76 into at least a four-lane conventional highway, but possibly to a full freeway (funded by tolls). Continuing northeasterly, California 76 continues to follow the San Luis Rey River, meeting Interstate 15 at a rural interchange near Pala Mesa Village. Continuing east, California 76 enters Pala, then connects to San Diego County Route S-6, which leads to Palomar Mountain. Passing under the shadow of Palomar, California 76 turns southeast, meeting San Diego County Route S-7 near Lake Henshaw. The highway ends at its intersection with California 79 midway between Santa Ysabel and Warner Springs.
Due to the pressing traffic on California 76 between Interstate 5 and Interstate 15, calls have been raised to bring this road at least to expressway standards, if not full freeway standards, in this area. A webpage called Fix the 76 Now! has been organized to get upgrades to the route prior to the currently projected time period of 2008-2014.
California 76 East
Begin Eastbound California 76 at Junction Interstate 5 in Oceanside. This is a rare instance of the use of a "BEGIN" banner, even though it is of the size commonly used for bike routes. Photo taken 06/22/02.
Eastbound California 76 at Old Grove Road. Photo taken 06/22/02.
Eastbound California 76 expressway approaching Melrose Drive. The four-lane expressway handles more traffic than it was designed to handle. Photo taken 06/22/02.
Eastbound California 76 approaching Bonsall, two miles. Note the heavy traffic along this two-lane highway. Photo taken 06/22/02.
Eastbound California 76 approaching Junction San Diego County Route S-13 in Bonsall. This shield assembly is not standard, as most county shields do not employ the hyphen between the "S" and the "13." In addition, the numerals in the 76 are unusually small. Photo taken 06/22/02.
Eastbound California 76 at Junction San Diego County Route S-13 in Bonsall. County Route S-13 leads north from here along Mission Olive Road to Fallbrook, where it meets County Route S-15. North of Fallbrook, the highway turns east along Mission Road, rejoining County Route S-15 at their junction with Interstate 15 and Old U.S. 395. Photo taken 06/22/02.
Eastbound California 76 at Junction Northbound San Diego County Route S-6, which heads up the Palomar Mountain grade to serve Palomar Mountain State Park and Palomar Observatory. The county route shield is barely noticeable on this sign due to low lighting conditions. Photo taken 06/15/02.
California 76 West
Westbound California 76 passing over the modern San Luis Rey River Bridge. The white sign used to identify the river, bridge number, route number, county, and mileage used to be commonly found on San Diego's roadways, but they are increasingly difficult to find on state highways in urban areas, perhaps in an effort to reduce sign clutter. Nevertheless, it is very helpful to know the mileage and river/overcrossing name when traveling, so signs such as this one are appreciated. This white bridge identification sign has an error: only the tenths of miles is called out (a larger 9 before the "95" is missing). Thanks to Mark Furqueron for pointing this out. Photo taken 06/15/02.
Westbound California 76 at Junction San Diego County Route S-7 near the eastern slope of Palomar Mountain and the western shore of Lake Henshaw. Photo taken 06/15/02.
Business California 76/Mission Avenue (Oceanside) West
Business California 76 follows former California 76 along Mission Boulevard through Oceanside. Not many shields have been placed for the business route, but Business California 76 is well signed from Interstate 5. Photo taken 07/25/04.
The Pacific Ocean comes into view as westbound Business California 76/Mission Avenue meets the onramp to Interstate 5 south. Photo taken 07/25/04.
Westbound Business California 76/Mission Boulevard enters downtown Oceanside. The coast highway is shared between Historic U.S. 101 and San Diego County Route S-21. Photo taken 07/25/04.
Here is a close-up of the San Diego County Route S-21 shield. Photo taken 07/25/04.
One block prior to reaching Coast Highway 101, this historic U.S. 101 shield greets westbound travelers. The intersection ahead is the former western terminus of California 76 before it was relocated to the San Luis Rey Mission Expressway. Photo taken 07/25/04.
Close-up of the U.S. 101 historical shield. These shields have been placed in Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, and Del Mar. Photo taken 07/25/04.
California 76 - Bonsall Bridge
Prior to the construction of the new San Luis Rey River Bridge near Interstate 15 (see previous photograph), an older bridge known as the Bonsall Bridge used to carry traffic over the San Luis Rey River. This long arch bridge, profiled in this suite of photos, was in use as California 76 (and as U.S. 395 before it) until the early 1990s when the new bridge was opened. Functionally obsolete, with very tight approaches and no shoulders on the bridge itself, the Bonsall Bridge is now nothing more than a bikeway and pedestrian crossing over the river. This first set of pictures show the bridge looking north/east. Photos taken 06/22/02.
Many of the old roads in California were marked by rectangular monuments with the letter "C" inscribed in them. Commonly known as "C-blocks," these monuments mark the state right of way along older highways, and they are very helpful in determining alignments of roads from the 1950s-1960s era. This C-block is located at the northern end of the abandoned Bonsall Bridge on the west side of the approach road. Photo taken 6/22/02.
This suite of pictures shows the approach of the Bonsall Bridge from the north, looking southward, then crossing the bridge itself. As clearly shown in these pictures, a sharp curve makes the approach from the north onto the bridge very tight. Even though there are a few remnant road signs, this area is not open to motorized vehicles. Most views of the bridge are looking west, but the last picture shows the bridge looking east. Mark Furqueron writes, "I'll never forget driving over that tight old bridge ... back in 1975. Most of the railing on that bridge has been replaced a chunk at a time over the years as people hit it. The curves leading into it had a 25 mph advisory speed limit. ... There used to be a produce market (see top photo of this suite) on the east side of the bridge that was a death trap if you were trying to get back on the westbound roadway." Mark has a photo of this bridge taken in 1974 (while it was still in use) at his page, California Bridges. It is the second photo on the page. Photos taken 06/22/02.
View of the newer California 76 bridge as seen from the center of the old Bonsall Bridge. The Bonsall Bridge was at one time part of U.S. 395, back when U.S. 395 followed a somewhat convoluted path north of Escondido. Rather than heading due north along the Interstate 15 corridor, U.S. 395 at one time followed San Diego County Route S-14 west to Vista, then turned north along San Diego County Route S-13. At California 76, U.S. 395 turned northeast, following California 76 northeast until it joined its current route north toward Rainbow and Temecula. Photo taken 6/22/02.
