Interstate Highway in California
Interstate 605
(abbreviated
I-605
, officially known as the
San Gabriel River Freeway
) is a 27-mile-long (43 km) major north?south
auxiliary Interstate Highway
in the
Greater Los Angeles
urban area of
Southern California
. It runs from
I-405
and
State Route 22
(SR 22) in
Seal Beach
in
Orange County
to
I-210
just south of the
Irwindale
?
Duarte
border in
Los Angeles County
. The San Gabriel River Freeway closely parallels the
San Gabriel River
for most of its alignment, hence its name, which is one of the few
Southern California freeways
not named after a city along its route.
Aside from changes to the interchange with I-105 (which did not open until the early 1990s), and the addition of an HOV lane between I-405 and I-10, I-605 is one of the only remaining freeways that kept its original alignment throughout its run through Los Angeles County since it first opened.
Route description
[
edit
]
The California Streets and Highways Code defines Route 605 as "(a) Route 1 near Seal Beach to Route 405. (b) Route 405 to Route 210 near Duarte." However, the portion in subsection A has yet to be constructed.
The southern terminus of I-605 is at the
San Diego
(
I-405
) and Garden Grove (
SR 22
) Freeways in
Seal Beach
. From there, it runs roughly north through the
Gateway Cities
of the
Los Angeles Basin
. It then shifts north-northeast, crossing the
Whittier Narrows
and across the
San Gabriel Valley
. I-605 then ends at its junction with the
Foothill Freeway
, (
I-210
) just south of the
Irwindale
?
Duarte
border. Ramps from I-605 then extend north to
Huntington Drive
in Duarte.
I-605 follows most of the length of the
San Gabriel River
from the San Diego Freeway in Seal Beach to the
Santa Fe Dam
. Typically dry riverbed and flood basins are visible from many portions of the route, especially near the northern terminus.
In the mid 2000s, a
HOV lane
was added for motorists with two or more people to use between I-405 and I-10. The HOV lane ends at I-10 and there are no plans to extend it to I-210 at this time. With the addition of the HOV lane, the left shoulder was eliminated to avoid massive costs to widen the freeway. The highway also suffers from traffic jams regularly, especially the junction with
I-5
(the
Santa Ana Freeway
). Newer signs with exit numbers replaced the older signs between the Orange County line and I-10 in 2016, with the completion of the I-605 and I-10 junction improvement. I-605 is one of the only Southern California freeways without destinations (
control cities
) such as "
Seal Beach
" or "
Irwindale
" since its opening. Rather, cardinal directions ("NORTH" or "SOUTH"), and a simple "THRU TRAFFIC" designation in place of control cities, are used on signs along I-605 itself.
I-605 is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System
,
[3]
and is part of the
National Highway System
,
[4]
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration
.
[5]
I-605 from I-405 to I-10 is known as the San Gabriel River Freeway, as named by Senate Bill 99, Chapter 1101 in 1967.
[6]
History
[
edit
]
Approaching the northern terminus of I-605
In 1957, the number for this route was proposed as I-13, as it is positioned approximately midway between I-5 and I-15 (although it intersects the former). That number was rejected, as was the second proposed number, I-102. Finally, the designation I-605 was accepted in 1958.
[7]
[
unreliable source?
]
I-605 began construction in 1963 and the first section was opened in 1964 from
I-405
to
SR 60
. The newest section (extension to
I-210
) was opened in 1971 was originally signed as SR 243. There are plans to extend it to
SR 1
further south in Orange County as SR 605, but strong community opposition means that it is unlikely that the alignment will ever be built.
[7]
In 2020, there was a proposal to widen I-605, which would have added four new lanes to 12 mi (19 km) of I-605 between
Norwalk
and
El Monte, California
. This proposal was rejected due to strong community opposition, in particular due to the fact that it would have led to the destruction of houses in
Downey, California
.
[8]
Exit list
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Route Log and Finder List - Interstate System: Table 2"
.
FHWA
. Retrieved
October 7,
2007
.
- ^
"Los Angeles Highways"
. Scvresources.com. Archived from
the original
on November 15, 2011
. Retrieved
January 26,
2013
.
- ^
"Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1"
.
California Streets and Highways Code
. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel
. Retrieved
February 6,
2019
.
- ^
Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015).
National Highway System: Los Angeles, CA
(PDF)
(Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration
. Retrieved
July 29,
2017
.
- ^
Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012).
"What is the National Highway System?"
.
National Highway System
. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration
. Retrieved
July 1,
2012
.
- ^
California Department of Transportation; California State Transportation Agency (January 2021).
2020 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California
(PDF)
. Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. p. 96. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on October 10, 2022.
- ^
a
b
Faigin, Daniel.
"Interstate 605"
.
California Highways
. Retrieved
September 23,
2016
.
- ^
"Metro Board Unanimously Approves Motion to Delay 605/5 Freeway Widening and Instead Study Alternatives"
.
Streetsblog Los Angeles
. October 22, 2020
. Retrieved
December 8,
2020
.
- ^
a
b
Warring, KS (April 18, 2008).
"Interstate 605 Freeway Interchanges"
(PDF)
.
California Numbered Exit Uniform System
.
California Department of Transportation
. Retrieved
September 1,
2014
.
- ^
"California Log of Bridges on State Highways: District 12"
(PDF)
.
Caltrans
. California Department of Transportation. October 2006. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on February 20, 2007
. Retrieved
September 19,
2019
.
- ^
"New 405 Freeway lanes opening set for Dec. 1"
.
The Orange County Register
. October 23, 2023
. Retrieved
November 4,
2023
.
External links
[
edit
]
KML is from Wikidata
|
---|
| |
- 1
Former
- 2
Future
- 3
Unbuilt
- 4
Unsigned
|