1970s

The California Transportation Commission replaced the California Highway Commission, State Transportation Board, Aeronautics Board and California Toll Bridge Authority, for the purpose of advising and assisting the governor and legislature in formulating and evaluating state policies and plans for transportation programs.

Adriana Gianturco appointed as Caltrans’ first woman director. She served from 1976 to 1983.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) was formed to unify all transportation functions under a single department.

California's first traffic management center in was established in Los Angeles. The 42-mile surveillance loop included the Santa Monica, San Diego, and Harbor freeways. This was a significant milestone in developing a fully-automated traffic management system and included elements such as underground loop detectors and ramp metering. The passage of the Transportation Development Act extended the state's retail sales tax to include gasoline, and provided for a portion of that revenue to be returned to local governments for transportation. This provided a significant new source of revenue for local transportation facilities, in particular, for transit.

On April 20, the first high-occupancy vehicle lane opened. It was a one-half mile, peak-period, westbound bus lane through the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza. On April 20, the first high-occupancy vehicle lane opened. It was a one-half mile, peak-period, westbound bus lane through the San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge toll plaza