Editing Interstate 5 (section)

==History==
{{imageframe|width=100|content=[[File:US&nbsp;99 (1961).svg|100px]]|caption=The shield for US&nbsp;99|align=left}}
[[File:Dead-Man's Curve in Lebec, California, 2010.jpg|thumb|right|A section of the 1915 Ridge Route in [[Lebec, California]], abandoned when US&nbsp;99 (later upgraded to I-5) was constructed over the Tejon Pass in order to make the travel straighter and safer.]]
An extensive section of this highway (over {{convert|600|mi|km|abbr=on}}), from approximately Stockton, California, to Portland, Oregon, follows the track of the [[Siskiyou Trail]].<ref name="siskiyou">{{cite web|url=http://www.museumsiskiyoutrail.org |title=Museum of the Siskiyou Trail |publisher=Museumsiskiyoutrail.org |access-date=November 27, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120415171721/http://www.museumsiskiyoutrail.org/ |archive-date=April 15, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> This trail was based on an older network of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] footpaths connecting the [[Pacific Northwest]] with California's Central Valley. By the 1820s, trappers from the [[Hudson's Bay Company]] were the first non-Native Americans to use the route of today's I-5 to move between today's Washington state and California. During the second half of the 19th century, mule trains, stagecoaches, and the [[Central Pacific Railroad|Central Pacific railroad]] also followed the route of the Siskiyou Trail.<ref name="siskiyou" /> By the early 20th century, pioneering automobile roads were built along the path of the Siskiyou Trail, notably the [[Pacific Highway (United States)|Pacific Highway]]. The Pacific Highway ran from [[British Columbia]] to San Diego, California, and was the immediate predecessor of much of US&nbsp;99. The route of US&nbsp;99 was in turn used as a basis for much of the route of today's I-5.

A major deviation from the old US&nbsp;99 route is the Westside Freeway portion of I-5 in California's Central Valley. To provide a faster and more direct north–south route through the state, the decision was made to build a new freeway to the west and bypass Fresno, Bakersfield, and the rest of population centers in the area instead of upgrading the existing highway (which was re-designated as part of SR&nbsp;99).<ref name="cahighways_5"/>
This re-route through California's Central Valley was the last section of I-5 to be constructed, with the final segment dedicated and opened to traffic near Stockton, California, on October 12, 1979. Representatives from both Canada and Mexico attended the dedication to commemorate the first contiguous freeway connecting the North American countries.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.dot.ca.gov/interstate/timeline.htm |author= Staff |publisher= [[California Department of Transportation]] |title= Timeline of Notable Events of the Interstate Highway System in California |access-date= March 2, 2014 |archive-date= March 6, 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140306100816/http://www.dot.ca.gov/interstate/timeline.htm |url-status= live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Engellenner |first=Jon |date=October 13, 1979 |title=1,000 See I-5 Opened From Border To Border |pages=[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90705592/1000-see-i-5-opened-from-border-to/ A1], [https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90705593/i-5-opened-cont/ A12] |work=The Sacramento Bee |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90705592/1000-see-i-5-opened-from-border-to/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217091221/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90705592/1000-see-i-5-opened-from-border-to/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It cost an estimated $2.3&nbsp;billion in 1979 dollars (equivalent to ${{Format price|{{Inflation|US-GDP|2300000000|1979}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US-GDP}} dollars){{inflation-fn|US-GDP}} to construct all of I-5.<ref>{{cite news |date=October 12, 1979 |title=Interstate 5 Finished, End Of Traffic Lights |page=3 |work=[[Napa Valley Register|Napa Register]] |agency=[[United Press International]] |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90705583/interstate-5-finished-end-of-traffic/ |via=Newspapers.com |accessdate=December 17, 2021 |archive-date=December 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211217091211/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90705583/interstate-5-finished-end-of-traffic/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

This direct route also bypasses [[San Francisco]] and the rest of the San Francisco Bay Area. Original plans called for a loop Interstate with a directional suffix, I-5W.<ref name="cahighways_5">{{cite web |url= http://www.cahighways.org/001-008.html#005 |work= California Highways |title= Routes 1-8 |access-date= September 19, 2009 |archive-date= November 20, 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101120105136/http://cahighways.org/001-008.html#005 |url-status= live }}{{unreliable source?|failed=y|date=March 2014}}</ref> This route now roughly corresponds to I-580 from I-5 south of Tracy to Oakland, I-80 from Oakland to [[Vacaville, California|Vacaville]], and I-505 from Vacaville to I-5 near Dunnigan. I-5W and most of the other Interstates around the country with directional suffixes were eventually renumbered or eliminated. Nevertheless, San Francisco is still listed as a [[control city]] on northbound I-5 between SR&nbsp;99 and I-580.

By the early 21st century, sections of I-5 had deteriorated due to a maintenance backlog as well as high traffic volumes. Several bridges in Oregon were reconstructed or repaired to accommodate use by heavy freight vehicles.<ref name="LATimes-Weikel"/>

On May 23, 2013, a [[I-5 Skagit River bridge collapse|bridge span collapsed]] over the [[Skagit River]] in [[Mount Vernon, Washington]], sending two cars into the water and requiring traffic in both directions to bypass the crossing.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.komonews.com/news/local/I-5-Skagit-River-bridge-collapse-caused-by-oversize-load-208813861.html |title= 'Horrified' trucker watches I-5 bridge collapse behind him |first= Manuel |last= Valdes |publisher= [[KOMO-TV]] |location= Seattle |quote= Officials warned it could be weeks before things returned to normal along the heavily travelled corridor. |date= May 24, 2013 |access-date= May 24, 2013 |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130608000441/http://www.komonews.com/news/local/I-5-Skagit-River-bridge-collapse-caused-by-oversize-load-208813861.html |archive-date= June 8, 2013 |df= mdy-all }}</ref> The [[Washington State Department of Transportation]] used a temporary structure to restore access across the river while a permanent bridge replacement was built. That process was completed September 15, 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/skagitriverbridgereplacement/ |title= I-5–Skagit River Bridge Replacement |author= Staff |publisher= [[Washington State Department of Transportation]] |access-date= November 29, 2013 |archive-date= December 3, 2013 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20131203065833/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i5/skagitriverbridgereplacement/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

On December 18, 2017, an [[Amtrak]] train [[2017 Washington train derailment|derailed on an overpass]] crossing I-5 near Tacoma, Washington, and blocked several lanes of traffic.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.foxnews.com/us/amtrak-train-derails-in-washington-state-onto-interstate-5-at-least-3-dead |title= Amtrak train derails in Washington state onto Interstate 5; at least 6 dead |first= Katherine |last= Lam |publisher= [[Fox News]] |date= December 18, 2017 |access-date= December 18, 2017 |archive-date= December 18, 2017 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20171218161229/http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/18/amtrak-train-derails-in-washington-state-blocks-interstate-5.html |url-status= live }}</ref>

The I-5 corridor forms part of the West Coast Electric Highway, a partnership between the states of California, Oregon, and Washington to build and maintain a network of [[charging station]]s for [[electric vehicle]]s. The pact was formed in 2009 and the first charging stations—spaced {{convert|25 to 50|mi|km}} apart—opened in 2011.<ref>{{cite news |last=Voelcker |first=John |date=January 9, 2015 |title=West Coast Electric Highway Serves Thousands Of Electric-Car Drivers |url=https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather/west-coast-electric-highway-serves-thousands-electric-car-150635981.html |work=Yahoo News |accessdate=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=September 20, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920173132/https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather/west-coast-electric-highway-serves-thousands-electric-car-150635981.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2019, the three states also broke ground on a similar charging network for [[electric truck]]s along I-5 called the West Coast Clean Transit Corridor Initiative.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carpenter |first=Susan |date=May 24, 2019 |title=Truckers Can Expect an Electrified West Coast Corridor |url=https://www.trucks.com/2019/05/24/truckers-electrified-west-coast-corridor/ |website=Trucks.com |accessdate=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=January 25, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220125233018/https://www.trucks.com/2019/05/24/truckers-electrified-west-coast-corridor/ |url-status=live }}</ref> The program is a collaboration of nine utilities and two agencies representing municipal utilities, and aims to enable electric freight and delivery trucks to operate along the entire West Coast corridor.<ref>{{cite press release |date=April 21, 2021 |title=Daimler Trucks North America, Portland General Electric open first-of-its-kind heavy-duty electric truck charging site |url=https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/portland-north-america-technology-business-b5b9ce85d1ec61c3a78eb554a035c5dc |publisher=[[Daimler Truck|Daimler Trucks North America]] |via=Associated Press |accessdate=September 19, 2022 |archive-date=September 21, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220921005813/https://apnews.com/press-release/pr-newswire/portland-north-america-technology-business-b5b9ce85d1ec61c3a78eb554a035c5dc |url-status=live }}</ref>