Interstate 105 (California)

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For the first road in California designated I-105, see Interstate 105 (California 1958-1965).
Interstate 105
Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Century Freeway
Defined by S&HC § 405, maintained by Caltrans
Length: 18.82 mi[1] (30.29 km)
Formed: 1993 [1]
West end: SR 1 near El Segundo
Major
junctions:		 I-405 near Inglewood
I-710 in Lynwood
East end: I-605 in Norwalk
State highways in California (list - pre-1964)
County routes in California (list)
< SR 104 SR 107 >
History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

Interstate 105 (abbreviated I-105, and colloquially referred to as The 105 or the one-oh-five) is an interstate highway in southern Los Angeles County, California that runs east-west from near the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) to Norwalk. It is officially known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway for the Democratic California politician who advocated its construction. The 105 has also been referred to as the Century Freeway, especially during its planning stage.

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System[2].

Contents

[edit] Route description

The towering interchange with the Harbor Freeway
The towering interchange with the Harbor Freeway
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs

Interstate 105, completed in 1993, begins at Sepulveda Boulevard (State Route 1) on the southern edge of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), 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 (Interstate 605) in western Norwalk.

The freeway stops short of intersecting with the Santa Ana Freeway (Interstate 5), its parent interstate. Instead, the primary lanes of the 105 terminate at an at-grade intersection with Studebaker Road.

[edit] History

 This article does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008)
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The 105 was an integral part of Caltrans' 1960s master plan for the Southern California freeway system, but 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 resistance to the freeway's construction was that much of the areas along the I-105 path was going to be built in low income, high crime neighborhoods, which also delayed the freeway's construction until the crime in the areas went down. For his city at the center of the route, Lynwood Councilman John D. Byork fought tirelessly for the completion of the Freeway, for which he was called the "Father of the Century Freeway". His efforts, markedly at the Southern California Association of Governments had assured that the homes demolished in Lynwood had resulted in better transportation for all in Los Angeles.[3]

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 on-ramp. 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 (Interstate 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 and Firestone Boulevard (both State Route 42), which were roads 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 route's original name, "Century Freeway", is still used on a number of maps.

Previously, the I-105 designation has 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. [4]

[edit] Exit list

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage.

The entire route is in Los Angeles County.

Location Postmile
[5][1][6]		 #[7] Destinations Notes
El Segundo R0.00 1A Imperial Highway west Continuation beyond SR 1
Los Angeles R0.50 1 SR 1 (Sepulveda Boulevard) / Imperial Highway east – LAX Airport Signed as exits 1B (south) and 1C (north) westbound
R1.24 1D Nash Street – LAX Airport Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
R1.79 2A La Cienega Boulevard, Aviation Boulevard Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Hawthorne R2.11 2B I-405 (San Diego Freeway) – Santa Monica, Long Beach Signed as exit 2 eastbound
R3.05 3 Hawthorne Boulevard Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
R3.32 3 Prairie Avenue
Inglewood R4.71 5 Crenshaw Boulevard
Los Angeles R6.77 7A Vermont Avenue
R7.39 7B I-110 (Harbor Freeway) – Los Angeles, San Pedro
R8.90 9 Central Avenue
Compton R9.78 10 Wilmington Avenue
Lynwood R11.51 12 Long Beach Boulevard
R13.47 13 I-710 (Long Beach Freeway) – Pasadena, Long Beach
Paramount R14.13 14 Garfield Avenue Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
R14.65 15 Paramount Boulevard, Garfield Avenue Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Bellflower R15.76 16 SR 19 (Lakewood Boulevard)
Downey R16.64 17 Bellflower Boulevard
Norwalk R17.82 18 I-605 (San Gabriel River Freeway) Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; signed as exits 18A (south) and 18B (north)
R17.91 Norwalk Metro Station Hoxie St.
R18.15 Studebaker Road At-grade intersection; HOV only for westbound traffic.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
  2. ^ CA Codes (shc:250-257)
  3. ^ I-105/405 interchange construction phase (by LAX Airprot
  4. ^ CA-Highways 105-112
  5. ^ California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
  6. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  7. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, I-105 Eastbound and I-105 Westbound, accessed February 2008

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Auxiliary routes of Interstate 5
California: 105 • 105 (former) • 205 • 305 (unsigned) • 405 • 505 • 605 • 805 • 905 (future) — Oregon: 105 • 205 • 305 (unbuilt) • 405 • 505 (unbuilt) — Washington: 205 • 405 • 605 (proposed) • 705
v • d • e
Freeways in Greater Los Angeles
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Circumferential
Inland Empire
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