Interstate 405 (California)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Interstate 405 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System |
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San Diego Freeway Defined by S&HC § 615, maintained by Caltrans |
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Length: | 72.415 mi[1] (116.541 km) | ||||||||||||||||
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Formed: | 1964 | ||||||||||||||||
South end: | I-5 in Irvine | ||||||||||||||||
Major junctions: |
SR 55 / SR 73 in Costa Mesa SR 22 / I-605 in Seal Beach I-710 in Long Beach I-10 near Santa Monica US 101 in Van Nuys |
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North end: | I-5 near San Fernando | ||||||||||||||||
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Interstate 405 (I-405 - also referred to as "The 405") is one of the principal north-south interstate highways in Southern California, and the major bypass of Interstate 5 running through the Greater Los Angeles Area. The entire 405 is the northern segment of the San Diego Freeway, despite running no less than 75 miles from downtown San Diego. I-405 is a heavily-traveled thoroughfare by commuters and freight haulers along its entire length and has earned its place as one of the busiest and most congested freeways in the world, and the most congested in the United States. [2] [3] It has played a crucial role in the development of dozens of cities and suburbs along its route through the Greater Los Angeles area.
This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System[4].
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[edit] Route description
The 405 begins at the El Toro Y interchange with Interstate 5 in southeastern Irvine. It then runs northwest through Orange County to Long Beach in Los Angeles County. The freeway then roughly follows the outline of the Pacific coast, varying between five and ten miles inland before crossing over the Sepulveda Pass in the Santa Monica Mountains. I-405 then travels due north through the San Fernando Valley, before terminating with I-5 in the Mission Hills district of Los Angeles.
The San Diego Freeway's congestion problems are legendary, leading to the joke that the Interstate was named 405 because traffic moves at "four or five" miles an hour. Indeed, average speeds as low as five miles per hour are routinely recorded during morning and afternoon commutes, and its interchanges with the Ventura Freeway (U.S. Route 101) and with the Santa Monica Freeway (Interstate 10) each consistently rank among the five most congested freeway interchanges in the United States. As a result of these congestions problems on the 405, it may take longer to pass through the entire Los Angeles area using this bypass route than merely taking the parent I-5 through the city.
Commuters are known to despise the freeway. Steve Harvey of the Los Angeles Times once featured a personalized license plate with the text HATE405 in his column. While much of this gridlock has to do with the lack of alternate routes between many of the areas it connects — some of which, such as the Pacific Coast and Laurel Canyon freeways, were proposed but abandoned for political reasons[citation needed]— the freeway would likely be busy even with the addition of other roads and mass transit solutions, as it connects so many important Greater Los Angeles area locations.
[edit] Points of interest along the 405
Major cities Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
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There are a number of points of interest that 405 passes by or connects to. For transportation, these include, in the order passed in the direction from south to north, are John Wayne Airport in Orange County, Long Beach Municipal Airport and Los Angeles International Airport. With connections, it reaches very close to the Port of Long Beach and the Port of Los Angeles.
405 passes many recreational and commercial destinations. These include more than ten California state beaches, several other beaches owned by counties and municipalities, many of the beach cities favored by tourists, as well as Century City and Marina del Rey.
Some of the educational institutions it passes include the California State Universities at Dominguez Hills, Long Beach, and Northridge; the University of California at Irvine and Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount University. 405 also passes cultural facilities such as The J. Paul Getty Center and the Skirball Cultural Center.
[edit] History
Interstate 405 was approved as a chargeable interstate in 1955. It begun construction in 1957 and the first section was opened in 1961 signed as SR 7 which is mostly, north of LAX Airport. I-405 sections west of Interstate 605 were done before 1965, and the newest section was done in 1969, covering most of Orange County. The freeway from present-day Interstate 10 to Interstate 5 near San Fernando was once known as the Sepulveda Freeway as it was named for the L.A. district now known as North Hills.[5]
[edit] The O.J. Simpson chase
While dangerous high-speed chases along the San Diego Freeway are not uncommon, perhaps the most famous chase in its history was also one of the slowest. On the afternoon of June 17, 1994, former football star O.J. Simpson, suspected in the murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and waiter Ronald Goldman, took to the freeway in a white Ford Bronco (driven by former USC teammate Al Cowlings) with police in pursuit. A bizarre, widely-televised low-speed chase ensued and ended hours later when Simpson returned to his Brentwood estate via the Sunset Boulevard exit and surrendered to law enforcement.[6][7]
[edit] Other events
Following the 1966 UCLA-USC rivalry game, USC was voted into the Rose Bowl despite UCLA defeating the Trojans and both teams having only one loss. UCLA students protested by blocking the Northbound 405 lanes at Wilshire Boulevard.
Ennis Cosby, the only son of Bill Cosby, was murdered along I-405 in Los Angeles on January 16, 1997, while fixing a flat tire.[8]
In November 2003, Amber Stachowski, a collegiate water polo player for the UCLA Bruins and member of the U.S. National Team was injured in a motor vehicle accident on Interstate 405. She sustained a concussion, which kept her out of the water for two months. Six months later, she qualified for the Olympic team, which won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. [9]
[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 numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
County | Location | Postmile [1][10][11] |
#[12] | Destinations | Notes |
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Orange ORA 0.23-24.18 |
Irvine | 0.23 | I-5 south (San Diego Freeway) – San Diego | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
1A | Lake Forest Drive | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
1B | Bake Parkway | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
0.95 | 1C | Irvine Center Drive | Signed as exit 1 northbound | ||
1.80 | 2 | SR 133 (Laguna Freeway) – Laguna Beach | No northbound exit to SR 133 north | ||
2.88 | 3 | Shady Canyon Drive, Sand Canyon Avenue | |||
3.95 | 4 | Jeffrey Road, University Drive | |||
5.62 | 5 | Culver Drive | |||
6.92 | 7 | Jamboree Road | |||
7.80 | 8 | MacArthur Boulevard – John Wayne Airport | |||
Costa Mesa | 8.74 | 9A | SR 55 (Costa Mesa Freeway) | No southbound exit to SR 55 south or northbound entrance from SR 55 north | |
9.51 | 9B | Bristol Street, Anton Boulevard, Avenue of the Arts | |||
10.28 | 10 | SR 73 south (Corona del Mar Freeway) to SR 55 south (Costa Mesa Freeway) – San Diego via toll road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
10.75 | 11A | South Coast Drive, Fairview Road | Signed as exit 11 northbound | ||
11.45 | 11B | Harbor Boulevard – Costa Mesa | Signed as exit 11 northbound | ||
Fountain Valley | 12.47 | 12 | Euclid Street, Newhope Street | ||
13.78 | 14 | Brookhurst Street – Fountain Valley | |||
14.82 | 15A | Warner Avenue east | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
Huntington Beach | 15.21 | 15B | Magnolia Street, Warner Avenue west | Signed as exit 15 northbound | |
16.54 | 16 | SR 39 (Beach Boulevard) – Westminster, Huntington Beach | |||
Westminster | 17.75 | 18 | Bolsa Avenue, Golden West Street | ||
19.16 | 19 | Westminster Avenue, Springdale Street | |||
20.75 | 21 | SR 22 east (Garden Grove Freeway) / Valley View Street – Garden Grove | South end of SR 22 overlap | ||
Seal Beach | 22.64 | 22 | Seal Beach Boulevard, Los Alamitos Boulevard | ||
23.28 | 23 | SR 22 west (7th Street) – Long Beach | North end of SR 22 overlap | ||
24.04 | 24A | I-605 north (San Gabriel River Freeway) | Signed as exit 24 northbound | ||
Los Angeles LA 0.27-48.64 |
Long Beach | 0.45 | 24B | Studebaker Road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
1.11 | 25 | Palo Verde Avenue | |||
1.64 | 26A | Woodruff Avenue | No southbound exit | ||
2.18 | 26B | Bellflower Boulevard | Signed as exit 26 southbound | ||
3.32 | 27 | SR 19 (Lakewood Boulevard) – Long Beach Airport | |||
4.88 | 29 | Spring Street, Cherry Avenue – Signal Hill | Signed as exits 29A (south) and 29B (north) | ||
5.39 | 29C | Orange Avenue | |||
6.08 | 30A | Atlantic Avenue | |||
6.34 | 30B | Long Beach Boulevard | |||
6.70 | 32A | Pacific Avenue | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
7.60 | 32 | I-710 (Long Beach Freeway) – Long Beach, Pasadena | Signed as exits 32A (north) and 32B (south) northbound, and 32B (south) and 32C (north) southbound | ||
8.06 | 32C | Hughes Way, Santa Fe Avenue | Signed as exit 32D southbound | ||
8.78 | 33A | Alameda Street (SR 47) | |||
Carson | 9.56 | 33B | Wilmington Avenue | ||
10.54 | 34 | Carson Street | |||
11.22 | 35 | Avalon Boulevard – Carson | Northbound exit to Avalon Boulevard south is via exit 34 | ||
12.60 | 36 | Main Street | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
Los Angeles | 12.97 | 37A | I-110 (Harbor Freeway) – San Pedro, Los Angeles | Signed as exit 37 northbound | |
13.28 | 37B | Vermont Avenue | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
13.83 | 38A | Normandie Avenue – Gardena | |||
14.40 | 38B | Western Avenue | |||
Torrance | 15.45 | 39 | Crenshaw Boulevard – Torrance | ||
16.57 | 40A | Artesia Boulevard | Signed as exit 40 northbound; former SR 91 | ||
16.88 | 40B | Redondo Beach Boulevard | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
Lawndale | 17.59 | 42A | SR 107 (Hawthorne Boulevard) – Lawndale | ||
18.23 | 42B | Inglewood Avenue | |||
Hawthorne | 19.21 | 43 | Rosecrans Avenue – Manhattan Beach | Signed as exits 43A (east) and 43B (west) southbound | |
20.22 | 44 | El Segundo Boulevard – El Segundo | |||
R21.18 | 45A | I-105 (Century Freeway) – El Segundo, Norwalk | Signed as exit 45 southbound | ||
Los Angeles | R21.22 | 45B | Imperial Highway | Southbound exit is part of exit 46 | |
Inglewood | 22.22 | 46 | Century Boulevard – LAX Airport | ||
23.36 | 47 | Manchester Boulevard, La Cienega Boulevard, Florence Avenue | Former SR 42 | ||
Los Angeles | 24.27 | 48 | La Tijera Boulevard | ||
24.56 | 49A | Howard Hughes Parkway, Sepulveda Boulevard | Signed as exit 49 southbound | ||
Culver City | 25.46 | 49B | Sepulveda Boulevard, Slauson Avenue (SR 90 east) | Southbound exit is part of exit 50B | |
25.93 | 50A | Jefferson Boulevard | Signed as exit 50B northbound | ||
25.95 | 50B | SR 90 west (Marina Freeway) – Marina del Rey | Signed as exit 50A northbound | ||
27.20 | 51 | Culver Boulevard, Washington Boulevard – Culver City | |||
27.96 | 52 | Venice Boulevard (SR 187), Washington Boulevard | |||
Los Angeles | 29.16 | 53A | National Boulevard | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
29.54 | 53B | I-10 (Santa Monica Freeway) – Santa Monica, Los Angeles | Signed as exit 53 southbound | ||
30.18 | 54 | Olympic Boulevard, Pico Boulevard | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | ||
30.86 | 55A | SR 2 (Santa Monica Boulevard) | |||
31.54 | 55B | Wilshire Boulevard | Signed as exits 55B (east) and 55C (west) southbound | ||
32.50 | 56 | Waterford Street | Former southbound exit and entrance | ||
32.50 | 56 | Montana Avenue | Northbound exit only | ||
33.00 | 57A | Sunset Boulevard | Signed as exit 57 southbound | ||
33.29 | 57B | Moraga Drive | Northbound exit and entrance | ||
34.76 | 59 | Getty Center Drive | |||
36.03 | 61 | Mulholland Drive, Skirball Center Drive | |||
39.00 | 63A | Ventura Boulevard, Sepulveda Boulevard, Valley Vista Boulevard | |||
39.43 | 63B | US 101 (Ventura Freeway) – Ventura, Los Angeles | |||
40.29 | 64 | Burbank Boulevard | |||
41.36 | 65 | Victory Boulevard – Van Nuys | |||
42.36 | 66 | Sherman Way | Signed as exits 66A (east) and 66B (west) northbound | ||
43.76 | 68 | Roscoe Boulevard – Panorama City | |||
44.74 | 69 | Nordhoff Street | |||
46.24 | 70 | Devonshire Street – Granada Hills | |||
46.85 | 71A | SR 118 (Ronald Reagan Freeway) – Simi Valley | Signed as exit 71 southbound; no southbound exit to SR 118 east or northbound entrance from SR 118 west | ||
47.24 | 71B | San Fernando Mission Boulevard – San Fernando | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | ||
47.75 | 72 | Rinaldi Street – Mission Hills | |||
48.64 | I-5 north (Golden State Freeway) – Sacramento | Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
[edit] References
- ^ a b California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
- ^ Time For Kids | Classroom | Home | U.S. Highways With the Most Traffic
- ^ Santa Monica College Corsair News Article
- ^ CA Codes (shc:250-257)
- ^ 2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Caltrans, 155. Retrieved on 2007-10-25.
- ^ O.J. Simpson Bronco Chase Highlights, ojsimpsondidit, Youtube, January 29, 2007, Retrieved December 9, 2007
- ^ THE SIMPSON CASE: THE INMATE; Simpson, Under Suicide Watch, Is Jailed on 2 Murder Charges, Seth Mydans, The New York Times, June 19, 1994, Retrieved December 9, 2007
- ^ Bill Cosby's Son Is Slain Along Freeway, B. Drummond Ayres Jr., The New York Times, January 17, 1997, Retrieved December 9, 2007
- ^ USOC News: Amber battles back after car accident
- ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
- ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
- ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, I-405 Northbound and I-405 Southbound, accessed February 2008
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