Southern California freeways

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Interstate and State Highway System of Southern California
Metropolitan Los Angeles Freeway System and Metropolitan Inland Empire

The Southern California freeways are a vast network of interconnected freeways in the megaregion of Southern California, serving a population of 23 million people. The Master Plan of Metropolitan Los Angeles Freeways was adopted by the Regional Planning Commission in 1947 and construction began in the early 1950s.[1] The plan hit opposition and funding limitations in the 1970s, and by 2004, only some 61% of the original planned network had been completed.

The region is well known for its freeways, and they are considered a cultural touchstone.

History

Origins

Southern California's romance with the automobile owes in large part to resentment of the

Motorways", as the backbone of suburban development. These "greenbelt" advocates called for decentralized, automobile-oriented development as a means of remedying both urban overcrowding and declining rates of home ownership.[citation needed
]

Traffic congestion was of such great concern by the late 1930s in the

Pacific Electric Railway red cars), but this plan was never fully implemented.[3]

Planning and construction

During

Caltrans). San Diego soon followed suit, and by the early 1950s, construction had begun on much of the region's freeway system.[citation needed
]

Proposed/future freeways

Caltrans or local transportation agencies have identified the following priority freeway projects:

Naming

Freeway names

Southern California residents idiomatically refer to freeways with the definite article, as "the [freeway number]", e.g. "the 5" or "the 10".

Interstate 5 and the full length of Interstate 405
.

When Southern California freeways were built in the 1940s and early 1950s, local common usage was primarily the freeway name preceded by the definite article.[19] It took several decades for Southern California locals to start to also commonly refer to the freeways with the numerical designations, but the usage of the definite article persisted. For example, the San Gabriel River Freeway evolved into "the 605 Freeway" and then shortened to "the 605".[18][19]

Named interchanges

Other named features

Comparisons and firsts

The Southern California area has fewer lane-miles per capita than most large metropolitan areas in the United States, ranking 31st of the top 39. As of 1999, Greater Los Angeles had 0.419 lane-miles per 1,000 people, only slightly more than

Inland Empire ranked 21st, with 0.626.[20]

Limited-access roads not maintained by the state

The following limited-access roads are not maintained by the state:

List of freeways

Major freeways leading into and out of Southern California

San Diego area

Controlled access routes not maintained by the state

Inland Empire Metropolitan Area

(Includes San Bernardino and Riverside Counties)

Greater Los Angeles

(includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura Counties)

See also

  • sign 
    California Roads portal

References

  1. ^ "California Highways: Telling a Story through Highway and Planning Maps: Southern California Freeway Development (Part 1 - 1940s)". www.cahighways.org. July 13, 1936. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  2. ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedailymirror/2008/06/june-15-1938.html "Motorways Plan Revealed: System of Roads Designed to Cure Traffic Ills," Los Angeles Times, June 15, 1938
  3. ^ Hall, Peter Cities in Civilization: Culture, Technology, and Urban Order, London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1998; New York, Pantheon Books, 1998 See section on Los Angeles
  4. ^ "The Crazy $700 Billion Plan To Fix SoCal Traffic: Tunnels!". LAist. November 18, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "Plans for Irvine-Corona tunnel shelved". Orange County Register. August 27, 2010. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
  6. ^ "Schedule", octa.net, archived from the original on October 10, 2012
  7. ^ Fagin, Daniel (May 7, 2016). "Routes 209-216". California Highways.[self-published source]
  8. ^ "Schedule", pe.com
  9. ^ "Schedule", dot.ca.gov
  10. ^ "Editorial: Caltrans Officially Kills 710 Extension Project After Decades Of Debate". CBS Los Angeles. November 28, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  11. ^ "Schedule". octa.net.
  12. ^ "Schedule", mission71project.com
  13. ^ "Schedule", octa.net
  14. ^ "Schedule", dot.ca.gov
  15. ^ Sahagun, Louis (February 10, 2018). "L.A. County set to build its first new freeway in 25 years, despite many misgivings". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 31, 2018.
  16. ^ "Editorial: It was a terrible idea to build a new freeway in Los Angeles County. Now it's on hold for good". Los Angeles Times. October 6, 2019. Retrieved October 17, 2019.
  17. ^ "Private Toll Highway Linking California 126 With 118 Is Proposed : Transportation: The road, which would ease traffic in Simi Valley, is one of eight proposals Caltrans has received. Up to four will be selected by Sept. 14". Los Angeles Times. August 2, 1990. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
  18. ^ a b Masters, Nathan (November 10, 2015). "The 5, the 101, the 405: Why Southern Californians Love Saying 'the' Before Freeway Numbers". KCET. Retrieved July 28, 2023.
  19. ^
    S2CID 144010897
    .
  20. ^ http://www.publicpurpose.com/hwy-tti99ratio.htm publicpurpose.com

Further reading

External links