| I-405 | |||
| Begin | Irvine | ||
| End | Saint Ferdinand | ||
| Length | 73 mi | ||
| Length | 117 km | ||
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Interstate 405 or I -405 is an Interstate Highway in the US state of California. The highway forms a bypass of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, passing through the west and south of the metro area. The entire length of the highway is in a built-up area. The locals pronounce the road as the ” four-oh-five (freeway) “. The highway is the busiest in the United States, averaging 394,000 vehicles per day at Seal Beach. The route is 117 kilometers long. The highway bears the name San Diego Freeway for its entire length. The 405 is known as the most congested highway in the United States.
Travel directions
Orange County
The interchange with SR-55 in Santa Ana.
According to Topschoolsintheusa, the highway begins at the El Toro Y interchange, the largest 26-lane interchange in the world. The interchange is located in Irvine, a large suburb of 202,000, and is a branch of Interstate 5. The highway runs over a technologically oriented industrial estate, and crosses the Laguna Freeway. The highway has 2×6 lanes here, and is located about 80 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles. One passes again on the west side of Irvine through a large industrial estate, measuring 9 kilometers from north to south. Orange County is an area with a lot of employment, and next to Los Angeles one of the largest work locations in the region. Congestion occurs here in both directions. Because in the so-called “Inland Empire” there are mainly residential locations, and few work locations, there is a large commuter flow from these suburbs to Orange County.
One arrives in Costa Mesa, a suburb with 109,000 inhabitants. One here crosses the Costa Mesa Freeway, which runs north-south. After this, you drive past the South Coast Plaza, the largest shopping center in the United States with a parking lot. Barely a few kilometers away, the Corona del Mar Freeway joinsin, a freeway that runs parallel to 405, but is a toll road, and is also a fork of I-5. The next town is Fountain Valley, which again has a large business park, which is located directly off Interstate 405. The canalized Santa Ana River crosses here, which is dry most of the year. The highway runs through densely built-up residential areas here. The road runs diagonally through the north-south and east-west oriented grid pattern. It also passes through the north side of Huntington Beach, a large suburb of 190,000 residents. The city is known for good surfing.
At Garden Grove, the Garden Grove Freeway merges into the busiest section of the 405. This route has 390,000 motor vehicles per 24 hours on 2×6 lanes, and is extremely busy day and night. South of the highway is the military compound of Seal Beach. This area is virtually undeveloped, and is a vast open space within the endless sea of houses that dominate this part of California. At Rossmoor State Route 22 exits and continues as 7th Street towards Long Beach. A mile away, Interstate 605. splitswhich also cuts off a significant portion of the traffic. The 605, along with the 5, forms an alternate route to downtown Los Angeles. It immediately crosses the channeled San Gabriel River, which is also the border between Los Angeles County and Orange County.
Los Angeles County
Interstate 405 from the Getty Center.
The I-405 at the Sepulveda Pass.
interchange of I-405 with US 101.
One arrives at Long Beach, with 464,000 inhabitants the largest suburb in the United States, although the city certainly also functions as an independent and regional center. It crosses some important streets here, such as Studebaker Road, Bellflower Boulevard, Lakewood Boulevard, Cherry Avenue, Atlantic Avenue and Long Beach Boulevard. Long Beach Airport is located along the highway, crossing the canalized Los Angeles River. After this, one crosses Interstate 710, the Long Beach Freeway, which runs towards downtown Long Beach, and north to the so-called “Gateway Cities”, and via I-5 to Los Angeles. This is followed by the industrial suburb of Carson, which contains huge industrial estates and oil refineries. The BP Refinery is clearly visible from the highway.
The west side of Carson crosses Interstate 110, a north-south route between the ports of Los Angeles and downtown Los Angeles. You come here in the suburb of Torrance, which has 142,000 inhabitants. The large chemical industry and an oil refinery of ExxonMobile are located here. It crosses some important streets such as Western Avenue, Crenshaw Boulevard and Artesia Boulevard. Here the 405 veers from a westerly course to a northerly course, passing through some smaller suburbs such as Lawndale, Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach, and El Segundo.
At El Segundo is another large refinery, Chevron. It also crosses Interstate 105, an east-west connection between El Segundo and Norwalk. Here you can turn to Los Angeles International Airport. Planes fly right over Interstate 405 here. One passes through Inglewood, a large city with a population of 113,000. Here one crosses major streets such as Century Boulevard, Manchester Boulevard, Florence Avenue, La Cienega Boulevard and La Tijera Boulevard. Culver City crosses the Marina Freeway, one of the shortest highways from California to Marina del Rey. One crosses Venice Boulevard here, where often the head of a 40 kilometer long traffic jam is.
Via a large junction you cross the Interstate 10, from where you can get to Santa Monica to the west, and downtown Los Angeles and the eastern suburbs. This part of Los Angeles is a lot more densely built, and it again crosses a number of major streets, such as Santa Monica Boulevard, Wilshire Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard. The highway must then ascend about 300 meters to the Sepulveda Pass in the Santa Monica Mountains. This route is extremely sensitive to traffic congestion and is fixed for a large part of the day. The constant growth of suburbs in the northwest exacerbates this. You pass the Getty Center, where you have a good view of the enormous city. This area of the Santa Monica Mountains is home to upscale Los Angeles neighborhoods such as Pacific Palisades, Hollywood, and Bel Air. The route over Sepulveda Pass has 2×6 lanes.
After the pass one quickly descends to the San Fernando Valley, a large suburban area, which belongs almost entirely to the city of Los Angeles. This valley measures about 35 by 25 kilometers and is completely built-up. It crosses the Ventura Freeway, where heavy traffic turns west to follow US 101 to western cities such as Thousand Oaks, Ventura, and Oxnard. Although there are some smaller business parks in this valley, a large part of the population commutes south of the Santa Monica Mountains, causing major congestion on the 3 routes through this mountain range, the I-405, US 101 and I-5. The road cuts through residential areas, sometimes a few yards from people’s backyards. On the north side of the valley, one crosses the Ronald Reagan Freeway, which runs east-west between Simi Valley and San Fernando. Shortly after this, Interstate 405 ends again at Interstate 5.
