kids encyclopedia robot

Southern California freeways facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

A huge network of connected roads called freeways helps over 23 million people get around in Southern California. This area is so big it's sometimes called a "megaregion." The main plan for these freeways in Los Angeles was approved in 1947. Building started in the early 1950s. However, the plan faced problems and money issues in the 1970s. By 2004, only about 61% of the planned roads were finished.

How Southern California's Freeways Started

Why Cars Became Popular

Southern California's love for cars began partly because people didn't like how much control the Southern Pacific Railroad had over business in the late 1800s and early 1900s. In 1910, a politician named Hiram Johnson ran for governor. He was against the railroad. He traveled the state by car, which was a big deal back then! This made people in Southern California connect cars with good, honest government. It was a big change from the railroads, which many saw as controlling unfair governments in other parts of the U.S.

Even though the Pacific Electric Railway (owned by Southern Pacific) had famous "Red Car" streetcar lines, they weren't making much money. Cars became cheaper in the 1920s, and more people bought them. This meant fewer people rode the Red Cars. Soon, traffic jams became a huge problem. At the same time, many city planners thought building "Magic Motorways" (freeways) would help cities grow. They wanted cities to spread out with cars as the main way to travel. This would help with crowded cities and make it easier for people to own homes.

By the late 1930s, traffic in Los Angeles was a very big worry. The Automobile Club of Southern California created a detailed plan for an elevated freeway system. A key part of this plan was getting rid of the streetcar lines. Buses would replace them, running on both local streets and the new express roads. When city planners first designed the freeway system in the 1930s, they wanted to put light rail tracks in the middle of each freeway. These tracks would have been for the Pacific Electric Railway's Red Cars. But this part of the plan was never fully built.

Planning and Building the Roads

During World War II, it became clear that Southern California's roads and railways couldn't handle a large population. Many people believed the region needed a completely new transportation system. Los Angeles city leaders wanted to improve the rail system, focusing on the city center. However, the Arroyo Seco Parkway, built between Los Angeles and Pasadena in 1940, was a big success. It convinced many that a freeway system could solve the region's traffic problems.

Leaders from nearby cities like Whittier, South Gate, Long Beach, and Pasadena wanted a network of freeways to connect the whole region. They didn't want all traffic to go through downtown Los Angeles. The idea of building freeways won out. By 1947, a new, complete freeway plan for Los Angeles was ready. This plan was similar to the 1930s idea but without the light rail tracks. Caltrans (then called the California Department of Public Works) created this plan. San Diego soon made its own plan, and by the early 1950s, construction on many of the region's freeways had begun.

Future Freeway Plans

Caltrans and local transportation groups have identified these important freeway projects for the future:

  • A toll road that will go through a tunnel in the Santa Ana Mountains, connecting Irvine to Corona.
  • Upgrading State Route 210 to Interstate standards. It would then be called Interstate 210.
  • A new freeway, the Mid County Parkway, from Interstate 215 in Perris to State Route 79 in San Jacinto.
  • An extension for Interstate 710, the Long Beach Freeway. It would reach its original planned end at Interstate 210 in Pasadena. This would likely involve a tunnel under South Pasadena. However, Caltrans stopped this project in November 2018.
  • An extension to the State Route 241 toll road to meet Interstate 5 in or near San Clemente.
  • Upgrading State Route 71, the Chino Valley Freeway. This would make it a full controlled-access freeway north of State Route 60 (the Pomona Freeway) to Interstate 10 (the San Bernardino Freeway) in Pomona.
  • Upgrading State Route 55, the Costa Mesa Freeway. This would extend it south from its current end at 19th Street in Costa Mesa to State Route 1 (the Pacific Coast Highway) in Newport Beach. This might happen through a tunnel.
  • Building the High Desert Corridor. This would be a freeway and expressway between State Route 14 (the Antelope Valley Freeway) in Palmdale and Interstate 15 (the Mojave Freeway) near Victorville. It would also have a high-speed rail line to Las Vegas, Nevada. Caltrans put the freeway part on hold in 2019.

How Freeways Are Named

Freeway Names and Numbers

People in Southern California often talk about freeways using "the" before the number, like "the 5" or "the 10." This is different from how people in Northern California talk about them. It's more like how people in the UK say "the M1."

Also, parts of the Southern California freeway system are often called by names instead of just their official numbers. For example, parts of Interstate 10 are called the Santa Monica Freeway or the San Bernardino Freeway. Even though signs now mostly show the highway number, direction, and a city name, people still use the old names. A freeway "name" can even refer to parts of two or more different numbered roads. For example, the Ventura Freeway includes parts of U.S. Route 101 and State Route 134. The San Diego Freeway includes parts of Interstate 5 and all of Interstate 405.

When Southern California freeways were first built in the 1940s and early 1950s, people mostly used the freeway names with "the" in front. It took many years for people to start using the numbers too, but "the" stayed. For example, the San Gabriel River Freeway became "the 605 Freeway," and then just "the 605."

Famous Freeway Interchanges

Here are some well-known freeway connections in Southern California:

  • Four Level: Where US 101 meets SR 110.
  • East Los Angeles: A big connection for I-5, I-10, SR 60, and US 101.
  • Judge Harry Pregerson: Where I-105 meets I-110.
  • El Toro Y: The southern meeting point of I-5 and I-405.
  • Orange Crush: Where I-5, SR 22, and SR 57 all connect.
  • Newhall Pass: Where I-5 meets SR 14.

Other Important Freeway Spots

Freeway Firsts and Facts

Southern California has some notable "firsts" in freeway history:

  • The Arroyo Seco Parkway was the first freeway in California. It connected Pasadena and Los Angeles.
  • The Four Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles was the first stack interchange ever built.
  • It had the first special lanes for cars with multiple passengers (HOV lanes) that were separated from other traffic.
  • The 91 Express Lanes in Orange County were the first fully automated toll road system.

Compared to other big cities in the United States, Southern California has fewer lane-miles of freeway per person. In 1999, Greater Los Angeles had 0.419 lane-miles for every 1,000 people. This was less than places like Greater Boston and the Washington Metropolitan Area. The average for American cities was 0.613 lane-miles per thousand people.

Roads Not Maintained by the State

Some roads that act like freeways are not kept up by the state government. These include:

List of Freeways

Main Freeways In and Out of Southern California

San Diego Area Freeways

Inland Empire Freeways

(This area includes San Bernardino and Riverside Counties)

Greater Los Angeles Area Freeways

(This includes Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and Ventura Counties)

Images for kids

  • SocalfreewaysystemWIKI

    Interstate and State Highway System of Southern California

  • LA-IE Freeway System

    Metropolitan Los Angeles Freeway System and Metropolitan Inland Empire

kids search engine
All content from Kiddle encyclopedia articles (including the article images and facts) can be freely used under Attribution-ShareAlike license, unless stated otherwise. Cite this article:
Southern California freeways Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.