INTERSTATE 405 (CALIFORNIA)

'Interstate 405' (abbreviated 'I-405', and colloquially referred to as 'The 405' or ''the four-oh-five''), 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. ^[1] It has played a crucial role in the development of dozens of cities and suburbs along its route through the Greater Los Angeles area.

Contents

Route description

History

Historical events

The O.J. Simpson chase

Other events

Points of interest along the 405

Transportation

Commerce/Recreation

Education and cultural

Control cities

Communities served

In popular media

State law

Exit list

References

External links

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.
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 — 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.

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 (Los Alamitos Curve) were done before 1965, and the newest section was done in 1969, covering most of Orange County.

Historical events

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.

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.
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. ^[2]

Points of interest along the 405

Transportation

★ LAX

★ Long Beach Municipal Airport

★ John Wayne Airport

★ Port of Los Angeles

★ Port of Long Beach

Commerce/Recreation

★ Century City high-rise office park

★ Marina del Rey

★ More than ten California state beaches, as well as many owned by counties and municipalities, and many tourist-heavy beach cities

Education and cultural

★ California State University, Northridge

★ The J. Paul Getty Center

★ The Skirball Cultural Center

★ University of California, Los Angeles

★ Loyola Marymount University

★ California State University, Dominguez Hills

★ California State University, Long Beach

★ University of California, Irvine

Control cities

'Northbound'

★ Long Beach- north from El Toro Y to 7th Street; 22 West (Los Alamitos Curve)

★ Santa Monica- from Interstate 605 (Los Alamitos Curve) to Interstate 10

★ LAX Airport- from Interstate 110 to Interstate 105

★ Sacramento- from Interstate 10 to Interstate 5 Merger
'Southbound'

★ Santa Monica- south from Interstate 5 to Interstate 10

★ LAX Airport- from Interstate 10 to Interstate 105

★ Long Beach- from Interstate 105 to Interstate 710

★ San Diego- from Interstate 710 to El Toro Y

Communities served

Communities along Interstate 405 include

★ Bel-Air

★ Brentwood

★ Carson

★ Costa Mesa

★ Culver City

★ Del Aire

★ Fountain Valley

★ Garden Grove

★ Harbor Gateway

★ Hawthorne

★ Huntington Beach

★ Inglewood

★ Irvine

★ Ladera Heights

★ Laguna Hills

★ Laguna Woods

★ Lake Forest

★ Lawndale

★ Long Beach

★ Mar Vista

★ Mission Hills

★ North Hills

★ Palms

★ Panorama City

★ Sawtelle

★ Seal Beach

★ Sherman Oaks

★ Signal Hill

★ Torrance

★ Van Nuys

★ Westchester

★ West Los Angeles

★ Westminster

★ Westwood

In popular media

★ I-405 was the subject of a 3-minute computer-generated movie called ''405'', produced in May 2000 by Bruce Branit and Jeremy Hunt. The movie depicted a DC-10 jet making an emergency landing on the freeway behind a driver.

★ The band Death Cab for Cutie referenced the interstate in their song titled "405," though the reference is more likely to the Washington interstate of the same name.

★ Lazlo Bane's song ''I'm No Superman'' mentions "heading down the 405" on a journey to work.

★ Lisa Marr's song 'In California' (as performed by Neko Case) refers to 'another suicide on the 405'

★ Switchfoot's song ''Ameteur Lovers'' mentions "drivin' home on the 405" as well as the 805

★ Comedian Dwayne Perkins (Comedy Central Presents...) does a bit about the congestion level of the 405 and his proposed solution: the highway bouncer, who only lets cars pass on their way to work, in case of a medical emergency, or on their way to get a little sumthin' sumthin'.

★ The congestion level is compared to jail i.e. "to all my brother's locked up on the 405", in the Smirnoff "response" video to East Coast Tea Partay

State law

'Legal Definition of Route 405:' California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 615

Exit list

Postmiles are derived from and exit numbers derived from^[3].

County	Location	Postmile	#	Destinations	Notes
Southbound traffic defaults onto 25x20px I-5 San Diego Freeway south
Orange	Irvine	ORA 0.00 ORA 0.02			Southbound left exit and northbound entrance; separate truck / local access bypass ramps
			1A	Lake Forest Drive	Southbound exits and northbound entrances accessible via the Interstate 5 truck bypass ramps
			1B	Bake Parkway
		ORA 0.95	1C	Irvine Center Drive	Exit 1 northbound; northbound exit and entrance accessible via Enterprise
		ORA 1.80	2	; to Eastern Toll Road	No northbound exit to northbound SR 133, served by I-5
		ORA 2.88	3	Sand Canyon Avenue
		ORA 3.95	4	Jeffrey Road; University Drive
		ORA 5.62	5	Culver Drive
		ORA 6.92	7	Jamboree Road
		ORA 7.80	8	MacArthur Boulevard - John Wayne Airport
	Costa Mesa	ORA 8.75	9A		No southbound exit to southbound SR 55, or northbound entrance from northbound SR 55 (both served by SR-73)
		ORA 9.51	9B	Bristol Street	Northbound ramp splits off to connect with Park Center Drive
		ORA 10.29	10		Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		ORA 10.75 ORA 11.45	11	South Coast Drive; Fairview Road; Harbor Boulevard	Exit 11A (Fairview Rd) and Exit 11B (Harbor Blvd) southbound; no direct access to South Coast Dr southbound
	Fountain Valley	ORA 12.41	12	Euclid Street; Newhope Street
		ORA 13.41		Talbert Street	southbound entrance ramp only
		ORA 13.78	14	Brookhurst Street
		ORA 14.82 ORA 15.21	15A	Warner Avenue East	No northbound exit
	Huntington Beach		15B	Magnolia Street; Warner Avenue West	Exit 15 northbound
		ORA 16.54	16		Southbound entrance accessible via Center Ave or Edinger Ave
	Westminster	ORA 17.75 ORA 17.94	18	Bolsa Avenue; Golden West Street
		ORA 19.16	19	Westminster Avenue; Springdale Street
		ORA 20.74	21	; Valley View Street	Northbound exit accessible via Garden Grove Blvd; SR 22 joins northbound and leaves southbound
		Joins with 25x20px SR 22
	Seal Beach	ORA 22.64	22	Seal Beach Boulvevard; Los Alamitos Boulvevard
		ORA 23.27	23		SR-22 joins southbound and leaves northbound
		Splits from 25x20px SR 22
		ORA 24.05	24A		Exit 24 northbound
Los Angeles	Long Beach	LA 0.45	24B	Studebaker Road	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		LA 1.11	25	Palo Verde Avenue	Combined as Exit 25 southbound; southbound entrance from Palo Verde Ave accessible via Stearns St
		LA 1.64	26A	Woodruff Avenue
		LA 2.18	26B	Bellflower Boulvevard	Exit 26 southbound; southbound exit and entrance accessible via Los Coyotes Diagonal
		LA 3.33	27
		LA 4.88	29	Cherry Avenue	Split into Exit 29A and 29B; exits to Cherry Ave South accessible via Temple Ave to Spring St (also Signal Hill)
		LA 5.39	29C	Orange Avenue	Northbound exit and entrance accessible via 32nd St (also Signal Hill)
		LA 6.08	30A	Atlantic Avenue	(also Signal Hill)
		LA 6.34 LA 6.50	30B	Wardlow Road; Long Beach Boulvevard	Southbound exit and entrance accessible via Crest Dr
		LA 6.70	32A	Pacific Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		LA 7.60	32A		Exit 32C southbound
			32B
		LA 8.06	32C	Santa Fe Avenue	Exit 32D southbound; northbound exit and entrance accessible via Warnock Way; Southbound exit and entrance accessible via Wardlow Rd
		LA 8.19	33A	Alameda Street	Southbound exit and entrance accessible via 223rd St
	Carson	LA 9.56	33B	Wilmington Avenue
		LA 10.54	34	Carson Street
		LA 11.22	35	Avalon Boulvevard
		LA 12.60	36	Main Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
	Los Angeles	LA 12.96	37A		Exit 37 northbound
		LA 13.28	37B	Vermont Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		LA 13.83	38A	Normandie Avenue	Southbound exit accessible via 190th St
		LA 14.40	38B	Western Avenue	Southbound exit and entrance accessible via 190th St
	Torrance	LA 15.45	39	Crenshaw Boulvevard	Northbound exit and entrance accessible via 182nd St
		LA 16.57	40A		Exit 40 northbound
		LA 16.88	40B	Redondo Beach Boulvevard	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	Lawndale	LA 17.59	42A
		LA 18.23	42B	Inglewood Avenue
	Hawthorne	LA 19.21	43	Rosecrans Avenue	Split between Exit 43A (East) and Exit 43B (West) southbound
		LA 20.17	44	El Segundo Boulvevard - El Segundo	Southbound exit accessible via La Cienega Blvd
		LA	45A		Exit 45 southbound
	Los Angeles	LA 21.22	45B	Imperial Highway	Southbound exit combined with Exit 46 (Century Blvd); southbound exit and entrance accessible via La Cienega Blvd
	Inglewood	LA 22.22	46	Century Blvd	Southbound exit combined Imperial Highway; southbound exit and entrance accessible via La Cienega Blvd
		LA 23.36 LA 23.64	47	; La Cienega Blvd
	Los Angeles	LA 24.27	48	La Tijera Boulvevard
		LA 24.56	49A	Howard Hughes Parkway	Exit 49 southbound
	Culver City	LA 25.96	49B	Slauson Avenue	Exit 50B southbound, combined with SR 90; northbound exit accessible via Sepulveda Blvd; northbound entrance accessible via Jefferson Blvd
			50A		Exit 50B southbound, combined with Slauson Ave
			50B	Jefferson Boulvevard	Exit 50A southbound
		LA 27.20	51	Culver Blvd; Washington Boulvevard	Northbound exit and southbound exit accessible via Sawtelle Blvd; southbound entrance accessible via Braddock Dr
		LA 27.95	52	Venice Blvd; Washington Boulvevard	Northbound exit and entrance accessible via Sepulveda Blvd; southbound exit and entrance accessible via Sawtelle Blvd
	Los Angeles	LA 29.16	53A	National Blvd	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		LA 29.53	53B		Exit 53 southbound
		LA 30.18	54	Olympic Blvd	Southbound exit (accessible via Sawtelle Blvd) and northbound entrance (accessible via Cotner Avenue)
		LA 30.87	55A		Northbound exit and entrance accessible via Cotner Ave; southbound exit and entrance accessible via Sawtelle Blvd
		LA 31.54	55B	Wilshire Blvd	Spilt into Exit 55B (East) and 55C (West) southbound
		LA 32.50	56	Montana Avenue	Northbound exit only, accessible via Sepulveda Blvd
			56	Waterford St	Southbound exit and entrance (Permanently Closed)
		LA 33.00	57A	Sunset Boulevard	Exit 57 southbound, accessible via Church Ln
		LA 33.20	57B	Moraga Drive	Northbound exit and entrance
		LA 34.76	59	Getty Center Drive
		LA 36.72	61	Mulholland Drive; Skirball Center Dr
		LA 38.59	63A	Valley Vista Boulvevard	Southbound exit and entrance only, both accessible via Sepulveda Blvd
		LA 39.00	63A	Ventura Boulvevard	Southbound exit accessible only via 101 South; northbound exit and entrance accessible via Sepulveda Blvd
		LA 39.46	63B
		LA 40.29	64	Burbank Boulvevard
		LA 41.36	65	Victory Boulvevard	Southbound exit accessible via Haskell Ave
		LA 42.36	66	Sherman Way	Split into Exit 66A (East) and Exit 66B (West) northbound; southbound exit accessible via Haskell Ave
		LA 43.76	68	Roscoe Boulvevard
		LA 44.74	69	Nordhoff Street
		LA 46.24	70	Devonshire Street
		LA 46.25	71A		Exit 71 southbound
		LA 47.24	71B	San Fernando Mission Blvd	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		LA 47.75	72	Rinaldi Street	Northbound exit and entrance accessible via Sepulveda Blvd
		LA 48.52			Northbound exit and southbound entrance; separate truck bypass ramps
Northbound traffic defaults onto 25x20px I-5 Golden State Freeway north

References

1. Santa Monica College Corsair News Article
2. USOC News: Amber battles back after car accident
3. Cal-NExUS Interchange Exit Numbering

External links

★ Western Exit Guide - Interstate 405 California