California State Route 110

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).
For the Pasadena Freeway in the Houston, Texas area, see Pasadena Freeway (Houston) .
State Route 110
(CS&HC Section 410)
Length: 11.71 mi[1] (18.85 km)
has been truncated in Pasadena, but is still signed to Colorado Blvd
Formed: 1981 (from SR 11)[2]
South end: I-10/I-110 in Los Angeles
Major
junctions:		 U.S. Route 101 in Los Angeles
North end: Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena
California State Routes
< SR 109 SR 111 >
Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic
State Route 110 (Pasadena Freeway) highlighted in red.
State Route 110 (Pasadena Freeway) highlighted in red.

State Route 110 extends from Interstate 10 and Interstate 110 in Los Angeles, California to Glenarm Street in Pasadena, California, United States. Most of the route is known as the Pasadena Freeway. However, it is legally the "Harbor Freeway" on the segment from Interstate 10 to U.S. Route 101 in Los Angeles.

Until the early 2000's the route continued from Glenarm Street to Colorado Boulevard (in Pasadena) via Arroyo Parkway, a surface street. From US 101, the Hollywood Freeway, to Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena, State Route 110 was part of U.S. Route 66. In addition to being known as the Pasadena Freeway, the segment of State Route 110 between Interstate 5, the Golden State Freeway, in Los Angeles and Glenarm Street in Pasadena is known as the Historic Arroyo Seco Parkway, and has been declared a National Scenic Byway.

Interstate 110, the State Route's southern extension to San Pedro, is also legislatively Route 110. A short surface alignment along Gaffey Street to Ninth Street south of the end of I-110 at State Route 47 in San Pedro, was once a segment of State Route 110.

Contents

[edit] History

The Pasadena Freeway began construction in 1940 and completed in 1953. It was once signed as U.S. Highway 66 and U.S. Highway 6 which is also used on Harbor Freeway renumber into California State Highway 11 in 1964, and Pasadena Freeway was renumber to CA-110, including Harbor Freeway the south of Santa Monica Freeway became Interstate 110 in 1981.

[edit] Pasadena Freeway

Arroyo Seco Parkway in 1940
Arroyo Seco Parkway in 1940
Figueroa Street Tunnels
Figueroa Street Tunnels

A nine-mile (14 km), dedicated cycleway was proposed in 1897, by Pasadena mayor Horace Dobbins, to connect Pasadena to downtown Los Angeles. Its right of way would have followed the stream bed of the Arroyo Seco and required 1,250,000 board feet (2,950 m³) of pine wood to construct. The proposed roundtrip toll was $0.15 (USD), and the cycleway would have been lit by electric lights along its entire length. The project was begun, but only a section from the Hotel Green to Raymond Hill was completed before the promoters ran out of money. [3] The completed portion attracted many cyclers at first, but business fell off once the novelty was gone. Eventually the structure was dismantled and the wood was sold for a profit. Despite the fact that the cycleway was never completed, the promoters did manage to get at least two magazines to publish glowing reports of its success, one of them appearing in print as late as 1901, by which time the project had been abandoned. [4] The dream of a grade-separated roadway connecting Pasadena with downtown Los Angeles would have to wait several more decades to be fulfilled when the Arroyo Seco Parkway was completed.

The original freeway was designed by Spencer Cortelyou[5] and was first named the Arroyo Seco Parkway. It had no highway number designation when it first opened and originally had a speed limit of 45 miles an hour (70 km/h). Traffic originally ran in two lanes in each direction with a wide shoulder available for emergency parking. The original route of this Parkway — its 1940 appellation — ran from the Chinatown district in downtown Los Angeles to Pasadena, and was later extended to meet the Hollywood Freeway and Santa Ana Freeway. It was one of the first modern urban freeways built in the United States. The Parkway opened to traffic on December 30, 1940; a writer for the New York Times noted that it was one of the "outstanding highway improvements in the country."[6]

The original portion of the Pasadena Freeway is considered by today's standards to be obsolete and rather dangerous. In its current six-lane configuration, there are no shoulders, although there are periodic turnouts that one can swerve into during an emergency. For this reason, trucks are not allowed on the Pasadena Freeway between the interchange with U.S. Route 101 (also known as the Four Level Interchange) and the northern terminus in Pasadena.

Entry or exit from the freeway is a death-defying feat due to its dangerously short ramps; motorists have complained about them since the freeway opened, but the ramps have never been fixed.[7]

An excellent example is the Avenue 52 intersection in Highland Park. At this point the freeway is depressed and Avenue 52 passes over it. There is one on-ramp and one off-ramp in each direction, each perhaps 100 feet (30 meters) in length. At the bottom of the on-ramp there is actually a limit line and a stop sign. Freeway users must stop at the line, wait for an opening in traffic, and then accelerate from a complete stop directly into traffic moving at 55 mph — there is no acceleration lane.

Exiting the freeway entails pulling onto the off-ramp while still at speed and coming rapidly to a stop. While the freeway is posted for 55 mph (90 km/h), traffic regularly exceeds this limit. The road also has RIRO entrances on the southbound carriageway with Shults Street, South 57 Avenue, and on the northbound carriageway with South 43 Avenue, to name a few, as there are others as well.

When traveling from Los Angeles into South Pasadena, there is a set of sharp, sweeping turns required to keep the freeway within the bounds of the canyon. Since the original design envisioned a much slower traffic flow, these turns are not banked. The speed through them is reduced, but driving this freeway for the first time can be, even for an experienced driver, a hair-raising experience. Despite all this, the freeway is still heavily used by drivers, as it remains the most direct route between Los Angeles and Pasadena for automobiles.

Four medium-sized tunnels (called the "Figueroa Street Tunnels") run under and through the hills of Elysian Park. In the northward direction (toward Pasadena), stairways and bus pads can still be seen to the left before the tunnels. These remnants date from the days when the Arroyo Seco Parkway was first opened, and are no longer in use.

The Pasadena Freeway runs through heavily working-class Latino neighborhoods such as Lincoln Heights and Highland Park, as well as upper-middle-class white populated portions of Pasadena and South Pasadena (these generalizations about ethnicity are drawn from U.S. Census data).

[edit] Extension of route

Since its original opening, the freeway has been extended southwards from the four level interchange near downtown Los Angeles to the port of Los Angeles, in San Pedro. The Harbor Freeway runs through the poorer inner-city sections — with a predominantly African American and Latino population — of South Los Angeles. The Harbor Freeway is entirely within the city of Los Angeles except a four-mile stretch where it marks the boundary between Carson, California and an unincorporated area in the South Bay. Because this section of freeway is up to Interstate Highway standards, it is much wider and is far safer to drive than the older Pasadena-to-Los Angeles route.

[edit] Landmarks and filmography

Some famous landmarks along or nearby the Interstate 110 Harbor Freeway include the University of Southern California (USC), Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Shrine Auditorium (where several major film, TV, and music awards are presented), Staples Center (home of the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers and NHL's Kings), Chinatown, Dodger Stadium (home of the MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers), and the Southwest Museum (a museum dedicated to Native American culture).

Tucked within the southwest loop of the intersection with Interstate 10 is the Central Los Angeles office of the California Highway Patrol. It was heavily photographed for the 1970s U.S. television program CHiPs, as it was depicted as the home office of its main characters, Officers Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello. It does not have direct access to or from either freeway, though.

During the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a white truck driver named Reginald Denny was pulled from his truck and beaten on an intersection, Florence Avenue and Normandie Street, about a mile (2 km) west from the 110 Freeway. The incident was broadcast live via news helicopter.

The Pasadena Freeway can be seen in the introduction of the 1971 Steven Spielberg film, Duel. Dennis Weaver's character drives through several tunnels before entering the Interstate 5 interchange (which leads to Sacramento and beyond).

Seinfeld episode The Bottle Deposit, Part 2 was filmed on the Pasadena Freeway.

[edit] Citizen involvement

In 2001, Richard Ankrom, a local artist, who got lost trying to get onto Interstate 5 North from the northbound 110 Freeway because there was no clear official signage labeling access to the 5 North, solved his frustration by covertly modifying one of the overhead signs on the freeway just before the tunnels. Using official government sign specifications, Ankrom fabricated two sign pieces, one being an Interstate marker shield with the number '5' on it, and one with the word "NORTH", and affixed them to the left side of the sign. He performed his modifications in broad daylight, disguised as a CalTrans worker. In that district Caltrans has 3 sign crews, each thinking one of the other two crews did the installation. After nine months, at Ankrom's request, the Los Angeles Downtown News broke the story.

Prior to Ankrom's work, the only signage directing motorists to the 5 North off-ramp came at a quarter-mile before the exit, thus forcing many to merge across multiple lanes in a very short distance. The unofficial modifications remain on the sign to this day, after having been inspected by CalTrans to ensure they would not fall off onto the road below. CalTrans is gradually upgrading all California freeway signs to a newer, more reflective form; when this happens on the 110, Ankrom's work may be lost, but the new sign will include "5 North" icons.

Ankrom was never charged, despite statements from officials that his actions were illegal.

It should be noted that an additional "5 North" sign has since been installed over the left lane of the northbound Pasadena Freeway at the entrance to the Figueroa Street Tunnels.

See http://www.ankrom.org/freeway_signs.html for a picture of Ankrom's work.

[edit] Trivia

The name Arroyo Seco in Spanish means Dry Wash.

[edit] Alternate transportation

There exists an alternate way of getting from Los Angeles to Pasadena. The Metro Gold Line, on the former AT&SF Pasadena Subdivision right-of-way, offers "quick, convenient transit" from Pasadena to Los Angeles, with various intermediate stops.

[edit] State law

Legal Definition of Route 110: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 410

 Route 110 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.5 of the California State Highway Code.

Route 110 from Route 101 to Pasadena is known as the Pasadena Freeway, as named by the State Highway Commission on November 18, 1954.[8]

[edit] Control cities

Northbound

Southbound

[edit] Exit list

Mileposts derived from[1] and exit numbers derived from.[9]

Location Mile # Destinations Notes
I-110 becomes SR-110
Los Angeles LA 21.44 Interstate 110 South - San Pedro Southbound exit and northbound entrance
LA 21.44 21 Interstate 10 - Santa Monica Freeway; Santa Ana; Santa Monica Southbound exit and northbound entrance
LA 22.12 22A Olympic Boulevard No northbound exit; southbound exit accessible via Blaine St; northbound and soutbound entrance accessible via 11th St
LA 22.27 22-23A Downtown - 9th Street; 6th Street Northbound exit and southbound entrance; old Exit 22A
LA 22.27
LA 22.44		 22B 8th Street; 9th Street Southbound exit and northbound entrance; old exit 22B
23B-C 4th Street; 3rd Street Northbound exit and southbound entrance; old exit 22B
23C-B-A 6th Street; 4th Street - Wilshire Boulevard; Downtown; 3rd Street Southbound exit and northbound entrance
LA 23.73 24A U.S. Route 101 North - Hollywood; To Interstate 5 South; Interstate 10 East - Santa Ana; San Bernardino Four Level Interchange
24B Sunset Boulevard Southbound exit and northbound entrance, accessible via Figueroa St; old exit 24A
LA 24.55 24C Civic Center; Hill Street No southbound entrance; Southbound left exit is combined with Exit 24B; old exit 24B southbound
LA 24.73 24D Stadium Way - Dodger Stadium; Hill Street Exit 24B northbound; old exit 24 northbound and 24C southbound
LA 25.04 25 Solano Avenue; Academy Road Old exit 25 northbound
LA 25.75 26A Interstate 5 North - Golden State Freeway; Sacramento Northbound left exit and southbound entrance
LA 25.78 26B Figueroa Street Northbound left exit and southbound entrance; old exit 26
LA 25.91 26A Avenue 26 southbound exit and northbound entrance
LA 25.75 26B Interstate 5 - Sacramento; Santa Ana Southbound exit and northbound entrance
LA 27.12 27 Avenue 43
LA 28.05 28A Avenue 52
LA 28.38 28B Via Marisol Southbound exit and entrance accessible via Avenue 57
LA 28.76 29 Avenue 60
LA 29.28 30A Marmion Way; Avenue 64 Northbound exit and southbound entrance
LA 29.50 30 York Boulevard Southbound exit and entrance, accessible via Bridewell St
30B Bridewell Street Northbound exit only
South Pasadena LA 30.59 31A Orange Grove Avenue
LA 31.17 31B Fair Oaks Avenue Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Fair Oaks Avenue - South Pasadena Southbound exit only, accessible via State St
LA 31.9[2] Glenarm Street At-grade intersection
Northbound traffic defaults onto Arroyo Seco Pkwy towards Colorado Blvd in Pasadena

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
  2. ^ a b California Highways: Interstate 110
  3. ^ Cultivating Pasadena. Vectors Issue 2; Fall, 2006. Retrieved on March 23, 2007.
  4. ^ California's Great Cycle-Way. Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved on May 13, 2006.
  5. ^ Anonymous. "Spencer V. Cortelyou, 83, Highway Official on Coast", New York Times, 11 August 1962, p. 12.
  6. ^ Ullman, William. "Cities Give Cars Room: Traffic 'Paralysis' Cured By Costly Building Of More Street Space", New York Times, 26 January 1941, p. 4.
  7. ^ Cecilia Rasmussen, "Behind the Wheel: Harrowing Drive on State's Oldest Freeway — Curvy, quirky 110 carries motorists between downtown Los Angeles and Pasadena," Los Angeles Times, 6 November 2001, 2.
  8. ^ 2006 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Caltrans, 75. Retrieved on March 27, 2007. 
  9. ^ Cal-NExUS Interchange Exit Numbering

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/a/l/California_State_Route_110_79c4.html"