California’s fall season started out with great promise of plenty of rain providing a highly-sought commodity, water, that impacts residents, visitors and farmers who feed California and the world. We need rain, but when we don’t get it, there’s an up-side for vacations. The roads are open! From California Highway 1 along Big Sur coast to the mountain resorts, tourists haven’t had many problems getting to their vacation destinations this holiday season.

Places such as Big Sur that experienced landslides from rains in recent years can have road closures for half a year or longer, keeping popular drives and destinations nearly un-reachable to tourists and hurting local businesses that hope for the travel dollars to help sustain them. As we enter 2012, there are some great resources to help navigate you as you plan your trip. Sometimes the data you receive while driving is just WRONG, and it really can mess you up.

One of our favorite places and websites to get reports is from the California Department of Transportation, Caltrans, where you can get visuals of road closures and road conditions on cities by looking at maps (http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov/) or be alerted to road conditions in printed form by entering any highway and getting a list of all the road work going on at that very minute (http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/roadinfo/)

For all you cartographer fans, map groupies and people who love infrastructure as relating to travel, we checked out the conditions for today that Caltrans parses in a variety of ways and found it fun to read. And for travelers, there’s a lot of great information to know before you hit the road!

Here are highlights from a few major highways in California as of now:

Caltrans highway information section the following current highway conditions. Be alert for fog, carry traction devices in mountain areas and watch for highway maintenance personnel. “slow for the cone zone” travel is not recommended for campers, trailers or permit loads in the areas with a high wind advisory posted.

HIGHWAY CONDITION REPORT ON 12/29/11

• SR 1
  [in the southern california area]
  no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
• [in the central california area]
  1-way controlled traffic 13.7 mi north of big sur state park
  /at rocky creek/ (monterey co) – due to a slip-out
• [in the northern california area]
  no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
• I 5
  [in the southern california area]
  the northbound connector to northbound & southbound sr 14 /in los angeles/
  (los angeles co) is closed from 0001 hrs to 0500 hrs tuesday thru friday thru
  12/30/11 – due to construction – a detour is available
• the northbound & southbound connectors to eastbound & westbound sr 138
  (los angeles co) from 0700 hrs to 1900 hrs on 12/29/11 & from 0700 hrs to
  1900 hrs tuesday thru friday thru 1/6/12 – due to construction – a detour
  is available
• a high wind advisory is in effect from 4 mi north of the jct of sr 126
  /at lake hughes road/ (los angeles co) to the los angeles/kern co line
  /the grapevine/ – travel is not recommended for campers, trailers or
  permit loads
• [in the central california area]
  a high wind advisory is in effect from the los angeles/kern co line to
  25 mi south of bakersfield /at laval road/ (kern co) /the grapevine/ –
  travel is not recommended for campers, trailers or permit loads
• [in the northern california area]
  a high wind advisory is in effect from weed to yreka (siskiyou co)
  – travel is not recommended for campers, trailers or permit loads
• southbound traffic is subject to lane reductions from 1.1 mi south to
  2.1 mi south of antlers rd /in lakehead/ (shasta co) 24 hours a day 7 days
  a week thru 7/1/12 – due to construction
• I 10
  [in the southern california area]
  the eastbound connector to northbound & southbound i 110 /in los angeles/
  (los angeles co) is closed from 2300 hrs each night to 0500 hrs each morning
  monday thru friday & from 0100 hrs to 0500 hrs on monday thru 12/30/11 – due
  to construction – a detour is available
• the westbound connector to northbound & southbound i 110 /in los angeles/
  (los angeles co) is closed from 2100 hrs each night to 0500 hrs each morning
  monday thru friday & from 0100 hrs to 0500 hrs on monday thru 12/30/11 – due
  to construction – a detour is available
• the eastbound connector to northbound & southbound i 710 /in monterey park/
  (los angeles co) is closed from 2200 hrs each night to 0500 hrs each morning
  tuesday thru friday thru 12/30/11 – due to construction – a detour is available
• is closed to eastbound traffic from the jct of i 605 to puente ave
  /in baldwin park/ (los angeles co) from 0001 hrs to 0500 hrs tuesday thru
  friday thru 12/30/11 – due to construction – a detour is available
• the eastbound connector to northbound & southbound i 605 /in baldwin park/
  (los angeles co) is closed from 2100 hrs each night to 0600 hrs each morning
  monday thru friday & from 2100 hrs each night to 1000 hrs each morning saturday
  thru sunday thru 12/30/11 – due to construction – a detour is available
• SR 49
  [in the central california area]
  1-way controlled traffic from dogtown rd to north baker ln /in angels camp/
  (calaveras co) from 0700 hrs to 1700 hrs wednesday thru thursday thru 12/29/11
  – due to permit work
• [in the northern california area]
  1-way controlled traffic at various locations from the jct of sr 193
  /in cool/ (el dorado co) to the placer/nevada co line from 0800 hrs to 1530 hrs
  tuesday thru thursday thru 12/29/11 – due to maintenance
• 1-way controlled traffic at various locations from the placer/nevada co
  line to the nevada/yuba co line from 0800 hrs to 1700 hrs tuesday thru thursday
  thru 12/29/11 – due to maintenance
• 1-way controlled traffic at various locations from 3 mi north of the
  nevada/yuba co line /at marysville rd/ to the yuba pass summit (sierra co) from
  0730 hrs to 1600 hrs tuesday thru thursday thru 12/29/11 – due to maintenance
• US 50
  [in the northern california area]
  is closed from park ave /in south lake tahoe/ (el dorado co) to the
  nevada state line from 2100 hrs on 12/31/11 to 0200 hrs on 1/1/12 – due to
  a special event – a detour is available
• motorists are subject to lane reductions in each direction from watt ave
  /in sacramento/ to sunrise blvd /in rancho cordova/ (sacramento co) from
  2100 hrs each night to 0500 hrs each morning 7 days a week thru 8/31/13
  – due to construction
• motorists are subject to lane reductions in each direction from the
  sacramento/el dorado co line to 3.5 mi west of cameron park /at bass lake rd/
  (el dorado co) from 2000 hrs each night to 0700 hrs each morning monday thru
  friday thru 12/30/11 – due to construction
• US 101
  [in the southern california area]
  no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
• [in the central california area]
  is closed to southbound traffic at santa barbara rd /in atascadero/
  (san luis obispo co) from 2100 hrs each night to 0600 hrs each morning
  tuesday thru friday theu 12/30/11 – due to construction – a detour is available
• the southbound connector to northbound & southbound sr 114
  /in east palo alto/ (san mateo co) is closed from 1900 hrs each
  night to 0700 hrs each morning tuesday thru friday thru 12/30/11
  – due to construction – a detour is available
• the northbound connector to northbound sr 114 /in east palo alto/
  (san mateo co) is closed from 2000 hrs each night to 0600 hrs each
  morning tuesday thru friday thru 12/30/11 – due to construction
  – a detour is available
• the southbound connector to northbound sr 114 /in east palo alto/
  (san mateo co) is closed from 1900 hrs each night to 0700 hrs each
  morning tuesday thru friday thru 12/30/11 – due to construction
  – a detour is available
• [in the northern california area]
  no traffic restrictions are reported for this area.
• US 199
  [in the northern california area]
  1-way controlled traffic at various locations from 1.5 mi south of gasquet
  /at gasquet flat rd/ to gasquet (del norte co) from 0800 hrs to 1700 hrs
  tuesday thru thursday thru 12/29/11 – due to permit work
• I 210
  [in the southern california area]
  all tractor-semi trailer combinations with 3 axles or greater are
  prohibited on sr 2 from the jct of i 210 /in la canada-flintridge/ to the
  angeles forest highway (los angeles co) – alternate routes are available
• SR 267
  [in the northern california area]
  1-way controlled traffic at various locations from 5 mi south of truckee
  /at northstar dr/ to 3 mi north of kings beach /at martis peak rd/ (placer co)
  from 0800 hrs to 1530 hrs wednesday thru thursday thru 12/29/11 – due to
  maintenance – motorists are subject to delays of up to 10 minutes
• SR 275
  [in the northern california area]
  is closed from the tower bridge to 9th st /in sacramento/ (sacramento co)
  from 1800 hrs on 12/31/11 to 0200 hrs on 1/1/12 – due to a special event
  – motorists are advised to use an alternate route
• I 580
  [in the central california area]
  there is a dense fog advisory in effect at the richmond-san rafael bridge
  /in richmond/ (contra costa co) – motorists are advised to drive with caution