Favorite Stretch of Freeway in the Los Angeles Area.

[nexus73]

I wouldn't call the 14 fun personally.... but maybe cause it leads to the god awful AV.

I've never quite seen the purpose of Palmcaster, and of course the godawful China Lake, whose existence seems to be geared towards the financial support of Wal-Mart.

Palmcaster...LOL!

Rick

[bulkyorled]

I wouldn't call the 14 fun personally.... but maybe cause it leads to the god awful AV.

I've never quite seen the purpose of Palmcaster, and of course the godawful China Lake, whose existence seems to be geared towards the financial support of Wal-Mart.

There is no purpose. Its just a shitbox. If there is a purpose it would be to make everyone who lives there angry and depressed. And also embarrass the county...

[cpzilliacus]

I'd have to go with CA 73 and 241, even though they're tolled, it keeps them relatively free of traffic.

The views and vistas from both Ca. 73 and Ca. 241 are superb on a reasonably clear day.

The 5 isn't bad south of the 55 interchange either, it starts to move pretty nicely until you get to around Oceanside.

There are not that many Interstates that have as long of a view of saltwater as I-5 does in northern San Diego County.

[Interstate Trav]

I wouldn't call the 14 fun personally.... but maybe cause it leads to the god awful AV.

I guess since I used to also take the 14 to Mojave to the 58 as a Route to Las Vegas, it was always the getaway freeway to me.  When I moved out of Antelope Valley, the only time I was getting on the 14 was to go visit my Grandparents in Tehachpi, or going to Las Vegas.  So it was the headed to Las Vegas freeway for me.

[LA_MetroMan]

The 64 westbound just after it crosses the 101 in Calabasas...... oh, wait - that never got built (thwack).....

When traffic is light? The 2 freeway from the 210 down to the 5 ... I love that long sweeping grade with LA skyscrapers peeking over the Elysians.

[Mark68]

210 east of the 57
I-15 south of Corona as far as the 163 split
I-15 from 210 north to US 395
101 from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara
I-5 from Magic Mtn Pkwy to the Grapevine
I-5 from PCH (SJC) to Oceanside

[LA_MetroMan]

210 east of the 57
I-15 south of Corona as far as the 163 split
I-15 from 210 north to US 395
101 from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara
I-5 from Magic Mtn Pkwy to the Grapevine
I-5 from PCH (SJC) to Oceanside

Mark:

You mentioned I-5 twixt Magic Mtn Pkwy to the Grapevine. I used to live right off of Parker Road at the freeway. Back in 1987 they had just started to build a 2,800 housing community just north of Hasley Canyon. That community stretched east. At that time, my commute to Van Nuys started backing up at Magic Mountain, then sucked through Lyons almost to Calgrove, then it cleared up through the Newhall Stack. To that point, about 20 minutes.

I figured out of 2,800 homes, there would be approximately 600 new cars going my way the same time, the same days.  At the time, it was a 3 lane to 4 lane freeway, the 4th being constructed near LYONS. We'll call it a 3 lane. That's 200 cars per lane each morning added to the commute over a 10 mile stretch. We sold, for other reasons, and moved back to Redondo Beach. Even with 4 lanes being built, that was still another 150 per lane over that 10 mile stretch. I imagine, but am not sure, the same commute today might be 35 minutes ?


So, I beg the question - what do you really like about that part of the freeway ?   LOL.

[LA_MetroMan]

110 - Arroyo Seco Pkwy, as I said on the other thread you can feel the road and its fast and winding. I love it haha That or the 210 between the 5 and Sunland Blvd since it feels open and fast.

I have actually never driven that freeway before, just about every other freeway in Los Angeles but not that one.  Really curiuos to now.

Its pretty fun haha It sounds strange to say its fun to drive the pkwy but it is. Going North is more fun in my opinion cause you come out on Arroyo Pkwy in Pasadena which is rather unique on its own. Pretty much the only flashing yellow arrow set i've ever seen! haha


I don't care for the 118 though. Apparently its the most (or one of the most) ticketed routes in California and I have to use it to go visit my dad in Chatsworth and it always makes me paranoid. And its got a slight incline going West so it sucks the gas back a bit more.

I'd have to say the nicest part of the 118 through the valley would be the way it box cuts into the mountainside. When it first opened (before some off-ramps were even finished), I'd pull over and study the bridges overhead. Wow, the rise from south to north was impressive. Quite a feat of engineering, that 118. No better or worse than any other freeway, just unique to the valley landscape.

[Interstatefan78]

My Favorite stretches of LA area freeways are I-5 from exit 107 to CA-1 in Dana Point since it's 10 to 14 lanes wide and including the El Torro Y and carpool lanes, Harbor Freeway (I-110) from I-10 to I-105 since it has the Harbor Transitway an elevated Carpool Lane and the I-110/I-105 interchange, and US-101 from Camarillio to Gaviota gorge since it follows the Pacific Ocean for 68 milies, but New Jersey lacks a scenic freeway running along the coast, and 10 lane freeways that allow hov or Carpools in a designated lane 

[mc78andrew]

I am here in LA now visiting from westchester county NY.  I have been here before, but on business when I wasn't driving. I'll say this; this place is awesome for a roadgeek.  Sure there are imperfections, but overall this metro area is a pleasure to drive around with massive freeways taking you pretty much wherever you need to go.  I can't say I have a favorite since I love the whole thing.

I am staying in Pasadena and so far have driven from lax to Pasadena via 105 to 110 freeway then 110 parkway.  I drove 710 to 5 to Disney, then came back 5 to 605 to 10.  I have to say the 5 through norwalk is a black eye in an otherwise impressive network...it's 10+ lanes on either side of that city and only 6 within Norwalk...feels like the 1960s for about 5 miles.  Today I drove 134 to 101 to 405 to the Getty center.  I was going to come back 405 to 10 and scope out the construction, but my wife wanted to see bel air and bev hills so I drove sunset all the way from the 405 to the 101 then hopped back on the 110 parkway to back to Pasadena.  I told her that we were going to miss the Santa Monica freeway which is one of the busiest and most awesome freeways in the world, but she did not care. 

I am quickly running out of ideas for things to do here and place to go see before I go to the rose bowl on Tuesday, so I am taking suggestions if anyone has any.  It was freezing here today and I refuse to go to another overcrowded theme park...was thinking of driving to Santa Barbara or something...donno yet. 

SoCal is a great place...must have been nice to grow up here for those of you that did. 

[Alps]

I am quickly running out of ideas for things to do here and place to go see before I go to the rose bowl on Tuesday, so I am taking suggestions if anyone has any.  It was freezing here today and I refuse to go to another overcrowded theme park...was thinking of driving to Santa Barbara or something...donno yet. 

SoCal is a great place...must have been nice to grow up here for those of you that did. 

Drive the 405, that will use up a day. No, seriously, check out the 710 Pasadena stub off of 210, go button copy crazy all over the place, and drive up US 66 a ways (start at Santa Monica Pier even though 66 never did, then east on Santa Monica Blvd. toward downtown). Definitely check out the Colorado St. Bridge, original US 66, just west of the north end of CA 110/Arroyo Seco. You can get down beneath it fairly easily, too. Finally, there are cool bridges at the southern end of 710/110 (don't know that you went all the way to the end), and I'd drive some of the PCH just to say you did. You can also clinch the end of I-10 that way.

[mc78andrew]

Back from my trip today. 

We drove out the 10 to Santa Monica and then up the pch to Oxnard.  Stopped at a few beaches along the way to let my son run around, but not where those huge cliffs are in malibu. 

Once in Oxnard, after visiting the beach there, I drove us back the 101 all the way to 405 and then to Beverly Hills for shopping and a late lunch.  Thanks for the idea.  It was an awesome drive.

I also photographed the colorado street bridge from the floor of the valley in some little park that had a lot of people practicing archery.  I'll post them when I return.  It really is a cool looking bridge.  Again thanks for that idea. 

Tomorrow I want to do some mountain or desert driving.  Not sure where I am headed yet, but I am open to ideas if anyone has any.  We might drive down to the SD zoo and thus might have to parlay any driving with something down that way.

You are right about button copy.  I have seen people write about it for years here.  I am not into signs as much the freeways themselves, but I certainly can appreciate the amount of button copy around here.  Even in Beverly Hills they have old button copy signs just about 1/2 way between each major street on sunset blvd telling you what the next cross street is.  Then when you get to that street there is a nice modern sign.  Also, there are many single pole signs even in Ventura county on cal 1 and the 101 that are clearly very old and have button copy.  So can someone tell me in a few words what the deal is and why these have survived?  I only see them rarely in the northeast now a days.  One thing is for sure, those puppies ar durable.

[Alps]

CA has just never gone about replacing signs. They're finally starting to now, but the weather conditions out there are ideal to preserve things (not all that far removed from desert), so 50 year old signs out there look as good as 25 year old signs over here in the East. Combine that with the fact that California is very stubborn, so they never upgraded their sign backgrounds, so they were posting non-reflective signs with button copy almost up to 2000.

[SignBridge]

You really need to check out the 405 thru Sepulveda Pass, preferably northbound. You can see the majestic Mulholland Dr. overpass, now being replaced with a new one, and then the decent into the San Fernando valley.

[mc78andrew]

You really need to check out the 405 thru Sepulveda Pass, preferably northbound. You can see the majestic Mulholland Dr. overpass, now being replaced with a new one, and then the decent into the San Fernando valley.

I did this in the opposite direction twice now (south bound). That bridge is impresive...too bad I missed the old one.  I did exit at Wilshire from the 405 and got to see the new interchange under construction.  I wish I could fast forward some of these mega projects so I could see the results today. 

[mc78andrew]

Hopefully I am not boring anyone here...this will be my last post on this as I am heading to the rose bowl tomorrow and then going back to NY.  Thanks for all the suggestions.

Today I drove cal 2 through the Angeles natl forest...basically from Altadena to Wrightwood.  There was a lot more snow than I though there would be.  Needed a 4 wheel drive for sure...good thing I rented a QX56.  I'll try and post a pic or to when I am back, but maybe in another thread where it's more appropriate.  Anway, the snow is a few feet deep in spots.

Once in Wrightwood, we took 138 to the 15. Then I road 15 and got onto the 91 freeway into Orange County. We then took the 241 toll road which was absolutely beautiful scenery and a very fast and wide open road.  Got hit for 3.25, then another 2.50 down by 133 which we took all the way to Laguna beach...5.25 in tolls in nothing for a New Yorker and was well worth it to have some open road and awesome OC views.  On my way back to Pasadena I took the 405 to the 710 and basically clinched the 710.  710 is a great ride between 405 and 5..looks like that was redone recently and there is a lack of old button copy there for a few miles. 

I have seen a lot in the past few days...this is the freeway capital of the USA and you really need to be on your toes here to make your freeway to freeway connections or even find your exit.  Is perfect for me as a roadgeek and as a good driver if I may say so...I abosolutely love it here.  I think my favorite freeway is the 110 coming north out of downtown towards Pasadena  going through all the tunnels. That is clearly not interstate standard, but that's okay since it's not signed as an interstate and it reminds me of the narrow curvey parkways of the NE. 

[SignBridge]

Not boring at all. I had a similar experience to yours on my first California/L.A. trip in 1984. Had an absolute blast for a week doing pretty much the same things you did. I couldn't wait to get back to L.A. again and went back twice more thru the years, but never again got the clear weather I had on the first trip. Wish I could re-live that week in 1984!

BTW, did you drive Mulholland Dr. between the 405 and the 101, both day and night? The view of the San Fernando Valley is worth the whole trip, especially if you happen to get clear weather. If you didn't, put it on your list for the next trip in a few years. 

[mc78andrew]

Not boring at all. I had a similar experience to yours on my first California/L.A. trip in 1984. Had an absolute blast for a week doing pretty much the same things you did. I couldn't wait to get back to L.A. again and went back twice more thru the years, but never again got the clear weather I had on the first trip. Wish I could re-live that week in 1984!

BTW, did you drive Mulholland Dr. between the 405 and the 101, both day and night? The view of the San Fernando Valley is worth the whole trip, especially if you happen to get clear weather. If you didn't, put it on your list for the next trip in a few years. 

Couldnt do mulholland...was on the list and man has it been clear...with the exception of Saturday when it friggin snowed almost in Pasadena.  I will keep that on the next time list. 

I will retire in Orange County or somewhere on the socal coast if i can afford it...Only need a few more million!!  At this rate I will retire in...well...to spare any insults..lets just say retirement might never happen...will probably die at my desk. 

What a sight it was to see SoCal weekend warriors drive up to the snow in little front wheel drive cars.  What a mess...reminded me of when people from the Bronx or some other boro other than manhattan venture to the mountains to try skiing.

One last question.  This is the only place I know of where you put the word "the" in front of the number of the freeway when you speak or write about it.  I don't think that's just me since I swear I have been hearing that all my life from people who live here.  I have to say is sounds right and has come naturally to me here.  If anyone wants to shed some light or thoughts on hat I'd be curious to hear them. 

[myosh_tino]

One last question.  This is the only place I know of where you put the word "the" in front of the number of the freeway when you speak or write about it.

Only in Southern California.

Native Northern Californians do not refer to freeways as "The 5" or "The 80".  Up here it's I-5 for Interstates, US 101 for US Routes, Highway 99 for state routes or just simply the route number (i.e. 5, 101, 99, etc).

[TheStranger]

Native Northern Californians do not refer to freeways as "The 5" or "The 80".  Up here it's I-5 for Interstates, US 101 for US Routes, Highway 99 for state routes or just simply the route number (i.e. 5, 101, 99, etc).

And the occasional name (Bayshore, MacArthur, Eastshore, Nimitz, Central...)

[roadfro]

One last question.  This is the only place I know of where you put the word "the" in front of the number of the freeway when you speak or write about it.

Only in Southern California.

Native Northern Californians do not refer to freeways as "The 5" or "The 80".  Up here it's I-5 for Interstates, US 101 for US Routes, Highway 99 for state routes or just simply the route number (i.e. 5, 101, 99, etc).

Nevada vernacular follows the California pattern: Southern Nevada (Las Vegas) uses "The 15", Northern Nevada (Reno/Sparks/Carson City) uses "I-80" or "80".

[CentralCAroadgeek]

After driving through several new LA freeways this past week, I've started to like more freeways here.

- I-5 through Orange County is amazing! Big, wide freeways and awesome interchanges. I also like the use of high mast lighting for the interchanges.
- US-101 through Hollywood is a great drive, and the approach to downtown is nice.
- The Arroyo Seco Pkwy was a unique drive, but we drove it in the early morning, so I couldn't see the scenery. The Figueroa Tunnels part was pretty fun as well.
- 134 is a pretty drive through the hills west of Pasadena.

[Mark68]

210 east of the 57
I-15 south of Corona as far as the 163 split
I-15 from 210 north to US 395
101 from Thousand Oaks to Santa Barbara
I-5 from Magic Mtn Pkwy to the Grapevine
I-5 from PCH (SJC) to Oceanside

Mark:

You mentioned I-5 twixt Magic Mtn Pkwy to the Grapevine. I used to live right off of Parker Road at the freeway. Back in 1987 they had just started to build a 2,800 housing community just north of Hasley Canyon. That community stretched east. At that time, my commute to Van Nuys started backing up at Magic Mountain, then sucked through Lyons almost to Calgrove, then it cleared up through the Newhall Stack. To that point, about 20 minutes.

I figured out of 2,800 homes, there would be approximately 600 new cars going my way the same time, the same days.  At the time, it was a 3 lane to 4 lane freeway, the 4th being constructed near LYONS. We'll call it a 3 lane. That's 200 cars per lane each morning added to the commute over a 10 mile stretch. We sold, for other reasons, and moved back to Redondo Beach. Even with 4 lanes being built, that was still another 150 per lane over that 10 mile stretch. I imagine, but am not sure, the same commute today might be 35 minutes ?


So, I beg the question - what do you really like about that part of the freeway ?   LOL.

Well, I like the drive NORTH from there. Out of the Basin. Love the reverse-direction section & pretty much the whole section from Castaic to the 99 split. I only mention MM Pkwy because...well, I happen to like Magic Mtn. I like roller coasters.

[OCGuy81]

I'd have to go with CA 73 and 241, even though they're tolled, it keeps them relatively free of traffic.

Agreed! Love the OC tollways.