There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz counties.
G1
County Route G1 (CR G1) is a road in San Benito County, California, United States, providing access to Fremont Peak State Park from State Route 156 in San Juan Bautista. It is signed as San Juan Canyon Road for almost the entire length except for a small portion of The Alameda.
Route description
From the southern end of G1 on Fremont Peak as San Juan Canyon Road, G1 begins a steep, sharp-curved winding descent from around 3,000 feet for the first 2 miles, north to northeast. G1 then curves to the west for about 2 miles before turning north. At the intersection of Mission Vineyard Road, G1 becomes The Alameda, which then heads north for approximately 1/4 mile before reaching the northern terminus at State Route 156. Beyond the northern terminus, The Alameda continues into downtown San Juan Bautista for 0.2 miles until the intersection of First Street.
Major intersections
G2
County Route G2 (CR G2), more commonly known as Lawrence Expressway and Quito Road, is a busy long north–south link through Silicon Valley in Northern California. The majority of G2 is part of the Santa Clara County expressway system.
Route description
G2 runs from the Quito Road overcrossing of SR 85 in Saratoga, north along Quito Road. G2 is not signed along this section and is not commonly recognized as existing along this 2 lane road by either locals or mapmakers. The Quito Road portion is also maintained by the City of Saratoga rather than Santa Clara County.
As the road leaves Saratoga and enters San Jose, it widens to a 6 lane county-maintained expressway with a concrete island divider; at this point it becomes Lawrence Expressway. The Lawrence Expressway section from just south of Saratoga Avenue is more readily recognized as G2. Local residents almost exclusively refer to G2 as Lawrence Expressway. The road continues north, with access usually restricted to major intersections which are controlled via traffic lights.
Lawrence Expressway continues northeasterly and junctions with I-280 and Stevens Creek Boulevard over a complex shared separated grade crossing. Lawrence Expressway proceeds under I-280 before immediately rising over Stevens Creek Boulevard. San Tomas Expressway and Campbell Avenue also share ramps for access to I-280 with the exception of the onramp to Southbound I-280 which is accessed directly from Lawrence Expressway, a frequent cause of confusion for drivers on Stevens Creek Boulevard wishing to access I-280 due to unclear signage. Lawrence Expressway continues north into Santa Clara and widens to 8 lanes with an HOV lane occupying the far right lane.
Lawrence Expressway also has another separated grade interchange with El Camino Real (SR 82). Lawrence Expressway then enters Sunnyvale. At this point the expressway passes over Caltrain's Lawrence Station. Lawrence Expressway also passes under Central Expressway (G6) on a separated grade interchange and over US 101 on a separated grade interchange. The US 101 interchange was upgraded in the early 2000s to include traffic light control on G2.
G2 reaches its northern terminus at the end of Lawrence Expressway at the SR 237 Freeway. The physical road continues north as Caribbean Drive, which then curves back south through Sunnyvale and Cupertino, paralleling Lawrence Expressway under several different street names until the roads intersect again at Highway 9 and Quito. This effectively makes the road one continuous counterclockwise loop through the Santa Clara Valley, where one driver could start on Quito road and end up exactly where they started without ever changing lanes.
History
The designation G2 existed to the 1950s. The route replaced what was originally called Lawrence Station Road (after the Southern Pacific Lawrence station), from Mountain View–Alviso Road in the north to Stevens Creek Blvd. on the south, roughly paralleling Saratoga Creek. Lawrence Station was itself named for Alfred Chester Lawrence. Crossing Stevens Creek, the route was originally called Doyle Road, a small two lane road up to the point the current Doyle Road exits to the east. The section between Doyle and Saratoga Avenue at Quito Road was originally orchards.