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State Route 78 is a state highway in California that runs from Oceanside east to Blythe, a few miles from Arizona. Its western terminus is at Interstate 5 in San Diego County and its eastern terminus is at Interstate 10 in Riverside County. The route is a freeway through the heavily populated cities of northern San Diego County and a two-lane highway running through the Cuyamaca Mountains to Julian. In Imperial County, it travels through the desert near the Salton Sea and passes through the city of Brawley before turning north into an area of sand dunes on the way to its terminus in Blythe. Portions of the route existed as early as 1900, and it was one of the original state highways designated in 1934. The freeway section in the North County of San Diego that connects Oceanside and Escondido was built in the middle of the 20th century in several stages, including a transitory stage known as the Vista Way Freeway, and has been improved several times. An expressway bypass of the city of Brawley was completed in 2012. There are many projects slated to improve the freeway due to increasing congestion. (Full article...)