Interstate 710
Routing
Interstate 710 is the Long Beach Freeway, which roughly parallels Atlantic Boulevard and the Los Angeles River from Long Beach north to Los Angeles near Alhambra. This a heavy trucking corridor that carries traffic from the busy Port of Los Angeles north to east of downtown Los Angeles. At Alhambra, Interstate 710 connects to transcontinental Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway). The numbering of Interstate 710 as a spur of Interstate 10 is related to the fact that both Interstate 110 and Interstate 710 connect that freeway with the port. Interstate 710 was original constructed as California 15 and was renumbered as California 7 in 1964. When the California 7 freeway was added to the Interstate Highway System in the mid-1980s, it was renumbered as Interstate 710.
The southern terminus of Interstate 710 is fractured, as it separates into three "spur" freeways: the Terminal Island Spur (this is the official continuation of Interstate 710 south), the downtown Long Beach Spur, and the Queen Mary Spur. Interstate 710 splits into these three spurs after it passes Exit 1, Anaheim Street. The official southern terminus (per the exit numbering) is where the Interstate splits into these three spurs, but confusing signage makes it appear like all three spurs are part of Interstate 710. Therefore, we consider each spur to be part of Interstate 710, even though some sections of these Interstate 710 spurs are maintained by the city of Long Beach.
Gerald Desmond Bridge
The Gerald Desmond Bridge, a through steel arch bridge, carries Interstate 710 over the Back Channel, which separates the Port of Long Beach on the mainland from the ports on Terminal Island. The bridge opened to traffic on June 5, 1968, on the evening after Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated.1 Improvements to the bridge totaling $14 million were completed in 2002, including adding a climbing lane and moving sidewalks to the exterior of the truss to allow for the extra lane. It is considered deficient and is scheduled for replacement with a higher span that would provide adequate clearance for the tallest container ships that pass through the port.
Future Aspirations
The northern terminus of Interstate 710 at Interstate 10 and Valley Boulevard in Alhambra is temporary. Plans call for extension of Interstate 710 from Alhambra north to Interstate 210 in Pasadena, but a construction has not begun due to litigation and ongoing controversy of the selected route of the freeway. It is not clear when this freeway will be constructed. There will not be an interchange at the point where Interstate 710 would meet California 110. A short California 710 spur currently exists from the Interstate 210/California 134 interchange in Pasadena south to Del Mar Boulevard. The future Interstate 710 freeway would connect this stub with the existing Interstate 710 in Alhambra.
Interstate 710 Guide
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