Interstate 5

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Interstate 5
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Length: 1381.29 mi (2222.97 km)
Formed: 1957
South end: MX 1 at Mexican border in San Ysidro, CA (San Diego)
Major
junctions:		 I-8 in San Diego, CA
I-10 in Los Angeles, CA
I-80 in Sacramento, CA
I-84 in Portland, OR
I-90 in Seattle, WA
North end: BC 99 at Canadian border in Blaine, WA
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Interstate 5 (abbreviated I-5) is the westernmost interstate highway in the contiguous United States. Its odd number indicates that it is a north-south highway. Its southern terminus is at the international border between the United States and Mexico in the San Diego community of San Ysidro, California. Its northern terminus is at the international border between the United States and Canada at the Peace Arch in Blaine, Washington.

This highway links to control cities in California (San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento), Oregon (Medford, Eugene, Salem, and Portland), and Washington (Tacoma, Seattle, Everett, Mount Vernon, Bellingham).

Notably, a control city not directly linked by this highway is San Francisco, which is about 80 miles (130 km) west of I-5. To the south, Interstate 580 splits from I-5 towards San Francisco, while, to the north, Interstate 505 cuts south to Interstate 80, which serves that city. That routing, via I-580, I-80 and I-505, was once Interstate 5W.

Along with Interstate 15, Interstate 10, Interstate 8, Interstate 40, and U.S. Route 101, I-5 serves as one of the primary roads that link the Los Angeles/San Diego Metropolitan areas north and east to the rest of the nation.

Contents

[edit] History

An extensive section of this highway (over 600 miles or 965 km), from approximately Stockton, California to Vancouver, British Columbia, follows very closely the track of the Siskiyou Trail. The Siskiyou Trail was based on an ancient network of Native American footpaths connecting the Pacific Northwest with California's Central Valley. By the 1820s, trappers from the Hudson's Bay Company were the first non-Native Americans to use the route of today's I-5 to move between today's Washington State and California. During the second half of the 19th Century, mule trains, stagecoaches, and the Central Pacific railroad also followed the route of the Siskiyou Trail.[1] By the early 20th Century, pioneering automobile roads were built along the path of the Siskiyou Trail, notably the Pacific Highway. The Pacific Highway ran from British Columbia to San Diego, California and was the immediate predecessor of much of U.S. Highway 99. The route of Highway 99 was in turn used as a basis for much of the route of today's I-5.

[edit] Route description

[edit] California

[edit] Southern California

U-turn sign at the United States—Mexico border crossing
U-turn sign at the United States—Mexico border crossing
Main articles: San Diego Freeway, Santa Ana Freeway, and Golden State Freeway

Interstate 5 starts at the United States-Mexico border at the San Ysidro border crossing, one of the busiest in the world.[2] Interstate 5 meets Mexican Federal Highway 1D at the border with Baja California Norte, and this highway is the toll road from Tijuana to Ensenada. Interstate 805 begins here, bypassing the bulk of the San Diego metropolitan area.

I-5 looking South towards downtown San Diego
I-5 looking South towards downtown San Diego

Starting at the border in San Ysidro, which is part of the city San Diego, as the John J. Montgomery Freeway, I-5 goes through the suburbs of National City and Chula Vista before reaching downtown San Diego. Designated as the San Diego Freeway from this point, it then parallels the Pacific coastline, going through the northern suburbs of San Diego before passing through the 28 miles (45 km) of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County.

At Dana Point, I-5 turns inland and heads due north through Mission Viejo to the El Toro Y interchange in southeastern Irvine. From that point, Interstate 405 takes over the San Diego Freeway designation, while I-5 becomes the Santa Ana Freeway as it runs southeast to northwest, passing through major cities and suburbs in Orange and Southern Los Angeles counties.

When the freeway reaches the East Los Angeles Interchange one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Los Angeles, I-5 becomes the Golden State Freeway. The route continues through the San Fernando Valley and then crosses the Newhall Pass through the Santa Susana Mountains into the Santa Clarita Valley. From there, the Golden State Freeway sharply rises to the north through the Grapevine to eventually cross the Tejon Pass through the Tehachapi Mountains with Path 26 power lines generally paralleling the freeway. The freeway then sharply descends for 12 miles (19 km) from over 4,100 feet (1,250 m) at Tejon Pass to around 1,600 feet (488 m) at Grapevine near the southernmost point of the San Joaquin Valley, approximately 30 miles (50 km) south of Bakersfield and 4 miles (6 km) south from where State Route 99 splits away from it in Wheeler Ridge.

[edit] Central and Northern California

Interstate 5 southbound approaching Weed, California and Mt. Shasta
Interstate 5 southbound approaching Weed, California and Mt. Shasta

From Highway 99 to south of Tracy, I-5 skirts along the far more remote western edge of the great Central Valley, and thus here is removed from population centers such as Bakersfield and Fresno with other state highways providing connections. For most of this section, the Path 15 electrical transmission corridor follows the highway, forming an infrastructure corridor along with the California Aqueduct.

Interstate 580 splits off from I-5 at a point south of Tracy, providing a loop-route connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. After passing Tracy, I-5 heads due north through Stockton and Sacramento before turning due west to Woodland. At Woodland, the interstate heads northwest again towards Dunnigan, where it converges with Interstate 505.

From Dunnigan, I-5 skirts north along the western edge of the Sacramento Valley to Red Bluff. I-5 then enters the Shasta Cascade region, passing through Redding and Shasta Lake before climbing up to near the foot of Mount Shasta. The interstate then travels to Weed and Yreka before reaching the Oregon border.

[edit] Historical Naming in California

The portion of this highway from Los Angeles, California to San Ysidro, California was also co-signed as U.S. Route 101 until the late 1960s.

The portion of this highway from Lebec, California to Red Bluff, California roughly follows old US 99W.

In California the former western branch of Interstate 5 (the northern end of the spur into the Bay Area) connecting Interstate 80 out of Vacaville to near Dunnigan, previously known as Interstate 5W, was renamed Interstate 505. Interstate 580 running between I-5 and I-80 was also once designated 5W; what is now I-5 (the stretch that runs through Sacramento) had been originally designated Interstate 5E.

[edit] California State Law

Legal Definition of Route 5: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 305

 Route 5 is part of the Scenic Highway System, as stated by section 263.3 of the California State Highway Code.

[edit] Oregon

Beginning with the section about 3 miles (5 km) north of the California border, the highway runs from 4,310 foot (1,314 m) Siskiyou Summit, the highest point on I-5, through Oregon's southern mountains and towns such as Ashland, Medford, and Grants Pass. Past Roseburg, the mountains tend to turn into hills, and by the time one reaches Eugene driving northward, they have entered the Willamette River Valley. At Eugene the highway intersects with the short Interstate 105. The interstate then heads almost due north, skirting near Albany and Corvallis, and passes through Salem. There were plans to build a spur into Salem, Oregon, called Interstate 305.

The highway then tracks a little to the northeast, splitting off Interstate 205 south of the Portland metro area. From here it passes up through Tualatin and Tigard along former U.S. Route 99W before hitting the southern terminus of I-405 and the Marquam Bridge. Also planned was a spur in Portland off of I-405, called Interstate 505, but it was never built and has been removed from city plans. A stub of I-505 exists as a long exit ramp to U.S. Route 30.

After crossing the Willamette River on the Marquam Bridge, I-5 has junctions at the western terminus of Interstate 84 and the northern terminus of I-405. It then continues through the northern parts of the city of Portland, and crosses into Washington via the Interstate Bridge.

Notably, bicycles are not prohibited from most of I-5 in Oregon, perhaps because in rural and mountain areas, few or no alternate routes exist (having been largely built over the alignment of U.S. 99, which in many places was laid over historic trails). In the early 1970s, restrictions against nonmotorized vehicles began appearing in denser urban areas where such use would be unsafe, but to date the rest remains accessible.[1]

[edit] Oregon Highway Designations

I-5 in Oregon is designated the Pacific Highway, which is Highway 1.

I-5 bridge over the Nisqually River, near Tacoma, Washington
I-5 bridge over the Nisqually River, near Tacoma, Washington

[edit] Washington

The highway begins in Washington over the Columbia River and drops down into the city of Vancouver. About seven miles (11 km) into the state, it reaches the northern terminus of I-205, which is on the eastern edge of the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area. It then tracks north by northwest to Kelso and Longview, WA, at which point it ceases paralleling a large bend of the Columbia. Continuing north through the Willapa Hills, the freeway eventually reaches Olympia, where it bends sharply east, after that it goes through Fort Lewis and by McChord AFB, then finally Tacoma where it bends sharply north again to reach Seattle. The freeway makes its way out of the Seattle/Tacoma/Everett metro area, crosses the floodplains of three rivers, through the Skagit Valley and the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Area to the northern city of Bellingham to arrive at the Peace Arch Canadian border crossing between Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia. British Columbia provincial highway 99 continues northwesterly from the border into Vancouver, BC.

Washington Law Designating Highway

The Washington section of Interstate 5 is defined at Washington Revised Code § 47.17.020. [2]

[edit] Length

Miles km state
796.53 1282 California
308.14 496 Oregon
276.62 445 Washington
1381.29 2223 Total

[edit] Major cities

Passing through the northern tip of downtown Seattle with the Space Needle in the view.
Passing through the northern tip of downtown Seattle with the Space Needle in the view.

Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs. Listed from South to North:

[edit] Junctions with other interstates (south to north)

Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 meeting in Seattle, Washington.
Interstate 5 and Interstate 90 meeting in Seattle, Washington.

[edit] Spur routes


 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] Notes

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.
Interstate 5 southbound in the Central Valley of California, near Mendota, California
Interstate 5 southbound in the Central Valley of California, near Mendota, California
Interstate 5 southbound in San Ysidro (San Diego) approaching the U.S.-Mexico border
Interstate 5 southbound in San Ysidro (San Diego) approaching the U.S.-Mexico border
  • Interstate 5 is the only Interstate highway to touch both the Canadian and Mexican borders. It continues into Vancouver, Canada as BC Provincial Highway 99, and crosses from San Diego to adjacent Tijuana, where it becomes Mexico Route 1D. (If plans to extend I-69 continue as planned, that would be the second interstate to extend from the Canadian border to the Mexican border.)
  • The interstate bisects the University of California, San Diego campus.
  • For about a four-mile (6 km) stretch between Pyramid Lake and the Santa Clarita Valley in Southern California, the northbound and southbound lanes separate and actually invert, with the southbound lanes being "on the left" of the northbound ones.
  • Randall Woodfield, the "I-5 killer", committed a series of rapes and murders along the long stretch of I-5 that runs through Oregon and Washington.
  • Specific scenes in the film "Freeway" were filmed on the northbound I-5.
  • Interstate 5 is the title and subject of a song by The Wedding Present
  • I-5 will have a complete set of auxiliary routes (105, 205, 305...805, 905), with the completion of Interstate 905 in San Diego. Currently, I-80 and I-90 are the only two interstates to have complete sets of auxiliary routes. Interstate 90 is the only interstate to have a complete set within a single state (New York).
  • Progressive house DJs Gabriel & Dresden named their remix of greyarea's "One For The Road" after their roots in California with "Gabriel & Dresden's Interstate 5 Remix."
  • In 1988, smoke from nearby field burning caused a 23 car pileup near Albany, Oregon, leading to 7 deaths and 37 injuries. This accident resulted in more regulation of field burning.[3]

[edit] Exit list

Main article: List of exits on Interstate 5

[edit] References

  1. ^ Museum of the Siskiyou Trail
  2. ^ Busiest border crossing
  3. ^ http://extension.oregonstate.edu/oap/story.php?S_No=72&storyType=oap&cmd=pf

[edit] External links

[edit] California


edit
Main Interstate Highways (multiples of 5 in pink)		 Interstate Highway marker
4 5 8 10 12 15 16 17 19 20 22 24 25 26 27 29 30
35 37 39 40 43 44 45 49 55 57 59 64 65 66 66 (W) 68
69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 (W) 76 (E) 77 78 79 80 81 82
83 84 (W) 84 (E) 85 86 (W) 86 (E) 87 88 (W) 88 (E) 89 90
91 93 94 95 96 97 99 (238) H-1 H-2 H-3
Unsigned  A-1 A-2 A-3 A-4 PRI-1 PRI-2 PRI-3
Lists  Main - Auxiliary - Suffixed - Business - Proposed - Unsigned
Gaps - Intrastate - Interstate standards - Replaced
Browse numbered routes
< SR 4 CA US 6 >
< OR 3 OR OR 6 >
< SR 4 WA SR 6 >
State routes in Washington related to I-5
SR 500 - SR 501 - SR 502 - SR 503 (Spur) - SR 504 (Spur) - SR 505 - SR 506 - SR 507 - SR 508 - SR 509 - SR 510 - SR 512 - SR 513 - SR 515 - SR 516 - SR 518 - SR 519 - SR 520 - SR 522 - SR 523 - SR 524 (Spur: Edmonds, Lynnwood) - SR 525 (Spur) - SR 526 - SR 527 - SR 528 - SR 529 (Spur) - SR 530 - SR 531 - SR 532 - SR 534 - SR 536 - SR 538 - SR 539 - SR 542 - SR 543 - SR 544 - SR 546 - SR 547 - SR 548 - SR 599
Former or proposed state routes: SR 514 - SR 517 - SR 537 - SR 540
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