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I-605

Started by Max Rockatansky, January 04, 2023, 11:01:27 AM

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Max Rockatansky

Surprisingly we don't seem to have a dedicated I-605 thread.  Put together something on Gribblenation:

Interstate 605 is a 27.4-mile freeway located in the Los Angeles Metropolitain Area.  Interstate 605 begins at Interstate 210 near Duarte and terminates at the Interstate 405/California State Route 22 junction to the south near the boundary to the city of Long Beach.  Interstate 605 is known as the San Gabriel River Freeway and has three unconstructed miles which would extend it south to California State Route 1 near Seal Beach.  Much of the corridor of Interstate 605 was built up from what was the original California State Route 35.  The blog cover photo is taken from the July/August 1964 California Highways & Public Works which featured the initial segment of Interstate 605 to open between Whittier Boulevard and Peck Road.

https://www.gribblenation.org/2023/01/interstate-605.html?m=1


jdbx

I don't know if this was covered or discussed elsewhere, but does anybody happen to know the reason why I-605 was never posted with control cities?

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: jdbx on January 04, 2023, 05:46:19 PM
I don't know if this was covered or discussed elsewhere, but does anybody happen to know the reason why I-605 was never posted with control cities?

I've never heard anything official.  It just seems to be a case of it not actually ending in a city like Long Beach.

Amaury

If I remember correctly, there were plans for this here in Washington, but they never came to fruition.
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ClassicHasClass

Quote from: jdbx on January 04, 2023, 05:46:19 PM
I don't know if this was covered or discussed elsewhere, but does anybody happen to know the reason why I-605 was never posted with control cities?

I, for one, welcome our THRU TRAFFIC overlords.

bing101

Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.

heynow415

Quote from: bing101 on January 05, 2023, 06:43:10 PM
Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.

If they still use "Stockton" as a control city for 580 east when it doesn't get within 30 miles of it (likely a holdover from the US 50 days) then it seems they could have used a community at or near either end of "the" 605 as being close enough.

Occidental Tourist

#7
Long Beach would likely be appropriate as a southbound control city as it's a perfectly viable route to get into Long Beach and one I often take. Presumably it was not signed on the 605 so as to (1) prevent motorist confusion since the 710 is also signed for Long Beach and goes directly downtown, and (2) at the time the 605 was being signed, the 22 freeway extension west of the 405 and the eventual connection to the Route 1 "Pacific Coast Freeway"  (or Crosstown Freeway) was still on the books. That would have also presumably used a Long Beach control city.

Interestingly enough, at the 405/605 interchange where the 605 effectively ends, the 22 west exit onto 7th Street is signed with Long Beach as the control city on both the 405 north and the 605 south. Further, the 405 north is signed with Santa Monica as the control city at that point on both the 405 and 605. Thus, even though traveling on the 405 north past the 605 interchange will eventually take you to the 710 and its straight shot to downtown Long Beach, once you pass the 605 interchange, the signage tells you you're headed to Santa Monica and presumes that if you needed to get to Long Beach, you would have exited at the 22 west (i.e., the 605 south terminus).

As for northbound, presumably it would be hard to select an appropriate representative destination due to how small the communities are in the San Gabriel Valley near where the the 605 north terminus is, and thus may not be helpful to motorists as a guide. The 605 north technically ends in Duarte (just like the 605 south technically terminates in the northwesternmost sliver of Seal Beach), but it also ends near Azusa and the road to San Gabriel Canyon and a routing into the Angeles National Forest. But I'm not sure that Duarte, Azusa, or San Gabriel Canyon are popular enough to be an aid to motorists as control cities.

Complicating the issue is that when the first leg of the 605 opened, its northern terminus was the 10, not the 210. The 210 had not yet been constructed. So when originally opened, the 605 ended in South El Monte or possibly Baldwin Park. Again, two more smaller cities that might not be much of an aid to motorists.

Finally, although this may not have been the case when it was planned or built, the 210 is now primarily used as an alternative route for the 10. Thus, on the 10 during commute times, VMS's will display comparable travel times on the 10, 60, and 210 freeways in each direction as you approach the 605 freeway. Eastbound on the 10 at the 605 interchange, comparable travel times on each freeway for reaching the 57 freeway are displayed. Given this, a northbound control city may not be particularly helpful to motorists. Somebody heading north on the 605 may be using it to get to the 210 for an alternate route westbound toward Pasadena and LA in the mornings and eastbound towards the exurbs and San Bernardino in the evenings. Thus, where the 605 ends up doesn't really matter for these motorists; the northbound 605 is merely a conduit to reach the 210 going one direction or the other.

THRU TRAFFIC is a pretty worthless control city, particularly when the pull-throughs that use Thru Traffic don't even have lane arrows. The 605 is probably one of those 3di's that is better having no control cities at all, or at least shouldn't have one northbound.

TheStranger

Quote from: Occidental Tourist on January 07, 2023, 08:29:15 PM


THRU TRAFFIC is a pretty worthless control city, particularly when the pull-throughs that use Thru Traffic don't even have lane arrows. The 605 is probably one of those 3di's that is better having no control cities at all, or at least shouldn't have one northbound.

If 605 north were to ever have control cities (I fully agree with your idea of Long Beach as a southbound control), my thoughts:

Norwalk from 405 to 5 maybe (after all, isn't Norwalk the 105 east control?)
West Covina (which is off 10 but not far from 605 itself) between 5 and 10
Irwindale or Duarte, maybe better expressed as "605 to 210" with the control city listed, which is similar to existing Caltrans practice (980 to 880 signage in Oakland, 380 to 280/380 to 101 signage in San Bruno, and for something more local, 101 to 5/10/60 in Boyle Heights on the Santa Ana Freeway)
Chris Sampang

skluth

^
I don't see a problem with using Duarte or Seal Beach as control cities. They're larger than Limon CO or Tomah Wi, and those states have no issues using those <10K cities as control cities. I doubt most people would know Limon or Tomah existed if it weren't for the interstate but their importance as highway junctions makes them acceptable control cities. Seal Beach and Duarte are both >20K, not large compared to many other So Cal cities including suburbs but good enough for government work as the saying goes. I'm sure most drivers - especially local drivers - would quickly learn which direction Seal Beach and Duarte are if they were used as control cities. Norwalk would also be good as I-605 intersects I-105 within its corporate limits and I-5 just north of its limits.

Max Rockatansky

My preference would be Duarte and Long Beach.

skluth

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2023, 12:29:12 PM
My preference would be Duarte and Long Beach.

Long Beach would be better than Seal Beach. I-605 does actually go through part of Long Beach. I used Seal Beach because that had been discussed earlier.

pderocco

How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: pderocco on January 08, 2023, 11:17:37 PM
How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

I've found most average people legitimately cannot tell you where north, south, east and west are if you ask them. 

GaryA

Quote from: pderocco on January 08, 2023, 11:17:37 PM
How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

Too few people have enough of a sense of direction, although I do prefer direction-only signage to control-city-only signage.

For the north end of I-605, I think Pasadena isn't entirely unsuitable.  Granted, the 605 doesn't enter Pasadena or even get all that close.  But it does have the advantages that Pasadena is well known and is the control city on I-210 West, so anyone trying to use "I-605 Pasadena" to actually get to Pasadena wouldn't get lost.  Still... not good enough.  Duarte is probably the best idea.

skluth

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2023, 11:21:26 PM
Quote from: pderocco on January 08, 2023, 11:17:37 PM
How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

I've found most average people legitimately cannot tell you where north, south, east and west are if you ask them.

It doesn't help when people think of places as being in one direction when they are not. E.g., many people think Santa Barbara is north of LA because it's further up the coast. Technically Santa Barbara is slightly north but it's more west of LA than north.

ClassicHasClass

Quote from: pderocco on January 08, 2023, 11:17:37 PM
How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

What is this, Maine?  :sombrero:

pderocco

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2023, 11:21:26 PM
Quote from: pderocco on January 08, 2023, 11:17:37 PM
How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

I've found most average people legitimately cannot tell you where north, south, east and west are if you ask them.

True. But I think people generally know that LA is north of Long Beach, even if when standing in a parking lot on a cloudy day they couldn't point north. So just saying "Points North is this way" would tell people that's how you get to those various places that everyone kinda sorta knows are north. I recall a few such signs back in New England on freeways, maybe the Mass Pike saying "Points West".

GaryA

Quote from: pderocco on January 11, 2023, 01:59:23 AM
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 08, 2023, 11:21:26 PM
Quote from: pderocco on January 08, 2023, 11:17:37 PM
How about "Points North" and "Points South", instead of control cities? Or do most people have no sense of direction?

I've found most average people legitimately cannot tell you where north, south, east and west are if you ask them.

True. But I think people generally know that LA is north of Long Beach, even if when standing in a parking lot on a cloudy day they couldn't point north. So just saying "Points North is this way" would tell people that's how you get to those various places that everyone kinda sorta knows are north. I recall a few such signs back in New England on freeways, maybe the Mass Pike saying "Points West".

If I-605 tried to use "Points North" at the I-5 junction, that would be silly, because the most direct route to most points north of the LA Basin (e.g., Sacramento) would be to use I-5.    Californians often think of "North" and "South" as running along either I-5 or US 101, even though both are somewhat northwest-southeast.

Plus, you'd end up with a situation where I-605 ended and your choices are I-210 West and East.  Which one do you use to reach points North from there?  It's not obvious, and depends on where you're trying to reach.

Henry

#19
I've checked every freeway-to-freeway junction in Streetview, and each one says the same thing: I-605 NORTH/SOUTH, with no control cities. Sure, I've seen a sign with a "Freeway" beside the shield, but other than that, nothing.

I-405: North, South
CA 91: East, West
I-105: East
I-5: North, South
CA 60: East, West
I-10: East, West (includes a rarer "Fwy" mention beside the shield)
I-210: East, West

Even at the southbound beginning, it just says "I-605 Freeway SOUTH."
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Quillz

Quote from: bing101 on January 05, 2023, 06:43:10 PM
Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.
And yet I-405 is the "San Diego Freeway" and has "Sacramento" and "San Diego" as control cities when it's nowhere near either, only providing indirect access. Just strange they are okay making those control cities yet won't post any for the 605.

StogieGuy7

Quote from: Quillz on January 19, 2023, 12:16:47 AM
Quote from: bing101 on January 05, 2023, 06:43:10 PM
Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.
And yet I-405 is the "San Diego Freeway" and has "Sacramento" and "San Diego" as control cities when it's nowhere near either, only providing indirect access. Just strange they are okay making those control cities yet won't post any for the 605.

In theory, the 405 is a bypass of I-5 and it does link to it at each end. As I-5 travels through both San Diego and Sacramento, I'll allow it.

skluth

Quote from: Quillz on January 19, 2023, 12:16:47 AM
Quote from: bing101 on January 05, 2023, 06:43:10 PM
Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.
And yet I-405 is the "San Diego Freeway" and has "Sacramento" and "San Diego" as control cities when it's nowhere near either, only providing indirect access. Just strange they are okay making those control cities yet won't post any for the 605.

Using a major city that is not on the 3DI is common practice across the country. This sign uses Memphis as a control city for I-255 for those who want to bypass St Louis on I-55. Same concept here for those going to Madison. This bypass around Richmond is marked with DC as a control city though again the 3DI doesn't go to DC (and probably half the traffic using this interchange on holiday weekends is going to DC). It's also pretty common in California as it's seen here and here and here.

Quillz

Quote from: skluth on January 19, 2023, 12:46:01 PM
Quote from: Quillz on January 19, 2023, 12:16:47 AM
Quote from: bing101 on January 05, 2023, 06:43:10 PM
Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.
And yet I-405 is the "San Diego Freeway" and has "Sacramento" and "San Diego" as control cities when it's nowhere near either, only providing indirect access. Just strange they are okay making those control cities yet won't post any for the 605.

Using a major city that is not on the 3DI is common practice across the country. This sign uses Memphis as a control city for I-255 for those who want to bypass St Louis on I-55. Same concept here for those going to Madison. This bypass around Richmond is marked with DC as a control city though again the 3DI doesn't go to DC (and probably half the traffic using this interchange on holiday weekends is going to DC). It's also pretty common in California as it's seen here and here and here.
I don't disagree with any of that. That's why I find it strange they won't post any control cities for I-605.

GaryA

Quote from: skluth on January 19, 2023, 12:46:01 PM
Quote from: Quillz on January 19, 2023, 12:16:47 AM
Quote from: bing101 on January 05, 2023, 06:43:10 PM
Near Seal Beach and Near Duarte are factors why Caltrans never assigned control cities for I-605.
And yet I-405 is the "San Diego Freeway" and has "Sacramento" and "San Diego" as control cities when it's nowhere near either, only providing indirect access. Just strange they are okay making those control cities yet won't post any for the 605.

Using a major city that is not on the 3DI is common practice across the country. This sign uses Memphis as a control city for I-255 for those who want to bypass St Louis on I-55. Same concept here for those going to Madison. This bypass around Richmond is marked with DC as a control city though again the 3DI doesn't go to DC (and probably half the traffic using this interchange on holiday weekends is going to DC). It's also pretty common in California as it's seen here and here and here.

To make such a signing reasonable, I think there are several conditions:  The route must be the most reasonable way to reach the signed destination from the signage point; at (and after) the route's termination, signage must continue to use that original signed destination; and that direction must be the "preferred" or "natural" direction of traffic at the termination of the route.

For example, signing "405 South San Diego" is reasonable, since that is how you most likely would, in fact, travel to San Diego and traffic at the south end of the 405 must flow onto "5 South San Diego".  Similarly with "405 North Sacramento" and most of the other existing cases.

I'd say you could make a case to sign "605 South San Diego", but only near the south end of I-605 (certainly not at or north of I-5, probably past CA 91 or further south).  Doesn't seem worthwhile to me.  And what city would you sign until the point you started to sign San Diego?

However, neither direction is "natural" at the north end of I-605.  Perhaps a slight preference for turning onto 210 East, but signing "605 North San Bernardino" would be ridiculous (especially at or south of I-10).



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