California State Route 246

State Route 246 (SR 246) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that runs from Lompoc east to Solvang and Santa Ynez, cutting through the Santa Ynez Valley and the Santa Barbara Wine Country. Its western terminus is along Ocean Avenue at the western city limits of Lompoc, and its eastern terminus is at State Route 154 in Santa Ynez.

State Route 246
Map of Santa Barbara County in southern California with SR 246 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 546
Maintained by Caltrans
Length26 mi (42 km)
RestrictionsNo trucks over 3 short tons (2.7 t) through Lompoc[1]
Major junctions
West endOcean Avenue at the western city limits of Lompoc
 
East end SR 154 in Santa Ynez
Location
CountiesSanta Barbara
Highway system
← SR 245→ SR 247

Route description

Most of the road is two lanes wide, with the exception of the route through the cities of Lompoc and Buellton. This is the primary route from U.S. Route 101 to Solvang, one of the Santa Ynez Valley's biggest tourist attractions. It follows the Santa Ynez River for most of its length. The portion of the route through Solvang is called Mission Drive, while through Lompoc—including the portion where it is co-signed with State Route 1—it is called Ocean Avenue.

SR 246 begins at the western city limits of Lompoc, where it runs along Ocean Avenue to H Street, joining SR 1. The SR 246/SR 1 concurrency continues east along Ocean Avenue to the eastern edge of the city. SR 246 then splits from SR 1 and heads northeast out of Lompoc along a relatively flat two-lane road until reaching Buellton, where it widens upon its intersection with US 101. It narrows once again to two lanes through Solvang and Santa Ynez before reaching its eastern terminus at the junction with State Route 154. This is the main alternate route from Northern Santa Barbara County to the South Coast. It is also notable for passing two of Santa Barbara County's three Spanish-era missions, Santa Inés (in Solvang) and La Purísima Concepción (near Lompoc).

Part of SR 246 in Lompoc is in the National Highway System,[2] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[3]

History

In 1933, this was designated as a state highway,[4] and was numbered as Route 149 in 1935.[5] In 1963, it was part of State Route 154. In the 1964 state highway renumbering, it was renumbered to SR 246.[6] SR 246 used to run all the way west to Surf, but this segment along Ocean Avenue to the western city limits of Lompoc was relinquished to local control in 1984.

Sign on California Route 246.

Major intersections

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions).[7] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The entire route is in Santa Barbara County.

LocationPostmile
[7][8][9]		DestinationsNotes
Lompoc8.30Ocean Avenue – NASA/Vandenberg AFB South Gate, SurfContinuation beyond west end of SR 246 at the Lompoc west city limit
9.55
19.25[N 1]		 SR 1 north (H Street) – Vandenberg AFB, Guadalupe, Orcutt, Santa MariaWest end of SR 1 overlap
20.57[N 1]
9.56		 SR 1 south / 12th Street – Santa BarbaraEast end of SR 1 overlap
Buellton26.29 US 101Interchange
Solvang30.28Alamo Pintado Road – Ballard, Los Olivos
​R34.60 SR 154 – Los Olivos, Cachuma Lake, Santa BarbaraEast end of SR 246
​R34.60Armour Ranch RoadContinuation beyond SR 154
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along SR 1 rather than SR 246.

See also
  •  California Roads portal

References
  1. "Special Route Restrictions". Caltrans. Retrieved 2014-07-28.
  2. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: Lompoc, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 4, 2017.
  3. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  4. California State Assembly. "An act to amend sections 2, 3 and 5 and to add two sections to be numbered 6 and 7 to an act entitled 'An act to provide for the acquisition of rights of way for and the construction, maintenance..." Fiftieth Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 767 p. 2034–2042.
  5. California State Assembly. "An act...relating to State highways". Fifty-first Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 274.
  6. California State Assembly. "An act to add Section 253 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 300) to Chapter 2 of Division 1 of, and to repeal Section 253 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 300) of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of, the..." 1963 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 385 p. 1182.
  7. California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  8. California Department of Transportation (April 2008). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  9. California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2007

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