California State Route 72

State Route 72
Whittier Boulevard
Route information
Defined by S&HC § 372
Maintained by Caltrans
Length: 15.9 mi[1] (25.589 km)
Portions of SR 72 have been relinquished to or are otherwise maintained by local or other governments, and are not included in the length.
Major junctions
South end: SR 39 in La Habra
  I-605 in Whittier
North end: Downey Road in East Los Angeles
Highway system

State highways in California(list • pre-1964)
History • Unconstructed • Deleted • Freeway • Scenic

← SR 71 SR 73 →

State Route 72 (SR 72) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. The route runs from Puente Street in Brea to Atlantic Boulevard in East Los Angeles. It forms part of El Camino Real.

Contents

Route description

Route 72 begins at the corner of Whittier Boulevard and Puente Street in Brea. The route follows Whittier Boulevard for its entire length, heading northwest through Whittier, as a multi-lane arterial street. Whittier Boulevard is a major commercial corridor in Whittier, though it does not go through the city center. West of the San Gabriel River (605) Freeway, the route goes under a railroad bridge near Pio Pico State Historic Park and then over the San Gabriel River as it enters Pico Rivera and meets State Route 19 at Rosemead Boulevard. After a mile, the route crosses a much more narrow steel bridge over the Rio Hondo into Montebello. There, it continues towards Atlantic Boulevard.

The route formerly continued further down to an unusual end at Downey Road. West of the Long Beach (710) Freeway, the watchful driver can spot a blue sign assembly, informing truckers of the end of Terminal Access, just before approaching the Downey Road signal. This assembly announces the route's abortive end. (Whittier Boulevard itself continues past Downey Road towards downtown Los Angeles. See below.)

Despite the fact that routes in California are defined from west to east and from south to north, Route 72 is actually defined in the opposite direction, from east to west. This reflects the fact that Route 72, having been derived from the longitudinal U.S. Route 101, was actually a south–north highway, pivoting at Whittier and Harbor Boulevards and continuing west before ending at a point northwest of its beginning.

Bus service is served by Metro Local line 18, Metro Rapid Line 720, and Montebello Transit Line 10; Metro lines 18 and 720 run on Whittier Boulevard between Downtown and East Los Angeles and Montebello line 10 runs east of East Los Angeles.

History

California's historic El Camino Real, which connected the Alta California missions, ran along what was then U.S. Route 101. Before 1964, U.S. Route 101 continued past today's end near the East Los Angeles Interchange east onto Whittier Boulevard and south on Harbor Boulevard until it met its bypass in Anaheim. (What is now Route 5 from Los Angeles to Anaheim was the U.S. Route 101 Bypass.)

In 1964, the U.S. Route 101 designation was removed south of the East L.A. Interchange. Its routings on Whittier and Harbor became Route 72, and was initially defined to run from Route 5 (the former bypass) to an unbuilt State Route 245, hence the route's lackluster end at Downey Road. (Route 245 was to have been a bypass connecting Route 5 with Route 60, a function that was eventually assumed by an extended Route 710.) In 1965, with Route 245 deleted, the definition was clarified to have Route 72 end at Downey Road, which was parallel to the planned Route 245.

In 1981, the portion from Route 5 to Harbor Boulevard (current Route 39) was deleted, and the portion from Harbor Boulevard to Route 39 was transferred to State Route 39. In 1992, the portion from Atlantic Boulevard to Downey Road was deleted. Route 72 today is designated as part of El Camino Real.

Currently, a provision to relinquish Route 72 between I-605 and Atlantic Boulevard to local cities is in effect. Portions of Route 72 within the Los Angeles County (East Los Angeles) and Montebello have since been relinquished and are no longer a state highway. It is guessed that a portion in Pico Rivera from I-605 to Route 19 has also been relinquished. Also, Route 72 will be deleted when a Route 90 freeway is built. However, given the unlikelihood of any such a freeway ever being built (and the fact that Route 72 today runs near several state facilities and forms part of El Camino Real), such a deletion is doubtful.

Major intersections

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][2][3][4]		 Destinations Notes
Orange
ORA 11.42-11.92		 La Habra 11.42 SR 39 (Beach Boulevard) – Buena Park, Huntington Beach
Los Angeles
LA 0.00-G10.54		 Whittier 1.85 CR N8 (Colima Road) – Industry, La Puente
4.25 Santa Fe Springs Road, Washington Boulevard Known locally as "Five Points" intersection
6.28 Norwalk Boulevard
6.66 I-605 (San Gabriel River Freeway) Interchange; north end of state maintenance
Pico Rivera SR 19 (Rosemead Boulevard)
Montebello 10.47 Garfield Avenue
G10.54 Downey Road Continues on West as Whittier Boulevard
East Los Angeles
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ^ a b California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed February 2008
  2. ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
  3. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  4. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2000

External links

Points of interest