Interstate 105 (California)

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Interstate 105
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Glenn Anderson Freeway
(CS&HC Section 405)
Length: 18.82 mi[1] (30.29 km)
West end: SR 1 at the Los Angeles Intl. Airport
Major
junctions:		 I-405 in Hawthorne, CA
I-110 in Los Angeles, CA
I-710 in Lynwood, CA
East end: I-605 in Norwalk, CA
California State Routes
< SR 104 SR 106 >
Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

Interstate 105 (abbreviated I-105) is an interstate highway that runs east-west in southern Los Angeles County, California. I-105 is colloquially referred to as the Century Freeway, but is officially known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway for the Congressman who advocated its construction. I-105 derives its name from nearby Century Boulevard, which parallels its route.

Contents

[edit] The route

The Century Freeway begins at Sepulveda Boulevard (State Route 1) on the southern edge of Los Angeles International Airport, adjacent to the city of El Segundo. It proceeds generally eastward from there on, crossing the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers before terminating just east of the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) in western Norwalk.

[edit] History

An integral part of Caltrans' 1960s master plan for the Southern California freeway system, the Century Freeway nevertheless did not open until 1993. Many factors contributed to the delay. The growth of the environmentalist movement in the 1960s created resistance to new freeway construction. Fiscal difficulties brought about by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the California tax revolt of the late 1970s further hampered Caltrans' construction efforts.

However, the major source of resistance to the freeway's construction was community opposition, and the side effects of these demands. By the early 1970s, most of the areas in the freeway's path (and thus slated to be demolished) were predominantly African-American; resentment over previous freeway projects' effects on other black communities resulted in significant modifications to the original route. Most cities along the way, weary of the noise and visual blight created by elevated freeways, demanded that the route be built far below grade in a "trench." Also another source for resisteance to freeways construction was that much of the areas along the I-105 path was going to be built in low income, high crime neighboorhoods, which also delayed the freeway's construction until the crime in the areas went down.

After construction began in the 1980s, failure to perform a full survey of the area's groundwater deposits, combined with the 20-30 foot below-grade trench through the city of Downey, resulted in buckling and cracking along the eastern portions of the route. At one point a large sinkhole opened in the Bellflower Boulevard onramp. This resulted in construction of an elaborate pump system along the freeway between the interchanges with I-710 and I-605.

Norwalk, opposed to the freeway's proposed route through the center of the city, blocked the route from reaching its intended terminus at the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5); however, Caltrans had already decided to abandon that section due to the inability of the severely congested Santa Ana Freeway to accommodate any more traffic. The freeway eventually replaced Manchester Avenue (State Route 42), which was a road roughly parallel to the freeway.

Throughout the difficulties, Congressman Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro) tirelessly advocated for the route's construction, touting its possibilities for congestion relief along Century, Manchester, and Firestone Boulevards and the Imperial Highway; it has succeeded in these tasks, as well as relieving pressure on the Santa Monica (I-10) and San Diego (I-405) Freeways for travelers between Downtown Los Angeles and LAX. After Anderson's death in 1994, Caltrans honored him by renaming the freeway in his honor. However, the name "Anderson Freeway" is seldom used except on maps; "Century Freeway" is still the most commonly used name.

The I-105 designation had been used for U.S. Route 101 (the Santa Ana Freeway) from I-5 (the Golden State Freeway) at the East Los Angeles Interchange to the connection to I-10 (the San Bernardino Freeway; this connection had been I-110); it went back to U.S. 101 in 1968. Source: Kurumi 3di Interstates

[edit] Notable facts

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In addition to being below grade for most of its route, the Century Freeway is also notable for the Los Angeles Metro Rail Green Line that runs along its center median. The former Pacific Electric Railway Santa Ana branch right of way on Fernwood Drive parallels the alignment of the Freeway between State Street in Lynwood and the Los Angeles River bridge.

The freeway's elaborate high occupancy vehicle lane structure includes a towering interchange with the Harbor Freeway's HOV lanes. Some refer to this interchange as "the Hump." In 2002, the California Legislature officially named the interchange after federal appellate judge Harry Pregerson, who as a district judge had supervised the settlement of the federal lawsuit against the Century Freeway.

During construction of the freeway, it was featured in the movie Speed as I-10. The production was given as much time as needed to film on the freeway. In the most memorable sequence, the bus successfully jumped over an incomplete section of the freeway to safety.[citation needed]

The boyhood home of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson of the famous rock group The Beach Boys, located at 3701 W. 119th Street in Hawthorne, was demolished in the late 1980s for the construction of Interstate 105. A monument now stands at the corner of W. 119th Street and Kornblum Avenue, the intersection where the house once stood.

[edit] State law

Legal Definition of Route 105: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 405

 Route 105 is part of the Freeway and Expressway System, as stated by section 253.1 of the California State Highway Code.

Route 105 from Route 1 to Route 605 is known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway, as named by Senate Concurrent Resolution 34, Chapter 83 in 1987.[2]

[edit] Control cities

Eastbound

Westbound

[edit] Communities served

The towering interchange with the Harbor Freeway
The towering interchange with the Harbor Freeway

Communities along the Century Freeway include:

[edit] Major intersections

Freeways intersected by the Century Freeway include from west to east:

[edit] Exit list

Postmiles are derived from[1] and exit numbers derived from[3].

Location Postmile # Destinations Notes
El Segundo LA 0.00 1A Imperial Highway Freeway ends and begins
Los Angeles 1B SR 1 Sepulveda Blvd south Exit 1 Eastbound, signed as "Imperial Highway East"
1C SR 1 Sepulveda Blvd north - LAX
LA R0.98 1D Nash Street Westbound exit; Eastbound entrance accessible via Atwood Way
LA R1.79 2A La Cienega Blvd; Aviation Blvd Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, both accessible via Imperial Highway
Hawthorne LA 2.91 2B I-405 San Diego Fwy - Santa Monica; Long Beach Exit 2 eastbound
LA 3.32 3 Prairie Avenue; Hawthorne Blvd Hawthorne Blvd is only directly accessible via westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Inglewood LA R4.73 5 Crenshaw Blvd Accessible eastbound via 120th Street
Los Angeles LA R6.74 7A Vermont Avenue
LA 8.05 7B I-110 Harbor Fwy - Los Angeles; San Pedro There are also separate left exits for the HOV lanes
LA R8.94 9 Central Avenue
Compton LA R9.38 10 Wilmington Avenue Accessible westbound via Imperial Highway
Lynwood LA 11.56 12 Long Beach Blvd
LA R13.47 13 I-710 Long Beach Fwy - Pasadena; Long Beach The original routing postmile for the 105/710 junction was LA 14.53[1]
Paramount LA R14.13
LA R14.65		 14 Garfield Avenue; Paramount Blvd Exit 15 westbound
Bellflower LA R15.76 16 SR 19 Lakewood Blvd The original routing postmile for the 105/19 junction was LA 17.45[1]
Downey R16.64 17 Bellflower Blvd
Norwalk LA 18.82 18A I-605 San Gabriel River Fwy south Like many signs along the entrances and freeway junctions of I-605, no destinations ("control cities") are listed here
18B I-605 San Gabriel River Fwy north
Studebaker Road Eastbound exit and westbound entrance (at-grade intersection)

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d January 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways
  2. ^ 2006 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Caltrans, 60. Retrieved on March 27, 2007. 
  3. ^ Cal-NExUS Interchange Exit Numbering
 Auxiliary routes of Interstate 5
Current and Future (F) Former
I-105 California - Oregon
I-205 California - Oregon/Washington
I-305 California Oregon
I-405 California - Oregon - Washington
I-505 California Oregon
I-605 California Washington
I-705 Washington
I-805 California
I-905 California (F)

[edit] External links

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