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Wave if you see us driving LA Freeways!

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When there is little traffic on the freeways, typically extremely late at night but during the day as well depending on which freeway in question and the time of day, they work wonderfully - you can zip around from city to city, from

freeway to freeway just like that. However, the freeways can also be terribly crowded - ever spent some time crawling over the 405 from the Getty Center north to the Valley? Ever spent time sluggishly moving towards downtown on the 101 to the 110 Four-Level Interchange? How about the crazy 91 freeway stuck in the non toll/non carpool lanes - Santa Ana Canyon? On any number of area freeways you can experience horrific traffic. If you have experience driving the LA area freeways you will know exactly what we mean. The Freeways are the arteries (often clogged) of transportation across the LA basin.

		Here in the Southland, the car is King. When referring to Southland freeways people use "The" in front of the freeway name - i.e., "the 10" or "the 405". In addition all the freeways have personal names just like many fruits and vegetables have common names to help identification among the masses - when the scientific names are too complicated or esoteric to grasp. For example the 710 is called the Long Beach Freeway. If a freeway is long enough it may have

several names, for example the 101 is called the Ventura Freeway and the Hollywood Freeway or the 110 is called the Harbor Freeway and the Pasadena Freeway -- it all depends on which part of The 101 or the 110 you are talking about. As you can see, if the same freeway has several names depending on its location, it is very important which name you give someone if you are providing directions.

During the weekdays freeway driving can be especially slow during the commute hours - typically in the mornings from 5:00am - 9:30am and then again in the afternoon from approximately 3:00pm - 7:00pm. However some of the more traveled freeways rarely see much traffic relief and are quite crowded most of the day. When there is not much traffic the freeways work wonderfully.

Dave personally knows people who alter their commute schedule so they are home by 3-3:30pm. They leave their house by 3:30-4am and are in bed by 8pm. This way they avoid the bulk of the morning and afternoon rush hour.

Driving in Los Angeles is somewhat different than other parts of the country in that the freeways can be huge, speeds intensely fast, and 24/7 carpool lanes (HOV - High Occupancy Vehicles) are the norm. When traffic is light on the freeways, many of the freeways will move along at 80 to 85mph even though the posted speed limit is 65. I've seen highway patrol, either motorcycle or car, on freeways and cars hardly even slow down and are still definitely driving much faster than the posted speed limit. Los Angeles is a city of drivers - "why walk when you can drive" seems to be the motto here which somewhat makes sense considering the great distances between things. However Los Angeles has a  a metro and there is a Metro Link system serving a large area of the Southland. (Visit our Public Transportation section for more details).

Surface streets in and around Los Angeles often contain wide fast moving boulevards such as Wilshire, Santa Monica, & La Cienega among many others. Traffic flow on these can be just as crowded as the freeways at times. One nice feature of the main surface boulevards is the oversized street name signs. Traffic flow is always stopped by stoplights and large intersections on these boulevards. Some of these boulevards are the same width or larger than what would constitute a "large" freeway in another city.

Several of the major freeways in the area run through or around downtown Los Angeles including the 5, the 10, the 60, the 101, and the 110. All four of these freeways come together in quite an engineering feat called the East Los Angeles Interchange. This is one of the busiest freeway interchanges in the world. The freeways near and around downtown seem like they can be busy regardless of the day or night. We've driven into downtown at 2am in the morning

on a weekend night and there is still a mass of red lights in front of us heading towards downtown. A good time to drive the "freeway ring" around downtown Los Angeles is early Sunday morning. If traffic is light (and it usually is Sunday mornings) you can drive entirely around downtown hitting several major freeways (including the 10 freeway) in about 15 minutes. Every LA freeway buff has to drive circles around downtown in light traffic!

There are many freeway intersections in and around downtown (major freeways) and you have to really stay on your toes to make sure you remain on the correct freeway to reach your final destination. Having to cross multiple lanes of traffic to merge, exit or enter, and having freeway exits sometimes exiting to the right and or sometimes to the left makes driving in this region challenging. This is especially true for merges involving the 10, the 110 and the 101 freeways near downtown. Here is a good example of this: the 10 east to the 110 north; you have to be in the left 2 lanes to exit the 10 freeway. To complicate matters once you are dumped onto the 110 N you must get over to the left immediately to stay on the 110 or you will be unmercifully hung out to dry and will have to drive by all the stacked up traffic leaving you no option but to exit the freeway into downtown. Navigation around downtown Los Angeles would be quite a challenge even if you were the only car on the freeway. Fun times here!

In part due to the large size of the Los Angeles metropolitan region, the area's fascination with the automobile, and clever engineers, there have been a number of advancements and "firsts" in regards to the freeway systems. A couple notable achievements in the south land are California's first freeway, (the 110, Pasadena Freeway), the area's first 4-level interchange (downtown), leading the nation in building totally separate from the rest of the freeway carpool (HOV) lanes, and building the area's first totally fully automated toll-way system (the 91 Freeway).

Carpool (High Occupancy Vehicle - HOV) Lanes are among the most advanced in the world in Los Angeles and Orange Counties - more so in Orange County. The double and triple yellow stripes painted on the freeways break into white dots at certain exits so that car poolers can enter and exit the carpool lanes. Carpool lanes in the Los Angeles area differ from other metropolitan areas in that they are normally 24/7 reserved for cars typically carrying 2 or more passengers (unborn fetuses do not count unfortunately - should children under the age of 16 count, as they cannot yet drive - the debate rages on). You are supposed to stay in the carpool lanes until the yellow stripes break for the white dots - and there are signs telling you which breaks you should exit the carpool lane before you get to major freeway intersections or exits. Oh, and note that many times the car pool lanes do in fact work wonderfully however sometimes you might find that carpool lanes can be slower than the regular lanes at certain times of the day - i.e. commute hours - especially if you have a slow driver in front of you. (good example of this is sometimes on the 5 freeway in Orange County).

Some freeways have very advanced carpool lanes - sometimes 2 HOV lanes - and even their own carpool "freeway" separate from the main freeway and the rest of the traffic. Some freeways have raised carpool lanes above the rest of the freeway. There are certainly a number of carpool lanes that exit on their own to merge with other freeways, so you do not have to merge back into the main lanes before merging onto a new freeway. This author has actually driven on more than one occasion in the wrong car pool lane exit direction from where he is headed just to get a feel for the car pool lane and how it merges with additional freeways.

There is at least one example of a 2-lane toll road next to the carpool lane which is then in turn located next to the main freeway which in itself runs 4-5 lanes of traffic! See the 91 freeway below for more information.

There are freeways that have long sections of carpool lanes that run for miles and miles - when you see the congestion on the regular lanes of these particular freeways you will know why there are car pool lanes. The exception being when you have a crowded car in front of you doing the speed limit when the regular lanes are zipping by at 80+mph.

Los Angeles & Orange County Freeways
The freeways listed below are found in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan areas. Dave has driven on all of these freeways - some of which, too many times. The most common names are listed for each freeway, but note that some portions of these freeways have other official names.

Note the following designations listed next to each freeway name: I = Interstate; SR = California State Route; US = US Route.

Read on for individual freeway information organized alphabetically by number.

The 1, (SR-1) called the Pacific Coast Highway or PCH for short, isn't really a freeway, rather it takes on many forms during its coastal journey. It is a windy one lane road in places, in other places its more of a high speed Boulevard and expressway with stop lights and in short sections it has been built to freeway		At a Glance
		Common Name: Pacific Coast Highway Direction: North and South, 655 miles Boundaries: Leggett-N, Dana Point-S Carpool Lanes: N/A Year Founded: 1919

standards. PCH is mentioned here as it is a famous artery connecting the LA and Orange County area beach towns. It is a true coastal highway and actually runs up and down much of the length of some of California's most beautiful coast line. PCH gains in strength and has its most influence on the urban areas next to the ocean. It becomes a dominant force starting up north in Malibu, winds its way past the Santa Monica Pier then pops into the Manhattan, Hermosa, & Redondo beach towns - goes inland and loses its beach identity a little as it winds away from the ocean and is slowed down by a frustrating amount of stoplights as it cuts across the Palos Verdes Hills Peninsula. Then it really becomes a center point for activity in the beach towns from Long Beach through Huntington Beach, Newport Beach & Laguna Beach down to San Clemente in the south. The centers of many small towns along the 1 are located on both sides of this road.

There are great views of downtown Los Angeles, especially at night driving northbound on the 1 on a hill in North Manhattan Beach (next to the Manhattan Beach sign). The 1 goes through the Sepulvada tunnel which actually runs under two runways at the LAX airport. As you exit this tunnel you may be treated to a banking plane merely several hundred feet away moving at a high speed about to land - as the runways are right next to the 1 in this location!

The PCH has been immortalized in a number of songs covering various genres from Classical to Jazz, to Oldies to Rock.

The Great 5 (I-5) has two names in the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan areas -the Santa Ana Freeway from about downtown south and the Golden State Freeway to the north of downtown. It spans from Canada to Mexico and runs right next to downtown LA on its run to the border. This is a major player on the LA and Orange county freeway scene. In Orange County, the 5 becomes one of the biggest super		At a Glance
		Common Name: Golden State / Santa Ana Freeway & other names depending on location Direction: North and South, Boundaries: Canada Border-N, Mexico Border-S Carpool Lanes: 2 places, short strip in LA County between the 118 & the 14 and all of the OC Year Founded: 1947

freeways in the world, with many lanes in both directions. This part of the freeway is an absolute amazing sight to see especially when both sides are clogged bumper to bumper and lane to lane with traffic.

This freeway can also be used to make a very quick exit to the north out of Los Angeles (when traffic is reasonable). North of downtown the 5 fly's right by Six Flags, Magic Mountain (the large theme park) and exits the LA area near the town of Santa Clarita. After this, the 5 shoots over the often windy Grapevine through the Tejon Pass (4,160 feet) and is four lanes in both directions all the way until the 5 and the 99 split in the extreme southern end of California's great Central Valley - the fruit basket of the state.

Those four lanes are definitely needed at times as the far right and second to the right lanes are commonly home to very slow trucks going over the at times steep grades.

Also note that both the north and south bound direction of the 5 freeway for about 4 miles (between Santa Clarita and Pyramid Lake) are totally separate from each other and at one point you can look across at a far ridge to see the other lanes of traffic. Both directions actual invert on one another so that the north bound lanes are well to the left of the south bound lanes. As a side note, if the weather is warm a quick stop at Pyramid Lake for a swim is always a welcome respite from the summer's heat.

North of Los Angeles, the carpool lanes on the 5 start/end right near the 210 Freeway intersection. On the 5, northbound - just south of Downtown, near Santa Fe Springs - you will see lots of Graffiti written on the signs and concrete overpasses. Its always amazing how detailed the

graffiti is in places that no normal person could ever reach without a ladder or climbing ropes!

One downfall of the 5 is just south of Los Angeles there is *no* carpool lane in either direction (parts of this freeway near the town of Downey are just three lanes) until you hit Orange County, just north of Fullerton. There you will find at some point 2 carpool lanes totally separated from the rest of the lanes! During some traffic patterns it is like a breath of fresh air once the lanes open up in Orange County and you hit the "super freeway" section. At this point there is a lot more space and you can often escape from all the traffic because of the extra lanes. The 5 is also the main access freeway to visit Knott's Berry Farm and the original Disneyland in Orange County.

Many freeway exits proceed to the right of the main freeway. Two exits to be aware of that leave the 5 freeway from the left around downtown are on the 5 north to the 710 Freeway north and also to the 101 north. Further south in Orange County on the 5 south, be aware that there is no exit to the 55 Freeway north.

Note that the 5 and the 10 freeways are actually one freeway together for about a mile next to downtown Los Angeles before the 5 continues north to Canada and the 10 begins its great trek across the entire length of the USA.

The 10 (I-10) is called the Santa Monica Freeway or San Bernardino Freeway depending on which section you are referring to. It is also named the "Rosa Parks Freeway" west of downtown Los Angeles. "Santa Monica Freeway makes a country girl blue..." an old country song sung by Shelly West and David Frizzell certainly would make someone from the country "blue"!		At a Glance
		Common Name: Santa Monica / SB Freeway Direction: West and East Boundaries: Santa Monica, Jacksonville, FL-E Carpool Lanes: From 605 to Downtown, also near Pomona east Year Founded: N/A

This is a major traffic artery for Los Angeles. The 10 officially starts or ends (depending on the driving direction) at the famous Santa Monica Pier and heads pretty much in a straight line due east towards downtown, passing fairly close to Exposition Park and USC before continuing right by the Staples Center (Sports Arena) and LA Live (entertainment mega-center) before continuing east. The 10 takes on many forms in and around downtown - it is not a straight freeway from east to west in this area. As a result if you are not familiar with this section you must pay close attention as there are many freeway intersections around downtown to contend with especially where three great Los Angeles freeways come together (the 5, the 10 and the 101).

There is one section of the 10 driving westbound where this freeway breaks into three different sections all going the same direction. This is found right by the 110 intersection just before the exit to Koreatown on South Vermont Avenue. Note that the car pool lane on the 10 west starts just west of the 605. This is a very unusual car pool lane for Los Angeles. Rather than the 2 person minimum 24 hours a day, this car pool lane is restricted to vehicles carrying

at least 3 passengers weekdays between the hours of 5-9am and again from 4-7pm. All other times this carpool lane defaults to the normal 2 or more passengers per vehicle restriction. There are no other car pool lanes in the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan areas that we are aware of with this type of restriction. 

The 10 cuts through Pomona, & then Ontario before skirting San Bernardino and then heading out of the LA area, continuing its journey all the way across the United States before hitting the Atlantic Ocean in Jacksonville Florida.

Along with the two northern freeways the great I-80, and the 90, the 10 is the only other freeway to go from coast to coast in the USA. Perhaps you are making the long trek across the USA on the 10 - your first fleeting glimpse of the tallest buildings in downtown Los Angeles on the 10 west will be right near the 710 intersection.

Or if you want to experience a lighter than normal traffic day during daylight hours choose a major holiday to do your driving. We recommend Easter Sunday; one year we hit parts of all the major LA and Orange County freeways on this single day! Don't even think about doing that on a workday.

The 15 (I-15) is a major freeway, called The Ontario or Mojave Freeway depending on its location. It also has other names outside of the LA Metropolitan region. The 15 cuts through Riverside and San Bernardino and eventually hits Las Vegas if you drive north east on it. During busy holiday weekends parts of the freeway can		At a Glance
		Common Name: Ontario / Mojave Freeway Direction: North and South, 15 miles Boundaries: Nevada-N, San Diego-S Carpool Lanes: Sadly, none Year Founded: N/A

really back up especially around the Agricultural checkpoint (between Baker and Barstow - well east of Los Angeles proper) where it seems like most of the time there is someone standing at the gate waiving cars through. Having merely two lanes from east of LA to Vegas can definitely be problematic.

The 15 is the dominant north/south freeway in the Inland Empire and a major connector to San Diego in the south. As a result of its location this freeway is not in LA proper although it touches the far eastern suburbs of Los Angeles and part of it is contained within the greater LA metropolitan area. On a clear day driving north on the 15 north of the 10, there are some excellent views of the San Bernardino Mountains, especially in the winter when there is snow on top.

The 15 forms a half circle in its brush with the Southland urban area east of LA. The 15 when moving is a very fast freeway. There is hope among truckers of putting in a truckers only lane along a good portion of this freeway. We can definitely see a need for this having driven the two lane part of this freeway numerous times. Note that traffic tends to become congested around the 215 intersection just north west of the city of San Bernardino.

The 22 (SR-22) called the Garden Grove Freeway is essentially an east/west connector freeway running between most of the major freeways in Orange County including the 405, the 5 and the 55 Freeway at the City of Orange. Besides the dominant 91 Freeway to the north, the 22 is Orange County's only other major East		At a Glance
		Common Name: Garden Grove Freeway Direction: West and East, 15 miles Boundaries: Long Beach-W, Orange-E Carpool Lanes: Yes, entire freeway Year Founded: State Highway from 1934

/ West freeway. The similarities don't end there; also like the 91 Freeway which starts out on its western end as a city street, so does the 22. East 7th Street runs all the way through Long Beach before becoming the 22 Freeway.

While this is a very short freeway (one of the shortest in the LA and Orange County metropolitan region), it is an extremely vital one. The 22 cuts across many large long boulevards that also touch the 5 and 405 freeways. This is a fast, premiere modern Orange County freeway when traffic is light. Major construction was recently finished on this freeway including the addition of a car pool lane in each direction as well as some pleasing artwork in the stone walls that surround both sides of this

freeway. This is not your ordinary Los Angeles & Orange County car pool lane, rather its based on the type of car pool lanes commonly used up in the San Francisco Bay Area. While it is restricted 24/7 to car poolers these are continuous access car pool lanes meaning vehicles containing more than 1 passenger can enter and exit the car pool lanes as they wish, rather than waiting until specific entry and exit points. This is the first freeway in either Los Angeles or Orange County to have these type of car pool lanes, although they have been in use for years in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The 22 is also one of the freeways to form part of the infamous "Orange Crush", a notoriously crowded section of freeways (also the 5 and 57 freeways) and surface roads near the city of Orange.

The 55 (SR-55) freeway is called the Costa Mesa Freeway and runs from Newport Beach crossing the 405 and the 5 before finally hitting the 91 Freeway near Yorba Linda. This is a fairly short freeway as far as LA freeways are concerned and was originally a 4 lane highway first built in the early 1960's after many years as		At a Glance
		Common Name: Costa Mesa Freeway Direction: North and South, 18 miles Boundaries: Anaheim-N, Newport Beach-S Carpool Lanes: Yes, entire freeway Year Founded: State Highway from 1931

a smaller state highway. It runs in an approximate north-south direction. From the 405 to the southern Beach cities you actually jump on the toll 73 Freeway but exit on the 55 before the actual toll kicks in. Did you know that the 55 was home to Orange County’s first carpool lane? This was built in merely 1985. It is hard to believe that it has only been 20+ years since Orange County has embraced car pool lanes! Today the northern stretch of this freeway between the 5 and the 91 Freeway, boasts 5 lanes in each direction (including the carpool lane).

Like the 10 Freeway which is located north in LA County, the 55 Freeway also ends in a beach town. At the end of this large freeway you quickly come to city stop lights (the freeway becomes Newport Blvd) and cross a variety of other boulevards before hitting the PCH (Highway 1). If you continue all the way on Newport Blvd after leaving the 55 Freeway eventually you will drive out onto the Balboa Peninsula which deposits you into the quintessential realm of southern Orange

County's wealthy beach living. You will see big homes, big boats and a beautiful bay.

The 55 is a direct route for these southern Orange County beach cities to major freeways including the 405, the 5 and the major 91 Freeway further to the north (connecting to the Inland Empire) and as a result this freeway can be quite clogged at times.

The 57 (SR-57) Freeway is called the Orange Freeway and runs from the 5 near the city of Orange up through Anaheim crossing the 91, & the 60, before finally terminating at the 210 (Foothill Freeway) at San Dimas. This is one of the major state highways in this particular part of Orange and LA counties and is part of one of the		At a Glance
		Common Name: Orange Freeway Direction: North and South, 24 miles Boundaries: Glendora-N, Santa Ana-S Carpool Lanes: Yes, entire freeway Year Founded: State Highway from 1931

locally well known traffic bottlenecks at times.

The 57 forms part of what is called "the Orange Crush" appropriately titled as this often busy freeway interchange is located next to the city of Orange. The Orange Crush involves neighboring freeways including the 5 and the 22. In addition a number of on and off ramps help add to the complexity of this particular interchange. You can think of this interchange as Orange County's answer to some of LA County's worst freeway interchanges!

Carpool lanes start/end around Tonner Canyon Road in the 57 hills near the 60 Freeway intersection. Driving northbound on the downside of the hills in this part of the 57 (on a relatively clear day) affords one nice views looking north towards the San Gabriel Mountains. The 57 fly's by several well known sports venues including Anaheim Stadium with its big landmark

"A" sign located in the parking lot, as well as nearby Honda Center, home to the Anaheim Mighty ducks professional hockey team. The Richard Nixon Museum and Presidential Library is located on Yorba Linda Blvd off the 57 Freeway north of the 91 Freeway. Raging Waters, the water "rides and slides" theme park is also located almost at the end of the 57 Freeway, just north of the 10.

Existing carpool connector ramps are still fairly rare in the Los Angeles and Orange County metropolitan region, however a number of new ones are in the planning stage. These connector ramps are physically separated from the main freeway and are for carpool use only. The 57 is unique as presently it is the only freeway in the southland with two carpool connector ramps, one at the 60 Freeway in the north and one at the infamous "Orange Crush" on its southern end.

The 60 (SR-60) Freeway is one of the major east/west freeways in the LA basin. It can be extremely crowded at times and even that is an understatement. This freeway is called the Pomona Freeway and starts/ends just south of downtown and runs all the way east to the 91, ending just east of Riverside at the great 10		At a Glance
		Common Name: Pomona Freeway Direction: West and East, 70 miles Boundaries: Los Angeles-W, Beaumont-E Carpool Lanes: Mostly east of the 605 Year Founded: State Highway, 1964

freeway. It serves part of the San Gabriel and Pomona valley communities. Depending on your location in the LA area this might be the freeway of choice for heading out to Palm Springs (via the 10 Freeway). In 2007 major freeway construction was completed near where the 91, 60 and 215 converge in the city of Riverside.

		The new freeway expansions in this area and the very tall bypass have helped mitigate the terrible traffic that is often found near this interchange. The problem with all the traffic on the 60 is this freeway serves dual functions; it is a major commuter corridor between downtown Los Angeles and many communities in both the San Gabriel Valleys and further east to Riverside and San Bernardino. In addition, the Federal Sub-system of Highways has designated the 60 a Super Truck Route so as a result you have many
trucks using this freeway mostly serving the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Note that there is no connector from the 60 west to the 5 south.

The 73 (SR-73) is a sweet toll road (however, note that not the entire length is a toll road) that provides a fast modern freeway shortcut experience between the 405 and the 5 freeways in southern Orange County. Orange County is without a doubt the toll road leader in California and this is one of their shining accomplishments.		At a Glance
		Common Name: Corona del Mar Freeway Direction: North and South, 18 miles Boundaries: Costa Mesa-N, Mission Viejo-S Carpool Lanes: None in LA County Year Founded: Initial section,1978, 1996 the rest

As you exit the 405 note that you can drive for about 3 miles before you actually enter the toll section of this freeway. The first exit (1.25 miles in) driving southbound is the fairly short 55 Freeway which ends as a stop lighted highway in Newport Beach.

This is a fast freeway and because of the fairly high tolls is a much lesser traveled road than some of the nearby public freeways. Automatic toll booths greet you at the entrance to the toll part of the freeway. Pull up to the machine and put in your cash - the fares differ somewhat depending on when you drive (peak, off peak and weekends). Photo to left: Entrance to toll booth and automatic toll machines, northbound on the 73 freeway

If you have a FasTrak transponder in your car you can save some serious time by using the lanes that whip all the way around the toll booths. FasTrak will also save you a bit on the toll fare.

The 91 (SR-91) Freeway, called the Riverside Freeway, the Gardena Freeway or the Artesia Freeway depending on its specific location, begins not as a freeway but rather as Artesia Blvd (with lots of stoplights) in Hermosa Beach on the Pacific Ocean. It becomes a major freeway at the 110 interchange in the town of Gardena and follows a pretty much straight east-		At a Glance
		Common Name: Riverside Freeway Direction: West and East, 59 miles Boundaries: Gardena-W, Riverside-E Carpool Lanes: Yes, all of LA, OC, & almost off of its length in Riverside County Year Founded: 1930's as a highway

west route through Anaheim and then Corona, before heading north east up to Riverside where it is finally buried at the 10 Freeway and turns into the 215. Like the 210, the 10, and the 60 freeways, the 91 is a major east-west artery in the LA area. It is the direct link between Orange and Riverside counties and is one of the most congested freeways in the Southland. There is a carpool lane on most of this freeway. Parts of this freeway between Orange County and Riverside have a carpool lane plus 1-2 "Express" lanes accessed by FasTrak - a toll only separate part of the freeway which parallels the main part of the 91. There are 6 or 7 lanes in either direction on the 91 in areas.

This is a very busy freeway and during rush hour, despite the toll lane usage increase, these lanes typically move much faster than the regular lanes. The toll lanes run for about 10 miles - unfortunately not far enough, but these lanes usually save a lot of time. You must be a paying member of FasTrak to use these lanes - cash will not work. When you sign up for FasTrak, you are given a transponder which you put in your car and it is read by the machine as your zip through the Express Lane gate & debits your account every time you use the Express Lanes.

We are aware of only two freeways in the Los Angeles and Orange County metro areas that contain special car pool lanes for 3 or more occupants per vehicle. One is on the 10 Freeway heading towards downtown Los Angeles at certain times (no toll) and the other is one lane within the 91's toll section. Three people in your car allows you to travel for free or at a healthy discount (depending on peak travel hours).

The 91 toll section is part of Orange County's fairly extensive toll road system. If you take the 241 south from the 91 you will notice that this toll road hits several more toll roads - there is also the 73 toll freeway located more towards the ocean part of Orange County. Southern & Central Orange County is the center of toll freeways, highways and roads in California.

At the border between the following counties: Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino the 91 passes through what is sometimes a traffic nightmare called the Santa Ana Canyon. This is where the 91 and the Santa Ana River pass through the Santa Ana Mountains.

More information about the Express Lanes and the 91 Freeway is here: www.91expresslanes.com and you can even watch a nice video about how the toll lanes will save you time! www.91expresslanes.com/virtdrive.html In addition you can look at a real time map of the 91 Freeway and adjoining freeways. Sections of the freeways are sectioned off by how many miles per hour the traffic is moving! (i.e. increments of 0-15mph, 15-30mph etc).

The 101, (US-101) one of Los Angeles' most famous freeways actually ends in downtown after going by Hollywood and Thai Town. It is called the Ventura Freeway north west of LA and then when it gets close to the downtown area it is called The Hollywood Freeway - as it pretty much bisects Hollywood and North		At a Glance
		Common Name: Hollywood Freeway Direction: West and East | North and South Boundaries: Thousand Oaks-W, Downtown LA-S Carpool Lanes: None in LA County Year Founded: N/A

Hollywood. Also note the 170 extension freeway is also called the Hollywood Freeway. This very historic freeway is called El Camino Real or King’s Highway during the section between the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles.

It was originally built to connect the 21 California Missions. Note: there is No carpool lane on the 101 north of Los Angeles and as a result traffic at times can be terrible - throw in a few accidents near the 101/405 interchange and you have a disastrous commute. The 101 forms the south end of the "San Fernando Square" - a square of major pavement that runs through the San Fernando Valley (the 118 on the north, the great 405 freeway on the East, the 101 on the south, and the 27 (Topanga Canyon

Note: If you are driving south on the 101 and want to jump on the 110 South near downtown after you have exited the 101 (just past the Four-Level Interchange), there are two ways you can do this. For the more adventurous you have to immediately move over as far left as you can - this involves jumping across 5 or 6 lanes of traffic which because of the extremely short distance is difficult to do with or without crowded conditions. Fun times in downtown! For those who would rather take their time or if

traffic is totally backed up in this area like it often is, stay in the right lanes and follow the signs to Wilshire Blvd. There is an onramp back onto the 110 just before Wilshire Blvd so that you never actually leave the 110 Freeway. The total distance from the 2 freeway merge to the onramp just before Wilshire is about 1 mile.

The 101 runs all the way up through Northern California, Oregon and Washington - at times reaching out and touching the coastline after running inland for many miles. The 101 hits the coast closest to Los Angeles just south of Santa Barbara and just north of Ventura. Here is a website which contains news, general info and photos covering all of Interstate 101: www.101cafe.net

The 105 (I-105) called the Century Freeway is Los Angeles' Airport's "own freeway" although it runs west-east for about 20 miles and ends at the 605 Freeway near the city of Bellflower, which is well east of LAX (LA's International Airport). While the 105 is a fairly short it crosses 4 major north south freeways and just misses		At a Glance
		Common Name: Century Freeway Direction: West and East, 19 miles Boundaries: El Segundo-W, Norwalk-E Carpool Lanes: Yes, entire freeway Year Founded: 1993

hitting the 5 Freeway at its eastern terminus. The 105 starts right at LAX and as you come out of the airport you quickly jump on this freeway. The 105 helps create the amazing Judge Harry Pregerson 5-level freeway interchange in its swath east of the 405 at the 110 intersection.

This intersection as viewed from the 110 Freeway is truly a sight to see and is a must visit for any LA freeway buff. For reference a 5-level freeway interchange is one major mass of concrete with a bunch of raised levels; this interchange is the biggest one we know of, at least in California! It includes separate carpool lane connectors (HOV), metro tracks and the towering Harbor Transitway, a section of often raised pavement that is reserved for carpoolers as well as in specific locations, contains a

separate lane for buses. The highest lane in this 5-level interchange is a carpool (HOV) lane which towers 130 feet above the ground!

This 5-level freeway looks the most impressive from the ground level. We've driven the uppermost HOV several times and while tall and creating a vary long swatch over this interchange its not quite as impressive as from the ground level.

Its also interesting to note when you are driving the 105 in either direction and you take the exit for the 405 Freeway South there is a mile plus stretch of "no mans freeway" - a two lane section that is the actual connector between these two freeways. A nice tunnel is also part of this connector experience when you drive West on the 105 and take the 405 South exit. These connectors are somewhat unusual because of their length - most freeway connector exits are much shorter in length.

This freeway is relatively new having only opened in 1993. Here is a bit of 105 Freeway trivia: the childhood home of which Southern California band was torn down because it sat in the path of this freeway? Answer: the child home of the Beach Boys was torn down in the mid 1980's to make way for this freeway and today there is a historic monument in the shadow of one of the 105's walls commemorating this spot. A great Los Angeles based movie which involves this freeway is Speed, starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock. This movie was filmed on the 105 just prior to its opening.

The 110 (SR-110) called the Harbor Freeway or Pasadena Freeway (depending on which section you are referring to - north of the 10 is the Pasadena, south of the 10 is the Harbor) is the oldest freeway in Los Angeles, and California for that matter (parts of it date from 1940 as a freeway) and as a result north of downtown,		At a Glance
		Common Name: Harbor/Pasadena Freeway Direction: North and South, 32 miles Boundaries: Pasadena-N, San Pedro-S Carpool Lanes: Only in approximately the middle Year Founded: 1930's as highway

some of the lane sections are quite narrow. It was not built to handle today's traffic, car sizes or freeway speeds.

This freeway is synonymous with Los Angeles and is one of the freeways Los Angelenos love to “hate”. It also forms part of two of the most major masses of concrete in the southland, the interchange merely called the “Four Level Interchange” and a massive 5-level interchange where it meets the 105 freeway.

On the busiest sections of this freeway, almost 350,000 cars pass over its concrete daily. This freeway runs right next to downtown Los Angeles, passing Dodger Stadium

and Elysian Park on its ride to Pasadena. On a clear day there are excellent views of downtown and when we drive people northbound towards downtown for the first time the windows roll down and they hang out with video cameras rolling!

Yea, LA freeway driving doesn't get any better than this! The 110 north of downtown is quite windy with narrow lanes in places and if traffic is moving fast you have to really concentrate to stay in your lane.  It then passes under the great 5 Freeway and starts to dwindle out as it becomes Arroyo Seco Blvd (Old route 66 - Get your "kicks on Route 66") at which point it is no longer a freeway and you have to deal with stoplights. The 110 Freeway dies in Pasadena. Note that driving on the 110 south towards downtown the one lane exits for the 101 and the 5 Freeway come up very abruptly on your right hand side and if you are "flying" down this freeway towards downtown and want to make your exit onto one of these two freeways, use caution and slow down.

The photos below are of LA's only 5 level freeway interchange. This particular one is where the 110 meets the 105 Freeway and is truly an impressive site to see in person. The Carpool lanes are built at the highest level on this interchange and from the top on a clear day there are excellent views overlooking the LA Basin. There is also a metro stop in the "middle" of all this concrete. We always slow down here on purpose (not because of heavy traffic which is common - we are always in the car pool lane) just to marvel at the massive concrete that surrounds the center of this intersection.

   
 
   

The 110 south of downtown has excellent carpool lanes for several miles in both the north and south direction north of the 405 Freeway. In fact there is a separate carpool lane freeway in the median section that contains 2 lanes totally isolated from the main freeway! This part of the 110 freeway is called the Harbor Transitway and it runs for 11 miles.

The Harbor Transitway rivals any of the prime carpool lanes in Orange County. This part of the freeway takes an additional step - there is even a bus lane for short sections. If you are heading north on the 110 towards downtown and are in the car pool lanes and you want to stay on the freeway, be sure to move back over to the right onto the main freeway (probably much more crowded than the 2 car pool lanes) as the car pool lanes end, rather than staying all the way to left which will quickly exit onto surface streets towards downtown. Want to see prime undeveloped real estate within minutes of downtown - check out the large median dirt strip on the northbound 110 near where it hits the 101.

Additionally, one of the disaster merges in LA is from the 110 north onto the 5 Freeway. This is a complete traffic meltdown at times with *only one* lane leaving from the 110 to the 5 so as a result this one lane can backup for a long ways and if cars try to 'lane rip you' (a term coined by Dave referring to cars that merge in front of you at the last minute rather than waiting in the backup) close to where the one lane leaves the 110, often some drivers will honk vigorously in frustration. The problem with increasing the number of lanes that exit, is the damn narrow tunnels in this area which would be a nightmare to widen.

The 110 is well engrained in the cultural urbanity of Southern California. This freeway has its own radio station which broadcasts important updates and urgent matters - if you find yourself driving this freeway tune your AM radio to 1610. There is even a clothing line named after the 110! Check out www.110south.com But perhaps most fascinating of all is "The 110 Project", an opera performed by the Los Angeles Opera about the story of several communities located along this freeway. The musical score was even inspired by freeway sounds. Nice!

The 118 (SR-118) is a fantastic freeway when its moving - which starts/ends at the 210 Freeway and runs east/west through Simi Valley and the huge San Fernando Valley. When compared to San Fernando Valley, Simi Valley is not nearly as developed. The 118 is named the Ronald Reagan Freeway and appropriately runs		At a Glance
		Common Name: Ronald Reagan Freeway Direction: West and East, 48 miles Boundaries: Ventura-W, San Fernando-E at 210 Carpool Lanes: Yes, all of LA County Year Founded: 1964-1979

near the hillside home of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library & Museum. This freeway is the northern Anchor of the San Fernando Valley and the "San Fernando Square" (place mouse over colored text for description). It becomes the 23 as you head west and then runs south and connects up with the great 101 Freeway in Thousand Oaks.

Much of the western part of the 118 is 2 lanes however carpool lanes do start well before you head up the Santa Susana Pass into the San Fernando Valley (east bound - carpool is also available westbound). Speaking of this pass, the old road that crosses over the pass lies parallel to the fast moving 118 and when we have extra time driving in the east bound direction we will jump off on Topanga Canyon Blvd and wrap around to the old Santa Susana Road which heads back up the pass parallel to the 118. There is an exit near the

top of the pass if you are driving in the west bound direction.There are some great hikes here with views of both Simi and the San Fernando Valley as this pass forms the divide between these two major Los Angeles valleys.

The 134 (SR-134) called the Ventura Freeway is an east/west artery that leaves the 101 and hits the 5 and then connects at the 210 "corner" where the 210 completely changes direction. This intersection is right where the north part of the 710 "defect" is situated (see 710 for more information about this freeway oddity). The 134 is		At a Glance
		Common Name: Ventura Freeway Direction: West and East, 13 miles Boundaries: N. Hollywood-W, Pasadena-E Carpool Lanes: Yes, entire length Year Founded: 1964

an extension of the Ventura Freeway, which is also the name for part of the 101. If you are driving from north of LA to Orange County or vice versa this is typically a faster freeway than using the 405 especially during rush hour. That's not to say this freeway doesn't get packed; it certainly does as it is one of the connectors between the huge San Fernando Valley over to the San Gabriel Valley and near Pasadena.

At almost its halfway point the 134 skirts the edge of Griffith Park and crosses the 5 Freeway. This interchange is called the Gene Autry Memorial Interchange as the Gene Autry Museum of Western Heritage is located nearby as well as the Los Angeles Zoo.

As far as freeway names go this freeway is located in a confusing area due to several freeway name overlaps. It is called the Ventura Freeway but so is part of the 101. It is also of the shortest freeways around. Carpool lanes run both directions. There are few freeways in the LA area that contain intersections with no access between each freeway. The 134 is one of them, at least in one direction. As you drive west there is no exit to get onto the 101 South and you must follow the exit sign onto city streets to connect up with the 101 South.

The 170 (SR-170) is one of the shortest freeways in the LA metropolitan region. It is similar in length to the also very short Glendale Freeway – Highway 2 but neither freeway is as short as the regions shortest which is the far western part of the Marina Freeway (SR-90 – only 2.25 miles. For you LA freeway buffs, this		At a Glance
		Common Name: Hollywood Freeway Direction: North and South, 8 miles Boundaries: San Fernando-N, Hollywood-S Carpool Lanes: None Year Founded: 1964

could be the winning answer to that trivia question! However understanding the naming system on the 170 freeway can be somewhat confusing. First of all this freeway is divided into 2 sections. The northern most section is entirely the 170 running from the 5 in the north down to the 101 in the south. However when it meets the 101 it joins and these two freeways are one in the same until technically the 170 Freeway ends at the junction of Santa Monica Blvd and the 101.

To further confuse the situation the part of the 170 that runs in tandem with the 101 are both called the Hollywood Freeway. The intersection of the 101, 170 and 134 freeways is simply called the "Hollywood Split". See our definition section for more information on this term.

The 170 runs past its most notable landmarks when it has the power of the 101 Freeway to carry it along. These landmarks include Hollywood itself, Universal Studios and the Hollywood Bowl. Drive by in the afternoon during the Academy Awards, look over to the side at Hollywood and see all the helicopters hovering.  The northern part of the 170 runs past North Hollywood and what is one of the largest Thai Temples in the USA.

The 210 (I-210) called the Foothill Freeway is a very long freeway and winds through mountains, the foothills and urban settings. It passes exits to a variety of landmarks including the LA Arboretum, the Huntington Museum and old town Pasadena where the famous Rose Parade is held every year on nearby Colorado Blvd. Its		At a Glance
		Common Name: Foothill Freeway Direction: West and East, 86 miles Boundaries: San Fernando-W, Redlands-E Carpool Lanes: Yes, all of LA County Year Founded: 1964, highway from the 1930's

name stems from the fact that almost its entire length is located at the base of the nearby San Gabriel Mountains and Angeles National Forest. As you drive anywhere on the 210 around Pasadena look to the north at the highest mountain - that is Mt. Wilson (elevation 5,710) which contains the Mt. Wilson Observatory as well as nearby "media center", a part of the mountain home to a huge collection of antennas and other broadcasting equipment.

During winter and early spring days you may be treated to spectacular snow capped views of this and nearby mountains. The "drive to the sky" as we like to call it, Highway 2 leads off of the 210 Freeway at the town of La Canada Flintridge and eventually winds its way up towards the Mt. Wilson Observatory. This is a great road to "get away from it all" when you find yourself on the 210 with some extra time to kill and are ready to escape the incessant traffic.

Look for the Metro's gold line running in the median of this freeway approximately between Pasadena to Arcadia.

The 210 jumps off of the 5 in the San Fernando Valley and is LA's most northerly East West freeway. As you are driving south on the 5 this is truly the first greater metropolitan Los Angeles freeway you come to. Construction is finally finished on its most easterly section and it now connects up with the 10 & 30 freeways near San Bernardino.

Due to the picturesque backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains located directly to the north of this freeway, the 210 has been used in a number of commercials, TV shows and movies including the Transformers.

The Great 405 (I-405) called the San Diego Freeway is one of the main north south arteries for LA and is one of the most well known LA freeways. This is in fact, one of our favorite Los Angeles freeways, although to say any LA freeway is a "favorite", especially this one, quickly invites argument from anyone who has		At a Glance
		Common Name: San Diego Freeway Direction: North and South, 72 miles Boundaries: San Fernando-N, Irvine-S Carpool Lanes: Entire length except section N & S of the 10 and in Costa Mesa, Orange County Year Founded: 1964

to drive these freeways day in and day out or at night. In fact this is one of the most crowded freeways in the world and is the most crowded freeway in Los Angeles; as a result, traffic patterns can really vary. For example traffic may backup for a mile around a major intersection or boulevard and then streamline itself and move at the speed limit for a few minutes.

The northerly part of the 405 is in the San Fernando Valley off of the 5 and leads in a southerly direction until it meets back up with the 5 freeway just south of Irvine in Orange County. During busy hours the 405 dumps its many victims onto the 5 north, clogging the 5 for several miles. The 405 crosses many of the areas' well known east/west freeways. It passes by the Getty Center and the Skirball Center which are good landmarks for this freeway, just south of the Sepulvada Pass before you get to the Santa Monica Blvd turnoff.

It is a major artery between the San Fernando Valley area, the City of Los Angeles and the southern cities including Long Beach and the Orange County area.

A nice view from where you can appreciate the power of this freeway is from the outside walkway on the "north" building at the Getty Center. From here you look straight down on the 405 and see it winding through the Sepulvada Pass area. It is like an angry river constantly roaring but never overflowing its banks. Looking for another excellent viewing location of the 405? Look no further than outside on the second floor of the Howard-Hughes-Promenade shopping complex about 3 miles north of 105 Freeway.

Traffic on this monster of a road can be bad regardless of the time of day or night. After driving the 405 and leaving Los Angeles it is always a major shock and an adrenaline "come down" to be on "small" 2 or 3 lane freeways.

On the southern part of the 405 just before it crosses over the 55 freeway you can jump on the 73 which is a nice time saver if you are driving down to southern Orange County or to San Diego. After a few miles the 73 becomes a toll road and is toll almost until you reach the 5 Freeway. The 73 opened for traffic only in the last few years and it is a nice clean freeway. Driving south bound on the 405, you would also take the 73 to the 55 if you want to visit Newport Beach. Note that if you are driving north on the 405 from Orange County, the carpool lane ends between the 105 and the 10 freeway junctions. Recent construction has extended the carpool lane in both directions for a few miles & has slightly helped traffic flow. Plans are also in the works to ensure that the last remaining

non carpool section of the 405 is built with carpool lanes so that this entire freeway will have carpool lanes on both sides.

The 405 North merge with the 101 is now 2 lanes and at times has somewhat helped ease what used to be horrific congestion. Once you actually merge onto the 101 the 2 merging lanes are kept separate from the rest of the freeway for about 1/2 a mile to help with traffic flow.

On a bike ride in Orange County one fine spring day, we stopped on an overpass (next to University Ave) directly above the center divider in the middle of the 405 Freeway. It was incredible the feeling of power and energy that came from this swath below us with cars racing by at 80+ mph. On such a clear warm day, after a year of good rain the grass was green all around us and snow covered the highest of the San Gabriel's in the distance. This is 405 Freeway watching at its best!

Between where the 405 crosses the 118 and the 101 look for the large Budweiser plant on the west side of the freeway. Want to see the 405 featured in a short action comedy, appropriately titled "405, The Movie", visit: www.405themovie.com/Home.asp

The 605 (I-605) called the San Gabriel Freeway starts almost right at the 405 Freeway, not far from Long Beach and ends slightly north of the 210 Freeway in the town of Duarte. Note that there is no car pool lane north of where the 605 intersects with the 10. During commute hours we've seen the carpool lane fill up pretty		At a Glance
		Common Name: San Gabriel River Freeway Direction: North and South, 27 miles Boundaries: Irwindale-N, Seal Beach-S Carpool Lanes: All south of the 10 intersection Year Founded: 1964, highway from the 1940's

well (south of the 10) but its definitely still a faster option then the regular lanes. The freeway is appropriately named as it sits near a plethora of similar named items from the city of San Gabriel to the San Gabriel River which parallels much of this freeway. In the northern section you can see a bunch of dry riverbed and other river cobble off to one side. Along its journey it passes towns such as Pico Rivera, Whittier, El Monte & Baldwin Park among others.
 

		One large obstacle stops this freeway from continuing in its north easterly direction and that is the large San Gabriel Mountains which tower above its northern section. As you reach the end in the north this freeway splits into a Y - where you can head either east or west on the 210 Freeway. Just before you reach this Y you will see a bunch of whitish rock stacked up on the east side of the road. This forms one of the borders of the Santa Fe Dam recreation area. When moving the 605 is a very fast north-south freeway.

The 710 (I-710) called the Long Beach Freeway is appropriately named as it starts right next to Long Beach. The 710 could also be called the "La River Freeway" as it, without deviation, follows the course of the LA River throughout most of its length until just before the 5 Freeway where the 710 and the LA River split		At a Glance
		Common Name: Long Beach Freeway Direction: North and South, 23 miles Boundaries: Alhambra-N, Long Beach-S Carpool Lanes: None Year Founded: 1964, highway from the 1930's

directions. Along with the 110 Freeway the 710 helps feed the entire Port Complex area which includes Long Beach Harbor and the Port of Los Angeles, which are *major* International shipping destinations for the West Coast of the USA. As a result, this is a very "industrial" freeway - when you get close to Long Beach you will see many trucks on this freeway and if you are driving a car you may be the minority vehicle on this freeway. Even in the late hours of the day one side of this freeway may be stop and go traffic with trucks piled up next to each other.
 

As the 710 nears the Long Beach Harbor the freeway veers off in three directions with each of the smaller branches extending to the water. The main branch of

the 710 ends near the famous Queen Mary ship. The 710 and the 110 are considered "feeder" freeways (place mouse over colored text for description) as many supplies from around the world reach the harbors here and are fed into the Southland and elsewhere beginning on these two freeways.

This is a freeway that has an unusual section in the northern part of its reaches. We call it the "710 Freeway Defect" and yes its annoying when you are driving south bound on the 5 and there is no connector to the 710 Freeway northbound. For more information about this "gap", visit: www.710gap.com

A small approximately 1 mile stub of this freeway has actually been built which connects to the 134 and 210 freeways. This is about 3.5 miles north of where the other part of the 710 ends just north of the 10 Freeway. So there is about 3.5 miles of surface streets and residential communities lying in the path of the two ends of this freeway! Plans are still in the works to somehow complete this missing link to join both parts of this freeway. This short stub of the 710, if not completed will remain the "great urban artifact" as John Dutton says in his essay, "The Life And Death of Great American Freeways: the 710 case study".

Additional Resources
The greater LA area encompasses a huge area - and spans several large valleys. Both Los Angeles and Orange County maintain excellent Transportation Authority websites.

The Los Angeles County Department of Transportation: www.ladottransit.com
  -- Also visit: www.metro.net and Metro Link: www.metrolinktrains.com
Surface Road Real Time Conditions: http://trafficinfo.lacity.org
The Orange County Transportation Authority: www.octa.net

More information about Orange County's toll roads is found here: www.thetollroads.com

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is an invaluable resource:
District 07: LA and Ventura Counties: www.dot.ca.gov/dist07
District 12: Orange County: www.dot.ca.gov/dist12

Caltrans also maintains a number of live traffic camera's in select locations on Los Angeles & Orange County freeways. Visit: www.video.dot.ca.gov. In addition they provide lookups of real time freeway conditions here: www.dot.ca.gov/cgi-bin/roads.cgi

The best AM Radio station for traffic updates every 10 minutes on the "5's in the Los Angeles area is the all news format, KNX AM 1070. This is a powerful AM station - for example at night from Oahu, Hawaii, 2000+ miles from Los Angeles we have been able to hear KNX coming in on our cheap rental car radio. Visit: www.knx1070.com and click on the traffic link.

The website, Interstate Guide is an invaluable resource for additional freeway specific information. Besides Dave's personal knowledge and first hand experience with LA Freeways, Interstate Guide in part was used for additional research. Visit www.interstate-guide.com for more information. Additionally this next site has a 3-digit freeway lookup guide on the left side of the page; there is lots of good historical information about not only LA freeways but US freeways in general. www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/index.html.

Benny Chan has photographed LA Freeways from the air - some of his photography are displayed here: http://yeinjee.com/2009/benny-chan-aerial-los-angeles-traffic/

Lastly, this site contains a plethora of Southland freeway information as well as photos: www.scvresources.com/highways/la_highways.htm

LA Freeways in Movies
Considering Los Angeles is home to the major motion picture industry it is not surprising that a number of LA freeways have been featured in movies. These are just a select few in which LA freeways make appearances.

Popular LA Streets
The following well known city streets have been popularized in movies, songs or Television. Because of this these streets are Icons for the Southland; they are larger than life. These streets are very wide, often called Boulevards and they run for miles. Typically they can be very crowded and there are usually many stoplights.

					Hollywood Boulevard is the main city street through the heart of Hollywood. It is a wide street chock full of famous landmarks, buildings, movie history and during much of the day – lots of traffic. The famous Hollywood and Vine intersection is well-known due to its long affiliation with radio and movie related businesses. This boulevard has been featured in a number of television shows and movies – including in Pretty Women with Richard Gere and Julia Roberts.
The underground Red Line Metro serves several stops up and down Hollywood Boulevard including one of our favorites, the Hollywood and Vine stop in which thousands of old movie reels line the ceilings. The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a popular attraction - stars are outlined in a gold color and are embedded in the sidewalks, each star contains a celebrities' name. The touristy part of Hollywood Boulevard can be insanely crowded especially during special events such as movie premiers and yes there are a number of exclusive parties that take place here. A fair amount of tourist buses (especially the double decker ones), stop in central Hollywood. The Kodak Theatre and huge shopping complex, home to the Academy Awards is just down from the famous Chinese Theatre (which is a functioning movie theatre). The star handprints in the open air courtyard in front of this theatre are immensely popular. Hollywood Blvd also runs through several interesting neighborhoods, specifically Thai Town and Little Armenia. Hollywood Blvd actually becomes a small residential street in the hills past Laurel Canyon Blvd on its western end.
Melrose Avenue is synonymous with shopping, fashion, television and the movie industry. A number of well-known fashion houses are located along this street including Marc Jacobs, Oscar de la Renta and Ralph Lauren. Melrose has a heady start, finding its beginnings in the west (not far from Santa Monica Boulevard) surrounded by the elite communities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.
It then runs east all the way to the 101 Freeway where it runs under this famous freeway and ends just east of the 101 at North Hoover Street. The western part of this avenue contains some very eclectic boutique clothing and apparel shops. It is best to explore this area by walking. There is good shopping and people watching! The 1990’s television soap opera Melrose Place was named after a part of this street close to where it starts in the west. In addition the movie Melrose Place is a story of young adults living near Melrose Ave in West Hollywood. Also of interest; Paramount Studios is the only major Hollywood studio still located in Hollywood proper and it is situated along Melrose. Tours can be arranged here by advance notice. Have you ever eaten at a Johnny Rockets? The original restaurant of this 50’s style franchise was founded along the middle part of Melrose Ave.
Spectacularly clear day overlooking San Fernando Valley					Mulholland Drive is well worth driving especially when it’s a clear day over LA and perhaps you want a respite from the craziness of the 405 or 101 freeways. A drive here affords one excellent views. As REM lead man Michael Stipe sings in the song Electrolite, "If I ever want to fly. Mulholland Drive. I am alive". Nothing could be truer - this is the inspirational drive to the sky over LA. Take Mulholland off of the 405 Freeway from the Skirball Center. You will wind up on the top of the ridges of the Santa Monica Mountains and
Hollywood Hills overlooking the entire San Fernando Valley in one direction and then over into Los Angeles and west toward the ocean. This is a scenic drive and is a 100% change of pace once you leave the congested freeways. There are several lookouts from the top with parking and hiking trails for the outdoor urban enthusiast. You will have views looking down onto very fancy mansions. In fact the surrounding real estate is among the most expensive and exclusive in the world and a number of famous celebrities live within close proximity of Mulholland Drive. For the "back door" into Hollywood take Laurel Canyon Boulevard off of Mulholland Drive, otherwise continue down to the Cahuenga Pass where Mulholland Drive comes out not far from the Hollywood Bowl & the 101 Freeway. Mulholland Drive has also been featured in a movie by the same name.
Santa Monica Boulevard is part of State Route 2 and is a major Los Angeles Boulevard. State Route 2 takes on many forms and names and runs through both urban and natural settings. It starts in the city of Santa Monica as Santa Monica Blvd near the beach and runs all the way through Los Angeles to the 101 Freeway where it ends its run as Santa Monica Blvd. It then continues as part of the 101 for a few miles becoming Alvarardo Blvd and then Glendale Blvd before it resumes its easterly path as the short Glendale Freeway between about the 5
and the 210 freeways. What was Santa Monica Boulevard then runs for many miles north east of Los Angeles until it hits state route 138 not far from Victorville. This is truly the sea to sky road as from the ocean near Santa Monica it leads all the way through city streets to the Angeles Forest past Mt. Wilson and into the San Bernardino Mountains. There are many stop lights on Santa Monica Blvd and it can take over an hour to drive from Santa Monica to the 101 freeway. This street is one of the major thoroughfares through the communities of Beverly Hills and West Hollywood. Because its orientation changes slightly between the 405 and the 101 freeways many of the major boulevards in this part of Los Angeles either cross or come very close to touching Santa Monica Boulevard. One of its busiest intersections is near the 405 freeway when it crosses Wilshire Boulevard. Many unique shopping districts are also located along its edges. It is interesting to note sometimes how many lanes are on LA freeway exits onto boulevards. This is a major Boulevard and an example of an exit that turns into 5 lanes before reaching the boulevard is the northbound exit off of the 405 to Santa Monica Boulevard.
				Sunset Boulevard is one of Los Angeles’s most recognized streets – it has been popularized in song, television and in movies including a movie from 1950 of the same name. With a name like this, it certainly runs in an east/west direction and in the evening you can see the sun setting over Sunset Blvd. It is one of Los Angeles’ icon streets. It is a fairly long boulevard starting just south of the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades where it leaves PCH (Highway 1) and heads east all the way to downtown Los Angeles.
During normal traffic it will take at least an hour to drive from the coast to the 101 Freeway. The western part of this Boulevard is very windy and runs through some very swank posh neighborhoods. Not to be outdone by the residential luxury of its western arm, the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood is a 1.5 mile area that is best known for its cutting edge night time entertainment as well as attracting well dressed beautiful people. Sunset Boulevard runs past notable sites including UCLA, Hollywood High School, the headquarters of the Directors Guild of America and several well known nightclubs including The Viper Room. The historic "theatre district" which features a number of blocks of live theatre houses is also along Sunset. The residential areas above the Sunset Strip contain some of the most exclusive and secluded homes in Los Angeles (not to mention stunning views on clear days and yes there are clear days over Los Angeles!). Sunset also runs next to the fancy Bel Air district, behind UCLA and close to the entrance of the Playboy Mansion.
Wilshire Boulevard is one of the largest and most well known of the LA Boulevards. It is named after Henry Wilshire a farmer, real estate developer and gold miner. What is now part of Wilshire used to run through his grain fields in merely the 1890’s. If only he could see it now! It runs all the way from Santa Monica, crosses under the 405 Freeway near Westwood and UCLA (can be extremely congested in this area) and then runs past Beverly Hills. It continues east and heads through Korea Town before turning south and ending right in downtown Los Angeles. Parts of the Wilshire swath contain some of the most densely packed urban areas in all of Los Angeles.  The part of Wilshire where it crosses under the 405 near the Los Angeles National Cemetery is especially often jammed with traffic.

We are currently working on a map listing some of the highlights of the LA Freeways.
Thanks for taking the time to read about the Freeways of Los Angeles!

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