State Route 110 - Harbor Freeway North

Northbound SR 110/Harbor Freeway approaches Exit 22, 6th Street and 9th Street.

09/25/05

12/25/04

Exit 22 provides access into downtown Los Angeles via 6th Street and 9th Street, meeting Figueroa Boulevard and South Grand Avenue. Both 6th Avenue and 9th Avenue are one way eastbound near SR 110. Use this exit to James M. Wood Boulevard and Loyola Law School. Shortly after these signs, traffic from Interstate 10 merges onto SR 110 north.

12/25/04

11/08/08

For Figueroa Street (Old U.S. 6 and SR 11), use Exit 22. The offramp to Exit 22 actually connects to a collector distributor lane arrangement as we enter downtown Los Angeles.

11/08/08

Use Exit 22 to Fifth Street and Sixth Street (as part of the local/express configuration of the Harbor Freeway through downtown Los Angeles).

08/26/07

11/08/08

Northbound SR 110/Harbor Freeway splits into a local/express configuration at this point. Stay right for local access to Exit 22, Sixth Street and Ninth Street and Exits 23A-B-C, Sixth Street, Fourth Street, and Third Street. Stay left for SR 110 north to Pasadena (note that a slip ramp will allow access to Exits 23B-C from the express lanes).

04/21/07

11/08/08

The skyline of downtown Los Angeles dominates the northbound view along SR 110. The right two lanes become the local lanes that will connect to Ninth Street (Exit 22), Sixth Street (Exit 23A), Fourth Street (Exit 23B), and Third Street (Exit 23C) before rejoining the SR 110 express lanes prior to the Four-Level Interchange with U.S. 101.

11/08/08

01/14/07

Northbound SR 110/Harbor Freeway reaches Exit 22, Ninth Street to the southern part of downtown Los Angeles, including the Staples Center (home of the NBA L.A. Lakers and Clippers and the NHL L.A. Kings), Los Angeles Convention Center, Nokia Theater, and Grammy Museum. Use Ninth Street southeast to the Los Angeles Fashion District (sometimes called the Garment District). These views look from the main lanes and the c-d lanes.

01/14/07

04/21/07

11/08/08

08/26/07

The gore point sign for Exit 22 is the only one to show the correct exit number (as of 2008), as the advance signs showed this exit with its original exit number of 22A (from the exit numbering experiment from the early 1970s). No gore point signage was in place at all a year prior (in 2007).

11/08/08

08/26/07

Signed here as Exit 22B (from the 1970s experimental exit numbering program), the express lanes of northbound SR 110/Harbor Freeway has a slip ramp to the local lanes for access to Exit 23A, Sixth Street; Exit 23B, Fourth Street; and Exit 23C, Third Street.

04/21/07

08/26/07

Looking at Exit 22B from the collector distributor / local lanes.

08/26/07

The next exit along SR 110 north is Exit 23A, Sixth Street (accessible only from the local lanes). Note the 2005 picture, which shows an unusually empty Harbor Freeway. Normally this freeway is congested. To Interstate 5/Golden State Freeway north, follow SR 110/Arroyo Seco Parkway north.

09/25/05

04/21/07

Approaching the 6th Street off-ramp (Exit 23A) from the local lanes.

11/08/08

08/26/07

This distance sign along SR 110 north provides the distance to the next three exits available from the express lanes.

07/10/10

The next exit along SR 110/Harbor Freeway north is Exit 23A, Sixth Street. The right lane of the local lanes becomes exit only for Exit 23A. Meanwhile, the overhead guide sign in the express lanes advises of the major interchange between SR 110 and U.S. 101. Consistent with older Caltrans standards, this porcelain enamel sign shows the Four-Level interchange as being U.S. 101 north to Hollywood and Interstate 5 south to Santa Ana. Given recent changes to signs on U.S. 101 itself, it is likely that sign will be changed eventually to say U.S. 101 north to Ventura and U.S. 101 south to Interstate 5 south to Santa Ana, Interstate 10 east to San Bernardino, and SR 60 east to Pomona.

04/21/07

11/08/08

Northbound SR 110 reaches Exit 23A, Sixth Street (from the local lanes only). The middle lane becomes exits only for Exit 23B, Fourth Street and Exit 23C, Third Street. In the local lanes, stay left to merge back onto SR 110/Harbor Freeway (which transitions directly onto the Arroyo Seco Parkway after the Four-Level Interchange) north.

04/21/07

11/08/08

Upon exiting from the Harbor Freeway, the offramp to Exit 23A becomes eastbound Sixth Street. The first traffic signal ahead is with north-south Figueroa Street, which is the old alignment of U.S. 6 and SR 11. Sixth Street travels southeast to Pershing Square, turning east at Alameda Street. From there, Sixth Street crosses the Los Angeles River and transitions into Whittier Boulevard.

08/26/07

The next two exits along SR 110 north is Exit 23B, Fourth Street and Exit 23C, Third Street (from the local lanes only). Use Exit 23B (Fourth Street) to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), Music Center (Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County), and Walt Disney Concert Hall (L.A. Philharmonic).

04/21/07

11/08/08

SR 110 passes under Sixth Street (as seen from the main/express lanes).

04/21/07

To Third Street west and Flower Street south, use Exit 23C (second right).

11/08/08

Still on the local (collector distributor) lanes, northbound SR 110 meets Exit 23B, Fourth Street. This is a major offramp into downtown Los Angeles. The next exit along northbound local lanes is Exit 23C, Third Street.

11/08/08

08/26/07

Immediately thereafter, northbound SR 110 reaches Exit 23C, Third Street west and Flower Street south. The right lane departs the freeway here, while the left lane will merge back onto the main lanes of SR 110 north.

07/13/09

11/08/08

Now on the offramp to Exit 23C, the left lane will connect to Third Street west, while the right lane will connect to Flower Street south.

08/26/07

Traffic from the local and express lanes merge back together again. The next exit along I-110 north is Exit 24A for U.S. 101 (Hollywood Freeway) north and U.S. 101 (Santa Ana Freeway) south. U.S. 101 travels northwest toward Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley; at the Hollywood Split Interchange, U.S. 101 curves west toward Ventura and Santa Barbara. To the southeast, U.S. 101 passes through the Downtown Slot to meet Interstate 10 (San Bernardino Freeway) east and SR 60 (Pomona Freeway) east before merging with Interstate 5.

07/10/10

05/08/10

The button copy sign previously installed at that location. The sign was altered in 2002 by local artist Richard Ankrom, who had gotten lost one too many times trying to get from northbound SR 110 to northbound Interstate 5. So over the course of weeks, he obtained the specifications for an Interstate shield, and once it was complete to Caltrans standards for button copy, non-reflective signage (prior to the new reflective signage standard), he installed the "North Interstate 5" shield on the green area to the left of the Northbound SR 110 pull-through shield. For more on Richard Ankrom and his project, visit The L.A. Weekly: A Considerable Town - Guerrilla Public Service: The Man Who Would Be Caltrans (May 10-16, 2002). In 2009, this sign was completely removed, and the sign shown in the above photobox was installed in its place.

04/21/07

11/08/08

Prior to the Four-Level Interchange, a regulatory sign advises that trucks are prohibited from SR 110/Arroyo Seco Parkway. Trucks should connect to U.S. 101 north/south.

12/25/04

The left lanes carry SR 110 traffic, while the right lanes default to north/south U.S. 101. Southbound U.S. 101/Santa Ana Freeway leads to a connection with Interstate 5 and Interstate 10. Northbound U.S. 101/Hollywood Freeway leads north to a connection with SR 170 and SR 134/Ventura Freeway. No trucks are permitted on northbound SR 110; SR 110 continues north as the Pasadena Freeway and the Harbor Freeway comes to its northern terminus here at the Four-Level Interchange.

07/10/10

11/08/08

Northbound SR 110 (Harbor Freeway) at Exit 24A for U.S. 101 (Santa Ana Freeway) southeast and U.S. 101 (Hollywood Freeway) northwest. Despite the signage here, SR 110 does NOT intersect I-5 or I-10 at this exchange! In reality, the right side ramp actually connects to U.S. 101 south, which then leads to both directions of I-10 and southbound I-5.

07/10/10

11/08/08

Now on the transition ramp from SR 110/Harbor Freeway to U.S. 101, the left lane connects to U.S. 101 north to Hollywood and Ventura and the right lane connects to U.S. 101 south to Santa Ana. The Four-Level Interchange, which is the intersection of the Santa Ana, Hollywood, Harbor, and Pasadena Freeways (or the intersection of the 101 and 110 freeways), is ahead on northbound SR 110. Northbound SR 110 shifts from the Harbor Freeway onto the Pasadena Freeway upon passing under this interchange, and it also becomes the historic route of the Figueroa Street Tunnels and Arroyo Seco Parkway (old U.S. 66).

04/21/07

12/25/04

These views show the transition from SR 110/Harbor Freeway north to U.S. 101/Hollywood Freeway northwest to Hollywood and Ventura. This connecting ramp is the bottom level of the stack interchange.

04/21/07

12/25/04

For those transitioning from SR 110 north to U.S. 101 south, a slip ramp to Temple Street is provided before merging onto U.S. 101/Santa Ana Freeway south. Opened in 1954, the Four-Level Interchange is known as the first symmetrical stack of its kind, and similar interchanges have been built elsewhere throughout the country.

07/13/09

Back on the mainline, this series of photos follows SR 110 north through the Four-Level Interchange. As we pass through the interchange, SR 110 leaves the Harbor Freeway and shifts directly onto the Pasadena Freeway (Historic Arroyo Seco Parkway). SR 110 takes the second of four levels, with U.S. 101 passing overhead on the top level and some flyover ramps on the third level. An older postmile used to have Route 11 on it, but a zero was added to it so the paddle would be consistent with the route numbering. Historically, other U.S. routes besides U.S. 101 used to pass through this interchange. Prior to 1964, U.S. 6 followed today's SR 110 through the interchange, while U.S. 60-70 may have briefly began their eastbound journey from this interchange (this is based on a 1950-60s era Rand McNally road map, although both routes are generally accepted to have begun at the Interstate 5/Interstate 10 interchange east of here). U.S. 66 entered the Four-Level Interchange along with U.S. 101 from the northwest, then shifted onto SR 11/Arroyo Seco Parkway north. Theory holds that if the U.S. routes were not eliminated in 1964, U.S. 6 may have been rerouted/transferred onto a brief overlap with U.S. 101 north (along with U.S. 66), then proceed along today's SR 170/Hollywood Freeway to join U.S. 99 (today's Interstate 5) near Burbank.

07/10/10

11/08/08

09/25/05

04/30/06