1943 book: Freeways for the Region (LA)

[Revive 755]

http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/trafficplans/1943_freeways_for_the_region.pdf

There's a description of interchange types on Page 37 (41/61); haven't heard of the "Bel Geddes Design" designation for interchanges with left hand ramps for the left turn movements.

[The High Plains Traveler]

Wow, there's so much in this document. I especially liked the 1930 "Citizens Committee" plan to put a parkway around the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the planning names for the freeways (note that the San Bernardino Freeway was what actually became the Foothill), and the description of the existing system. I didn't know that the Ramona (San Bernardino)/Santa Ana interchange existed in some form at that time. Finally, compare the plan for the "Los Angeles River Freeway" (Long Beach) interchanges with PCH and Anaheim Street to what exists today; it's not too far off.

[TheStranger]

I didn't know that the Ramona (San Bernardino)/Santa Ana interchange existed in some form at that time.

Isn't the San Bernardino Split one of the oldest freeway-to-freeway interchanges in California, coming only a few years after the original MacArthur Maze?

[agentsteel53]

the San Bernardino Split was certainly around by 1944, as I have seen a photo of it from that time.  must have been 1943 or even earlier than that...

[Bigmikelakers]

Interesting seeing the Sepulveda Freeway (Present 405) take a much more different course south of Culver City. On the proposal, around LAX it begins to curve south east and goes through Inglewood and South LA on it's way to Carson and Long Beach. This was probably because back in '43, the South Bay area was much less developed and by the time the 405 was actually in its true planning stages, the South Bay area was fast developing hence, its current alignment.

During the 1940's it seems like they had a lot of high hopes for building a much more vast freeway system than we have today. I think they should have bought the rights of way for future highway construction before development came to avoid much of the NIMBY and dividing of already built neighborhoods.

[cpzilliacus]

http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/trafficplans/1943_freeways_for_the_region.pdf

There's a description of interchange types on Page 37 (41/61); haven't heard of the "Bel Geddes Design" designation for interchanges with left hand ramps for the left turn movements.

Fascinating.

Thank you for sharing this.

Wonder if the Mrs. L.S. Baca, a member of the Regional Planning Commission, might be related to the current Los Angeles County Sheriff?

[The High Plains Traveler]

the San Bernardino Split was certainly around by 1944, as I have seen a photo of it from that time.  must have been 1943 or even earlier than that...

Hmmm...I have a Gousha street map with a 1947 date on it, and it shows no interchange at Ramona Blvd. and Macy St./Pleasant Ave. (the route of 101). The interchange does show up on an ACSC map that I can't find a date on, and that differs from the previous in that it shows a dashed line for the proposed Ramona Freeway east of the intersection with Garvey. Downtown street system is off the map, unfortunately, but there is a piece of Santa Ana Freeway south of the interchange in question. Not sure if that's dispositive but it's the dates I've used for when those highways were constructed.

[agentsteel53]

I'll have to find that 1944 reference again.  for all I know, the photo was misdated. 

[DTComposer]

the San Bernardino Split was certainly around by 1944, as I have seen a photo of it from that time.  must have been 1943 or even earlier than that...

Hmmm...I have a Gousha street map with a 1947 date on it, and it shows no interchange at Ramona Blvd. and Macy St./Pleasant Ave. (the route of 101). The interchange does show up on an ACSC map that I can't find a date on, and that differs from the previous in that it shows a dashed line for the proposed Ramona Freeway east of the intersection with Garvey. Downtown street system is off the map, unfortunately, but there is a piece of Santa Ana Freeway south of the interchange in question. Not sure if that's dispositive but it's the dates I've used for when those highways were constructed.

My 1945 Thomas Guide does not show the interchange; my 1950 Reine Atlas does. Also, the 1948 photo on Historic Aerials shows it as under construction:
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=1.45536523877384E-5&lat=34.0524658633852&lon=-118.223915610627&year=1948

[hm insulators]

Highly interesting! Thank you!

[J N Winkler]

the San Bernardino Split was certainly around by 1944, as I have seen a photo of it from that time.  must have been 1943 or even earlier than that...

It was begun in 1941 and dedicated in 1944.  At the time it was known as the east end of the Aliso Street viaduct.

[DTComposer]

My 1945 Thomas Guide does not show the interchange; my 1950 Reine Atlas does. Also, the 1948 photo on Historic Aerials shows it as under construction:
http://www.historicaerials.com/aerials.php?scale=1.45536523877384E-5&lat=34.0524658633852&lon=-118.223915610627&year=1948

It was begun in 1941 and dedicated in 1944.  At the time it was known as the east end of the Aliso Street viaduct.

Now that I look at the picture again, it appears it was complete by the 1948 photo. I was just thrown because there were so few cars...

[The High Plains Traveler]

the San Bernardino Split was certainly around by 1944, as I have seen a photo of it from that time.  must have been 1943 or even earlier than that...

It was begun in 1941 and dedicated in 1944.  At the time it was known as the east end of the Aliso Street viaduct.

Thanks, Mr. Winkler. With that clue, I investigated "Aliso Street Viaduct" and found the following:

With Aliso picked as the connecting link between the Hollywood Freeway on the west and the Santa Ana-San Bernardino Freeway on the east. The first step was the construction of a huge new viaduct over the Los Angeles River and Mission Road. The original viaduct was built in 1903 and consisted of four lanes; center two lanes were PE private way, unpaved, while single lanes for autos were provided on either side. This was a grade level viaduct, making it mandatory for PE cars and autos to cross Santa Fe and Union Pacific steam tracks at grade at either end of the structure. The tragic 1915 collision between a backing Santa Fe steam switch engine and PE 422 killed several passengers and caused agitation of such magnitude that it led to construction of a high level bridge to cross both the river and the mainline rail trackage. The Aliso Street Viaduct was torn down in 1940 and replaced by the present freeway structure which entered service in mid 1943. PE participated in the cost of this mammoth structure, paying $350,000 as its share of the improvement. With the opening of the first segment of the San Bernardino Freeway (then called the Ramona Freeway) in August of 1943 a flood of autos and trucks descended upon Aliso Street. The Santa Ana Freeway added still further astronomical increases to the traffic flow in August of 1949.

http://www.erha.org/pelines/pena.htm

This is from a history of the Pacific Electric Railway in Los Angeles. I guess I had the preconception that very little highway construction occurred during WWII except for that which was directly associated with enhancing the war effort. This confirms that the interchange in question was completed in the 1943-44 time frame and any maps showing otherwise were incorrect or misdated.

[J N Winkler]

Steve--you are welcome.

My information on the Aliso Street Viaduct comes primarily from California Highways and Public Works, which is now available through the Internet Archive in nearly its entirety, and has an index which is downloadable from the Caltrans website.  The following articles are of interest:

*  February 1941, p. 13:  Explains the funding and construction arrangements (City of Los Angeles project with contributions from the state and the three railroads involved--Union Pacific, Santa Fe, and Pacific Electric), and has a detailed map of the viaduct and surrounding area.  (Cesar Chavez St. is shown as Macy St.)

*  September-October 1944, p. 18:  Dedication.  Illustrated with an aerial photo of the finished project.  Cost given as $5 million, with state contribution of about $750,000.  The railroads, the federal government (via WPA), and the city and county all contributed to the funding mix, with the federal share being the largest at about $2.2 million.

Surprisingly enough, the Aliso Street Viaduct still exists substantially in its original form.  It is hard to view in Google StreetView because there is limited coverage on the roads in the immediate vicinity, but I managed to verify that the reinforced concrete arch over the Los Angeles River still exists.  There are now additional ramps (added much later--I would think in the late 1960's/early 1970's) in connection with the El Monte Busway.

There was actually more highway construction in California during World War II than one would expect based on experience further inland, because California had a defense access program whereby the Army and Navy provided funding for immediate construction of new or expanded roads to Army posts, Navy bases, and armament plants.  A substantial share of these roads were on the state highway system, with ROW acquisition and construction supervised by the Division of Highways.  The SR 29 expressway between Napa and Vallejo was originally opened in 1944 as a defense access road, for example.  CHPW headlines defense road allocations for the individual districts (California had eleven at the time) ranging, on a cursory inspection of CHPW wartime issues, from about $4 million for District 10 to $8 million for District 11.  (As a quick comparison, the annual allocation for state highway construction immediately after Collier-Burns passed in 1947 was about $100 million.)

I think some of these defense access roads were in reality designed to accommodate car commuter traffic (Rosie the Riveter driving to work).  Aside from hints here and there in CHPW suggesting that worker commuting was the driving consideration behind some projects feeding into shipyards in Richmond, the Division managed to scrape together enough materials priority to finish the southbound lanes of the Arroyo Seco past the Figueroa Street tunnels and over the Los Angeles River--using steel!--when the war was in full swing.