State Route 54 | ||||
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SR 54 highlighted in red
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Route information | ||||
Defined by | ||||
Maintained by Caltrans and San Diego County | ||||
Length: | 14.212 mi (22.872 km) | |||
Existed: | 1961 – present | |||
Western section | ||||
West end: | I-5 in National City | |||
Major junctions: |
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East end: | SR 125 near Spring Valley | |||
Eastern section | ||||
West end: | SR 94 in Rancho San Diego, California | |||
East end: | Second Street at El Cajon city limit | |||
Location | ||||
Counties: | San Diego | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Route 54 (SR 54) is a state highway in San Diego, California that connects Interstate 5 (I-5) in Chula Vista and National City to the city of El Cajon. The westernmost part of the highway is a freeway, intersecting with I-5 and I-805 and running along the Sweetwater River before ending at the intersection with SR 125 and Jamacha Boulevard. The part east of SR 94 is an undivided highway that leads to the city limits of El Cajon. County Route S17 (CR S17) connects the two portions of the highway.
The first section of the freeway opened in 1963, east of I-805. The extension of the freeway west to I-5 was delayed in order to coincide with the construction of the flood channel for the Sweetwater River. While construction started in 1984, a court stopped the process for a few years, and this portion was not complete until 1992. The final section of freeway, which was upgraded from an expressway, opened in 2007, to coincide with the extension of SR 125 south to Otay Mesa.
SR 54 starts as a six-lane freeway from I-5 near the mouth of the Sweetwater River in National City. Both directions of the freeway are divided by the river; eastbound traffic traverses the south bank and westbound traffic traverses the north bank. The two sides join near the junction with I-805. The roadway continues east for several miles past the Westfield Plaza Bonita mall through suburban Paradise Hills in San Diego. As the freeway turns north in Bay Terraces, it merges with SR 125 north. The highways pass west of the Sweetwater Reservoir and Sweetwater Summit Regional Park, and SR 54 exits at Jamacha Boulevard in La Presa. Jamacha Boulevard veers northeast as an undivided highway through Spring Valley until it reaches Campo Road; some maps sign the road as only County Route S17 (CR S17), while others also consider this part of SR 54. The state does not maintain Jamacha Boulevard.