Calaveras County Visitors Now Warmly Welcomed By Impressive New Gateway Monuments

Clean California Initiative Funded The $1 Million Project

San Andreas – Motorists along four Mother Lode state highways are now welcomed to Calaveras County with new gateway monuments that reflect the region’s Gold Rush-era history thanks to a $1 million Clean California beautification project that underwent extensive community outreach to develop the signage.

Caltrans and Calaveras County officials partnered to complete the monuments and wayfinding signs, which were designed and crafted locally. They have been installed along State Routes 4, 12, 26 and 49 in and around the communities of Angels Camp, Arnold, Copperopolis, Murphys, San Andreas, Valley Springs, and Mokelumne Hill. Each was developed after extensive feedback from Calaveras County residents at workshops and community meetings, and via online outreach. After several rounds of online voting, community members selected the final design.

This effort was made possible through Governor Gavin Newsom’s Clean California initiative — a sweeping, $1.2 billion, multiyear clean-up effort led by Caltrans to remove trash, create thousands of jobs, and join with communities throughout the state to reclaim, transform, and beautify public spaces and help keep them that way.

“We want to thank all of our community partners who helped make this vision a reality, creating a sense of connectivity throughout Calaveras County,” said Grace Magsayo, Director of Caltrans District 10. “Caltrans applauds the diligence community members showed to make a lasting, positive impact throughout this historical county.”

Fourteen entry monuments were crafted using rhyolite stone in stucco to represent the locally mined stone used in numerous historical Calaveras County structures, many of which date back to California’s Gold Rush era of the 1850s. They also feature fabricated steel logos and lettering. Meanwhile, seven wayfinding signs direct visitors to local attractions and amenities off the county’s rural highways, such as bygone downtowns, county fairgrounds, parks, libraries, and emergency medical services.

Clean California has funded 319 projects statewide to revitalize and beautify underserved communities. Projects are improving public spaces, tribal lands, parks, neighborhoods, transit centers, walking paths, streets, roadsides, recreation fields, community gathering spots, and places of cultural importance or historical interest in underserved communities.

Since July 2021, Caltrans and its local partners have picked up 3 million cubic yards of litter – enough to cover nine lanes of Interstate 5 with trash from the Mexican border to Oregon. Caltrans has also hosted more than 600 free dump days in communities throughout the state – resulting in the collection of more than 14,000 mattresses and 52,000 tires. The Clean California initiative has enlisted more than 60,000 community clean-up volunteers and created thousands of jobs, including positions for individuals who were formerly incarcerated, on probation, or experiencing housing insecurity.

For more information about the Clean California initiative, visit cleanca.com and to learn more about transportation and other infrastructure projects funded with state and federal investments, visit Build.ca.gov.

Caltrans also reminds motorists to #KnowBeforeYouGo by checking quickmap.dot.ca.gov for real-time highway conditions prior to travel.