Wikipedia

User:BenjaminTheTrainGuy/Santa Monica Freeway

This page is about the section of BenjaminTheTrainGuy/Santa Monica Freeway. For the entire route, see Interstate 10 in California.

Interstate 10 marker

Santa Monica Freeway

Christopher Columbus Transcontinental Highway
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length16.23 mi (26.12 km)
NHSEntire route
Major junctions
West end SR 1 in Santa Monica
Major intersections
East end I-5 / SR 60 in Los Angeles
Location
CountryUnited States
StateCalifornia
CountiesLos Angeles
Highway system

The Santa Monica Freeway is a 16-mile freeway that runs the westernmost segment of I-10 and a small section of State Route 1 (SR 1), beginning at the McClure Tunnel in Santa Monica and ending southeast of downtown Los Angeles at the East Los Angeles Interchange.

Route description edit

I-10 begins its eastward journey in the city of Santa Monica when SR 1 turns into a freeway and heads east. SR 1 exits onto Lincoln Boulevard and heads south while I-10 continues east. Soon after it enters the city of Los Angeles, I-10 has a four-level interchange with I-405. I-10 then continues through Sawtelle, Rancho Park, Cheviot Hills, Beverlywood and Crestview in West Los Angeles, Lafayette Square and Wellington Square in Mid-City, Arlington Heights, West Adams and Jefferson Park into downtown Los Angeles. On the western edge of downtown at the Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange, I-10 has an interchange with I-110 to the south and SR 110 to the north. I-10 then travels along the southern edge of downtown to the East Los Angeles Interchange.[1][2]

 
The Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange, as seen by traffic going eastbound on the Santa Monica
 
A typical traffic jam on the Santa Monica Freeway, at 2:30 p.m. on a Wednesday afternoon
 
Downtown Los Angeles skyline as seen from the freeway. A slight (smaller than usual rush hour) traffic jam is ahead.

At the East Los Angeles Interchange, SR 60 diverges east towards Riverside and Pomona. I-10 then turns north, running concurrently with I-5 for approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km). Then, I-10 heads east and merges with the traffic from the spur to US 101 onto the San Bernardino Freeway.[1][2]

The freeway is 14 lanes wide (two local, five express in each direction) from the Harbor Freeway (I-110) interchange to the Arlington Avenue off-ramp. Most of these lanes are full at peak travel times (even on Saturdays). The remainder of the freeway varies between eight and 10 lanes in width. The whole freeway opened in 1965 with 4 to 6 lanes, with a formal dedication held in 1966.[3]

While the construction of the Century Freeway several miles to the south reduced traffic congestion to a considerable amount by creating an alternate route from downtown to the Los Angeles International Airport, the Santa Monica Freeway is still one of the busiest freeways in the world. All three freeway-to-freeway interchanges along its length are notorious for their congestion, and are routinely ranked among the top 10 most congested spots in the United States.[citation needed]

Due to the high traffic volume, car accidents are so common that the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has constructed special accident investigation sites separated from the freeway by fences. These enable the California Highway Patrol to quickly clear accidents from the through traffic lanes, and the fences reduce congestion by preventing rubbernecking (in which vehicles slow down so their occupants can watch the accident investigation).[4]

The Santa Monica Freeway is considered the border between West Los Angeles and South Los Angeles. Part of the freeway also skims the Byzantine-Latino quarter, which is home to many immigrants affiliated with the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Accidents edit

Due to the high traffic volume, car accidents are so common that Caltrans has constructed special Accident Investigation Sites (AIS) separated from the freeway by fences. These enable the California Highway Patrol to quickly clear accidents from the through traffic lanes, and the fences reduce congestion by preventing rubbernecking (where cars slow to watch the accident investigation).

Fame edit

Downtown Los Angeles skyline as seen from the freeway. A slight traffic jam is ahead.

The Santa Monica Freeway is the freeway for which ground is being broken in the film L.A. Confidential. It is also remembered for a partial collapse west of downtown (at the large interchange with La Cienega, Venice and Washington boulevards) after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake. The title of punk rock legends The Minutemen's 1984 double album, Double Nickels on the Dime, is trucker slang referring to the freeway's then-current speed limit of 55 miles per hour (90 km/h).

Legal definition edit

The Santa Monica Freeway is Route 10 from Route 1 to Route 5, as named by the State Highway Commission on April 25 1957.[5]

The Rosa Parks Freeway is Route 10 from Route 110 to Route 405, as named by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 134, Chapter 2 in 2002.[6]

My Ideas to reimprove the freeway for the Future edit

 
Heavily defaced button copy sign marking an entrance to the Santa Monica Freeway, 2005

In the future, I might be thinking that I want to widen this freeway to a 12-lane freeway (6 for each direction with one being a HOV Lane with double yellow stripes (which includes reimproving the I-110/CA-110 Interchange) to make traffic faster, reimprove the sound walls and install double-armed street lights on the median barrier.

The HOV Lane runs from the Western Terminus of Interstate 10 to the East LA Interchange which has a ramp transfer that goes to Interstate 5 North.

Requirements to install a HOV Lane for each direction edit

  • Reimproving the I-110/CA-110 Interchange.
  • The old guardrails needs to be replaced with modern barriers from the I-110/CA-110 Interchange to the East LA Interchange.
  • The McClure Tunnel needs to be widened into 6 lanes (3 for each direction).

Exit List edit

Mileage is based on Interstate 10. The entire route is in Los Angeles County.

Locationmi[7]kmExit[7]DestinationsNotes
Santa Monica0.000.00— 
  SR 1 north (Pacific Coast Highway) – Oxnard		Western terminus of I-10; continue as SR 1 north; former US 101 Alternate
1A4th Street / 5th StreetWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.961.541B 
 
  Lincoln Boulevard to SR 1 south		Signed as exit 1A eastbound; former SR 2 / US 66 / US 101 Alternate
20th StreetEastbound exit and westbound entrance
2.083.351CCloverfield BoulevardWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
2.303.702ACentinela AvenueSigned as exit 2 eastbound
Los Angeles2.353.782B-CBundy DriveWestbound exits and eastbound entrance; signed as exits 2B (south) and 2C (north)
3.11–
3.29		5.01–
5.29		3   I-405 – Sacramento, LAX Airport, Long BeachSigned as exits 3A (north) and 3B (south); former SR 7; exit 53B on I-405
4.246.824Overland Avenue / National BoulevardNo westbound signage for National Boulevard
5.058.135National BoulevardWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
5.769.276Robertson Boulevard – Culver City
6.8110.967ALa Cienega Boulevard / Venice Boulevard (SR 187 west)Venice Boulevard / SR 187 only signed westbound
7.0011.277BFairfax Avenue / Washington Boulevard
8.2713.318La Brea Avenue
9.2314.859Crenshaw Boulevard
10.1616.3510Arlington Avenue
10.6617.1611Western AvenueNo exit number westbound
12Normandie Avenue
11.6418.73Vermont Avenue
12.2519.71Hoover Street
12.68–
12.73		20.41–
20.49		13A-B 
  
  I-110 south / SR 110 north / Pico Boulevard – San Pedro, Pasadena, Downtown, Convention Center		Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange. Signed as exits 13A (south) and 13B (north) eastbound; exit 21 on I-110 / SR 110 / Harbor Freeway
13CGrand AvenueNo westbound exit
13.6421.9514AMaple AvenueEastbound exit and westbound entrance
Los Angeles Street – Convention CenterWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
14.2222.8814BSan Pedro StreetNo westbound entrance
14.5523.4215ACentral Avenue
15.1924.4515BAlameda Street
15.7125.2816AMateo Street / Santa Fe Avenue
16.2326.1216B 
  
 
  SR 60 east to I-5 south / Soto Street – Pomona, Santa Ana		Western end of I-5 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance; eastern end of Santa Monica Freeway; exit 1E on SR 60 and exit 134C on I-5 southbound
16CBoyle AvenueEastbound exit only
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
  1. ^ a b Rand McNally (2008). The Road Atlas (Map). Chicago: Rand McNally. pp. 15, 17, 18–19.
  2. ^ a b Thomas Brothers (1999). Los Angeles and Orange Counties Street Guide and Directory (Map). Thomas Brothers. pp. 671, 631, 632, 633, 634, 635, 636, 596, 597, 637, 638, 598, 599, 639, 640, 600, 641.
  3. ^ Masters, Nathan (September 10, 2012). "Creating the Santa Monica Freeway". KCET. Retrieved 4 July 2016. Photo caption: Opening of the Interstate 10 freeway into Santa Monica on January 5, 1966.
  4. ^ Dimassa, Cara Mia (November 27, 2001). "Freeway a Mess? Stop and Take a Look at Yourself". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved July 4, 2016.
  5. ^ 2006 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California (PDF). Caltrans. p. 63. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  6. ^ Ib. at 62
  7. ^ a b Warring, KS (April 18, 2008). "Interstate 10 Freeway Interchanges" (PDF). California Numbered Exit Uniform System. California Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 5, 2009.


10 California Interstate 10 Category:Roads in Los Angeles County, California Category:Transportation in Los Angeles Category:U.S. Route 99 Category:U.S. Route 66

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