Caltrans

{{Short description|Executive department of California, US}} {{distinguish|Caltrain}} {{Use American English|date=January 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2026}} {{Infobox government agency | agency_name = Caltrans | logo = Caltrans.svg | logo_width = 150px | logo_caption = | seal = | seal_width = | seal_caption = | image = 1120 N Street.jpg | image_size = 150px | image_caption = Caltrans headquarters in Sacramento | image_alt = Caltrans headquarters building at 1120 N Street in Sacramento, California | formed = {{Start date and age|1973}} | preceding1 = California Bureau of Highways | preceding2 = California Department of Highways | dissolved = | superseding = | jurisdiction = [[government of California|California State Government]] | headquarters = 1120 N Street, [[Sacramento, California]] | coordinates = {{coord|38.574564|-121.493660|type:landmark_region:US|display=inline,title}} | motto = | employees = 22,396 {{as of|2024|12|30|lc=yes}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/caltrans-fact-booklets/caltransfacts2025-p9-a11y.pdf |title=Caltrans Facts June 2025 |publisher=California Department of Transportation |date=June 2025 |access-date=May 7, 2026}}</ref> | budget = $16.1 billion (FY 2025–26)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lao.ca.gov/Publications/Report/5077 |title=The 2025–26 California Spending Plan: Transportation |publisher=Legislative Analyst's Office |access-date=May 7, 2026}}</ref> | chief1_name = Dina El-Tawansy | chief1_position = Director | chief2_name = | chief2_position = | parent_agency = [[California State Transportation Agency]] (CalSTA) | child1_agency = | child2_agency = | keydocument1 = [https://web.archive.org/web/20180224130540/http://clerk.assembly.ca.gov/sites/clerk.assembly.ca.gov/files/archive/Statutes/1972/72Vol2_Summary.pdf Ch. 1253, Assembly Bill 69] (1972) | website = {{Official URL}} | footnotes = <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/caltrans-fact-booklets/2021-caltrans-facts-a11y.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210915182529/https://dot.ca.gov/-/media/dot-media/programs/research-innovation-system-information/documents/caltrans-fact-booklets/2021-caltrans-facts-a11y.pdf |archive-date=2021-09-15 |url-status=live|title=Caltrans Executive Fact Book|date=June 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Taylor|first1=Mac|title=The 2016–17 Budget Transportation Proposals|url=http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2016/3366/transportation-proposals-022316.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161005085848/http://www.lao.ca.gov/reports/2016/3366/transportation-proposals-022316.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-05 |url-status=live|website=Legislative Analyst's Office|publisher=Legislative Analyst's Office of California|access-date=21 September 2016}}</ref><ref name="Feb 2018 org chart">{{cite web|title=State of California Department of Transportation February 2018 Organization Chart|url=http://dot.ca.gov/orgchart/departmentalorgchart.pdf|publisher=Caltrans|access-date=24 February 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180224124932/http://dot.ca.gov/orgchart/departmentalorgchart.pdf|archive-date=24 February 2018|date=February 2018}}</ref> }}

The '''California Department of Transportation''', branded as '''Caltrans''', is an [[Executive (government)|executive]] department of the [[U.S. state]] of [[California]]. Headquartered in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]],<ref>"[http://www.dot.ca.gov/mail.htm Caltrans Mail Addresses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922033827/https://dot.ca.gov/mail.htm |date=2024-09-22 }}." California Department of Transportation. Retrieved on November 19, 2009.</ref> it is part of the [[Government of California#State agencies|cabinet]]-level [[California State Transportation Agency]] (CalSTA). Among its duties, Caltrans manages the state's [[State highways in California|highway system]], which includes the [[California Freeway and Expressway System]], supports public transportation systems throughout the state, and provides funding and oversight for three state-supported [[Amtrak]] intercity rail routes (''[[Capitol Corridor]]'', ''[[Pacific Surfliner]]'' and ''[[Gold Runner]]'') which are collectively branded as ''[[Amtrak California]]''.

Caltrans began operations in 1973,<ref name="Karner"/> succeeding a series of state agencies that date back to the establishment of the California Bureau of Highways in 1895.<ref name="ForsythHagwood11"/> In 2015, Caltrans released a new mission statement: "Provide a safe, sustainable, integrated and efficient transportation system to enhance California's economy and livability."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://dot.ca.gov/mission.html|title=Caltrans Mission, Vision, Goals & Values|publisher=Caltrans|access-date=26 September 2016|archive-date=22 September 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240922033827/https://dot.ca.gov/mission.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==History== ===Predecessor agencies=== [[File:California Bureau of Highways 1896.jpg|thumb|left|The Bureau of Highways with their [[buckboard wagon]] in [[Riverside County, California|Riverside County]], 1896]] The earliest predecessor of Caltrans was the Bureau of Highways, which was established by the [[California State Legislature]] and signed into law by Governor [[James Budd]] in 1895.<ref name="ForsythHagwood11">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 11.</ref> The Bureau of Highways consisted of three commissioners who were charged with analyzing the roads of the state and making recommendations for their improvement. At the time, California's roads were purely a local responsibility instead of the state, primarily consisting of crude dirt roads maintained by the counties, as well as some paved streets in certain cities. This ad hoc system no longer became adequate for the needs of the state's rapidly growing population. After the commissioners submitted their report to the governor on November 25, 1896, the state legislature replaced the Bureau with the Department of Highways.<ref name="ForsythHagwood12">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 12.</ref>

Due to the state's weak fiscal condition and corrupt politics, little progress was made until 1907, when the state legislature replaced the Department of Highways with the Department of Engineering, within which there was a Division of Highways.<ref name=ForsythHagwood11/> California voters approved an $18 million (equivalent to ${{inflation|US|18|1910}}M in {{inflation/year|US}}) bond issue for the construction of a state highway system in 1910, and the first [[California Highway Commission]] was convened in 1911.<ref name=ForsythHagwood11/> On August 7, 1912, the department broke ground on its first construction project, the section of [[El Camino Real (California)|El Camino Real]] between [[South San Francisco, California|South San Francisco]] and [[Burlingame, California|Burlingame]] (now a part of present-day [[California State Route 82]]).<ref name="ForsythHagwood13">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 13.</ref> The year 1912 also saw the founding of the Transportation Laboratory and the creation of seven administrative divisions, which are the predecessors of [[#Districts|present-day Caltrans districts 1 through 7]].<ref name=ForsythHagwood12/>

The state legislature began requiring vehicle registration in 1913 and allocated the resulting funds to support regular highway maintenance, which began the next year.<ref name=ForsythHagwood13/> In 1921, the state legislature converted the Department of Engineering into the Department of Public Works, which continued to have a Division of Highways,<ref name="ForsythHagwood32">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 32.</ref> and also authorized the creation of what would become District 8 in [[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]], District 9 in [[Bishop, California|Bishop]], and District 10 in [[Stockton, California|Stockton]].<ref name="ForsythHagwood32" /> The state legislature later enacted an 1933 amendment to the State Highway Classification Act of 1927, which added over 6,700 miles of county roads to the state highway system.<ref name="ForsythHagwood32" /> To help manage the additional work created by this massive expansion, District 11 was established in [[San Diego]].<ref name="ForsythHagwood32" />

The enactment of the [[Collier–Burns Highway Act of 1947]] after "a lengthy and bitter legislative battle" reshaped California highway finance on a lasting basis.<ref name="ForsythHagwood72">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 72.</ref> The act "placed California highway's program on a sound financial basis" by doubling [[Road tax|vehicle registration fees]] and raising gasoline and diesel [[Fuel taxes in the United States|fuel taxes]] from 3{{spaces}}cents (${{inflation|US|0.03|1947|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}) to 4.5{{spaces}}cents (${{inflation|US|0.045|1947|r=2}} in {{inflation/year|US}}) per gallon. All these taxes were again raised further in 1953 and 1963.<ref name="ForsythHagwood72" /> The state also obtained extensive federal funding from the [[Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956]] for the construction of [[List of Interstate Highways in California|its portion]] of the [[Interstate Highway System]].<ref name="ForsythHagwood73">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 73.</ref> Over the next two decades after Collier-Burns, the state "embarked on a massive highway construction program" in which nearly all of the now-extant state highway system was either constructed or upgraded.<ref name="ForsythHagwood73" /> In hindsight, the period from 1940 to 1969 can be characterized as the "Golden Age" of California's state highway construction program.<ref name="ForsythHagwood74">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 74.</ref>

In 1967, Governor [[Ronald Reagan]] formed a Task Force Committee on Transportation to study the state transportation system and recommend major reforms. One of the proposals of the task force was the creation of a State Transportation Board as a permanent advisory board on state transportation policy; the board would later merge into the [[California Transportation Commission]] in 1978. In September 1971, the State Transportation Board proposed the creation of a state department of transportation charged with responsibility "for performing and integrating transportation planning for all [[Mode of transport|modes]]." Governor Reagan mentioned this proposal in his 1972 [[State of the State address]], and Assemblyman [[Wadie P. Deddeh]] introduced Assembly Bill 69 to that effect, which was duly passed by the state legislature and signed into law by Reagan later that same year. AB 69 merged three existing departments to create the Department of Transportation, of which the most important was the Department of Public Works and its Division of Highways. The California Department of Transportation began official operations on July 1, 1973.<ref name="Karner">{{cite journal |last1=Karner |first1=Alex |title=Multimodal dreamin': California transportation planning, 1967–77 |journal=The Journal of Transport History |date=June 2013 |volume=34 |issue=1 |pages=39–56 |doi=10.7227/TJTH.34.1.4|s2cid=108503981 }} Available through [[ProQuest]].</ref> The new agency was organized into six divisions: Highways, Mass Transportation, Aeronautics, Transportation Planning, Legal, and Administrative Services.<ref name="ForsythHagwood128">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 128.</ref>

Caltrans went through a difficult period of transformation during the 1970s, as its institutional focus shifted from highway construction to highway maintenance.<ref name="ForsythHagwood127">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 127.</ref> The agency was forced to contend with declining revenues, increasing construction and maintenance costs (especially the skyrocketing cost of maintaining the vast highway system built over the past three prior decades), widespread [[Highway revolts in the United States|freeway revolts]], and new [[United States environmental law|environmental laws]].<ref name="ForsythHagwood127" /> In 1970, the enactment of the [[National Environmental Policy Act]] and the [[California Environmental Quality Act]] forced Caltrans to devote significant time, money, people, and other resources to confronting issues such as "air and water quality, hazardous waste, archaeology, historic preservation, and noise abatement."<ref name="ForsythHagwood128" /> The devastating [[1971 San Fernando earthquake]] compelled the agency to recognize that its existing design standards had not adequately accounted for earthquake stress and that numerous existing structures needed expensive [[seismic retrofitting]].<ref name="ForsythHagwood129">Raymond Forsyth and Joseph Hagwood, ''One Hundred Years of Progress'' (Sacramento: California Transportation Foundation, 1996): 129.</ref>

In 1976, Caltrans began promoting intercity passenger rail service, including providing financial assistance to regional [[Amtrak]] routes that became branded as [[Amtrak California]].<ref name="Amtrak-CA">{{cite web |url=http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com/index.cfm/about-amtrak-california/ |title=About Amtrak California |publisher=State of California Department of Transportation |year=2013 |access-date=December 22, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102090757/http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com/index.cfm/about-amtrak-california/ |archive-date=January 2, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Maintenance and construction costs grew at twice the inflation rate in the 1970s era of high inflation; the reluctance of one governor after another to raise fuel taxes in accordance with inflation meant that California ranked dead last in the United States in per-capita transportation spending by 1983.<ref name="ForsythHagwood129" /> During the 1980s and 1990s, Caltrans concentrated on "the upgrading, rehabilitation, and maintenance of the existing system," plus occasional gap closure and realignment projects.<ref name="ForsythHagwood129" /> To help manage the additional work in the Los Angeles area, District 12 was established in 1987 in [[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]] to just serve Orange County.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeffrey A.|last=Perlman|title=County's New Caltrans District Offers No Quick Fixes for Traffic Problems|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-12-me-7581-story.html|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=May 12, 1987}}</ref>

==Innovations== [[File:Four Level Interchange.jpg|thumb|The [[Four Level Interchange]] in Los Angeles, completed in 1953, was the first [[stack interchange]] in the world.]] [[File:Round Botts dot.jpg|thumb|A [[Botts' dots|Botts' dot]], developed by Caltrans engineer Elbert Botts and deployed statewide from 1966.]] The history of Caltrans and its predecessor agencies during the 20th century included several transportation firsts, such as the following: * The California Highway Commission in 1924 adopted a statewide program to paint centerlines on all state highways, one of the earliest such programs in the United States.<ref>{{cite news |last=Rasmussen |first=Celia |date=October 12, 2003 |title='Doc June' Drew the Line on Safety |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-oct-12-me-then12-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date=May 7, 2026}}</ref> * The Division of Highways built the [[Arroyo Seco Parkway]], the first freeway in the western United States, which opened in stages from 1940 to 1953.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.asce.org/about-civil-engineering/history-and-heritage/historic-landmarks/arroyo-seco-parkway |title=Arroyo Seco Parkway |publisher=American Society of Civil Engineers |access-date=May 7, 2026}}</ref> * The [[Four Level Interchange]] in downtown Los Angeles was completed in 1953, the first [[stack interchange]] in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.laconservancy.org/locations/four-level-interchange |title=Four Level Interchange |publisher=Los Angeles Conservancy |access-date=May 7, 2026}}</ref> * Caltrans engineers developed [[Botts' dots]] (non-reflective raised pavement markers) in the 1950s. The state first deployed them on [[Interstate 80 in California|Interstate 80]] in [[Solano County, California|Solano County]] and on [[U.S. Route 99 in California|US 99]] near [[Fresno, California|Fresno]] in 1966.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Lamm |first=Michael |title=Dot Dot Dot |journal=Invention & Technology |volume=12 |issue=2 |date=Fall 1996 |url=https://www.inventionandtech.com/content/dot-dot-dot-1 |access-date=May 7, 2026}}</ref> * In response to undocumented immigrants attempting to dart across [[Interstate 5 in California|Interstate 5]] near the [[Mexico–United States border|Mexican border]], and near the [[United States Border Patrol interior checkpoints|Border Patrol checkpoint]] in [[Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton|Camp Pendleton]], Caltrans designed and installed [[Interstate 5 immigrant crossing signs|immigrant crossing signs]] in 1990.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/01/07/us/one-last-deadly-crossing-for-illegal-aliens.html |title=One Last Deadly Crossing for Illegal Aliens |author=Mydans, Seth |date=January 7, 1991 |newspaper=The New York Times |accessdate=June 15, 2015}}</ref> Eventually these signs became obsolete after Caltrans installed fences in the freeway's median, and the Border Patrol implemented [[Operation Gatekeeper]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050410/news_1n10signs.html |title=Highway safety sign becomes running story on immigration |author=Berestein, Leslie |date=April 10, 2005 |newspaper=San Diego Union-Tribune |accessdate=June 15, 2015 }}</ref>

==Districts== [[File:CalTrans District Map.svg|thumb|250px|right|Caltrans district map]] For administrative purposes, Caltrans divides the State of California into 12 districts, supervised by district offices. Like many state agencies, Caltrans maintains its headquarters in [[Sacramento, California|Sacramento]], which is covered by District 3. Most districts cover multiple [[County (United States)|counties]]. The largest districts by population are District 4 (the nine counties in the [[San Francisco Bay Area]]) and District 7 ([[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]] and [[Ventura County, California|Ventura]] counties). District 12 ([[Orange County, California|Orange County]]) is the only district with one county. [[Kern County, California|Kern County]] is the only county in multiple districts, split between Districts 6 and 9.<ref name="district boundaries">{{cite web|title=Caltrans Districts|url=https://lab.data.ca.gov/dataset/caltrans-districts|website=California Open Data Portal|access-date=April 18, 2026|quote=Kern County remains the only split county in the state, between Districts 6 and 9 respectively}}</ref>

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- !District<ref name="districtoffices1">{{cite web|url = http://www.buildcalifornia.org/html/caltrans_district_offices.html|title = Caltrans District Offices|access-date = February 13, 2010|publisher = California Department of Transportation|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100211193159/http://www.buildcalifornia.org/html/caltrans_district_offices.html|archive-date =February 11, 2010|url-status=dead}}</ref> !!Counties served<ref name="district boundaries"/> !!Headquarters !! Established !! Notes<ref name=ForsythHagwood12/><ref name="ForsythHagwood32" /> |- |1 ||[[Del Norte County, California|Del Norte]], [[Humboldt County, California|Humboldt]], [[Lake County, California|Lake]], and [[Mendocino County, California|Mendocino]] ||[[Eureka, California|Eureka]] || rowspan="7"|1912<ref name=ForsythHagwood12/> || Originally headquartered in [[Willits, California|Willits]], which was the northernmost [[California Coast Range]] city connected to the national rail network in 1912.<ref name=ForsythHagwood12/> |- |2 ||[[Lassen County, California|Lassen]], [[Modoc County, California|Modoc]], [[Plumas County, California|Plumas]], [[Shasta County, California|Shasta]], [[Siskiyou County, California|Siskiyou]], [[Tehama County, California|Tehama]], and [[Trinity County, California|Trinity]] ||[[Redding, California|Redding]] || Plumas County was transferred from District 3 in 1923. |- |3 ||[[Butte County, California|Butte]], [[Colusa County, California|Colusa]], [[El Dorado County, California|El Dorado]], [[Glenn County, California|Glenn]], [[Nevada County, California|Nevada]], [[Placer County, California|Placer]], [[Sacramento County, California|Sacramento]], [[Sierra County, California|Sierra]], [[Sutter County, California|Sutter]], [[Yolo County, California|Yolo]], and [[Yuba County, California|Yuba]] ||[[Marysville, California|Marysville]] || Originally headquartered in Sacramento. |- |4 ||[[Alameda County, California|Alameda]], [[Contra Costa County, California|Contra Costa]], [[Marin County, California|Marin]], [[Napa County, California|Napa]], [[San Francisco County, California|San Francisco]], [[San Mateo County, California|San Mateo]], [[Santa Clara County, California|Santa Clara]], [[Solano County, California|Solano]], and [[Sonoma County, California|Sonoma]] ||[[Oakland, California|Oakland]] || Originally headquartered in San Francisco. Solano County was transferred from District 3 in 1923. |- |5 ||[[Monterey County, California|Monterey]], [[San Benito County, California|San Benito]], [[San Luis Obispo County, California|San Luis Obispo]], [[Santa Barbara County, California|Santa Barbara]], and [[Santa Cruz County, California|Santa Cruz]] ||[[San Luis Obispo, California|San Luis Obispo]] || Santa Cruz County was transferred from District 4 in 1923. |- |6 ||[[Madera County, California|Madera]], [[Fresno County, California|Fresno]], [[Tulare County, California|Tulare]], [[Kings County, California|Kings]], and the western areas of [[Kern County, California|Kern]]<ref name="district boundaries"/> ||[[Fresno, California|Fresno]] |- |[[Caltrans District 7 Headquarters|7]]||[[Los Angeles County, California|Los Angeles]] and [[Ventura County, California|Ventura]] ||[[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] |- |8 ||[[Riverside County, California|Riverside]] and [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino]] ||[[San Bernardino, California|San Bernardino]] || rowspan="3"|1921<ref name="ForsythHagwood32" /> || Split from District 7 |- |9 ||[[Inyo County, California|Inyo]], [[Mono County, California|Mono]], and the eastern areas of Kern<ref name="district boundaries"/> ||[[Bishop, California|Bishop]] || Split from District 6 |- |10 ||[[Alpine County, California|Alpine]], [[Amador County, California|Amador]], [[Calaveras County, California|Calaveras]], [[Mariposa County, California|Mariposa]], [[Merced County, California|Merced]], [[San Joaquin County, California|San Joaquin]], [[Stanislaus County, California|Stanislaus]], and [[Tuolumne County, California|Tuolumne]] ||[[Stockton, California|Stockton]] || Split from District 3, with Mariposa and Merced counties transferring from District 6 |- |11 ||[[Imperial County, California|Imperial]] and [[San Diego County, California|San Diego]] ||[[San Diego, California|San Diego]] || 1933<ref name="ForsythHagwood32" /> || Split from District 7 |- |12 ||[[Orange County, California|Orange]] ||[[Santa Ana, California|Santa Ana]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dot.ca.gov/d12/news/News%20Release%20D12%20Move%20to%20Santa%20Ana%20October%202016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161221183527/http://www.dot.ca.gov/d12/news/News%20Release%20D12%20Move%20to%20Santa%20Ana%20October%202016.pdf |archive-date=2016-12-21 |url-status=live |title=News Release D12 Move to Santa Ana October 2016 (PDF)}}</ref> || 1987<ref>{{cite news|first=Jeffrey A.|last=Perlman|title=County's New Caltrans District Offers No Quick Fixes for Traffic Problems|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-05-12-me-7581-story.html|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=May 12, 1987}}</ref> || Split from District 7 |}

==See also== {{Portal|California}} * [[Transportation in California]] * [[State highways in California]] * ''[[California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices]]'' * [[United States Department of Transportation]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{commons category}} * {{Official website}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20110629070931/http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/Named_Freeways.pdf Named Highways, Freeways, Structures, and Other Appurtenances in California] (PDF)

{{DEFAULTSORT:California Department Of Transportation}} [[Category:Caltrans| ]] [[Category:Transportation in California]] [[Category:State agencies of California]] [[Category:State departments of transportation of the United States]] [[Category:Government agencies established in 1895]] [[Category:1895 establishments in California]]