Interstate 405 (California)

Basic data
Length:	72.4 mi / 116.5 km
State:	California
map

The Interstate 405 (abbreviated I-405 ) is an interstate highway in the US state of California . It is a bypass of Interstate 5 through the western areas of the Los Angeles metropolitan area . The freeway is one of the most important north-south connections in Southern California and is the busiest road in the United States, with approximately 390,000 vehicles on some sections every day. I-405 is also known as the northern portion of the San Diego Freeway .

The road is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System .

course

The I-405 near the intersection with US Highway 101

View from the Getty Center on the San Diego Freeway

Interstate 405 begins at El Toro Y interchange in Irvine , where it branches off from Interstate 5 . The road initially runs northwest through Orange County to Long Beach in Los Angeles County . The San Diego Freeway roughly follows the coastline of the Pacific Ocean , but swings between 8 and 16 kilometers inland. In the north of the city of Los Angeles he then overcomes the Sepulveda Pass in the Santa Monica Mountains . Further north, the I-405 runs through the San Fernando Valley before it finally joins Interstate 5 again at Mission Hills .

Sights on I-405

There are many attractions and structures of note along Interstate 405. These include John Wayne Airport (SNA), Long Beach Municipal Airport (LGB), and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The freeway reaches close to the port of Long Beach and the port of Los Angeles via connecting roads .

The San Diego Freeway also passes through several business and recreational areas. These include many beaches on the seashore that are popular with holidaymakers.

Some educational institutions located off Interstate 405 include Loyola Marymount University and California State Universities in Northridge , Dominguez Hills, and Long Beach . The University of California also has offices in Los Angeles and Irvine .

Cultural facilities such as the Skirball Cultural Center and the Getty Center are also close to the street.

Congestion problems

Interstate 405 is one of the busiest roads in the world and is therefore often affected by traffic jams. The interface with the US Highway 101 (Ventura Freeway) was the most congestion-prone interchange in the United States in 2002 . The intersection with Interstate 10 (Santa Monica Freeway) was just behind it. In order to reduce the risk of congestion, HOV lanes were installed in sections . These lanes may only be used by cars with two or more passengers. The HOV lanes are also known as diamond lanes (they are marked with a diamond symbol) or car pool lanes . Due to the heavy traffic, the San Diego Freeway is not very popular with commuters.

and display information about the image

View from the Getty Center over Los Angeles in south direction. Interstate 405 can be seen in the center of the picture.

history

The construction of Interstate 405 was decided in 1955. Construction began two years later, with the first section opened in 1961. This part was initially called State Route 7 and was mainly located north of Los Angeles International Airport . The junctions west of Interstate 605 were completed before 1965. The last section in Orange County was completed in 1969.

Pursuit of OJ Simpson

Dangerous car chases are not uncommon on Interstate 405. One of the most sensational cases occurred on the afternoon of June 17, 1994, when O. J. Simpson, suspected of the murder of his wife , escaped on the freeway. The former football star and actor was followed by several Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) vehicles . At the wheel of the Ford Bronco was Simpson's former teammate Al Cowlings. The chase was televised live and only ended hours later outside his Brentwood apartment .

Other events

On January 16, 1997, Ennis Cosby, the only son of comedian Bill Cosby , was murdered on Interstate 405 while changing a flat tire.

In November 2003, Amber Stachowski, a UCLA Bruins water polo player and US national team member, was injured in a car accident on I-405. She suffered a concussion in the process. Six months later, Stachowski won a bronze medal at the Olympic Games in Athens .

Interstate 405 in Art and Media

The freeway is often discussed by the media and artists and has therefore gained notoriety beyond national borders:

In film and television

• 405 (2000), the short film is about an airplane that makes an emergency landing on Interstate 405. However, mainly special effects were used todepict what was happening.

In music

• The first verse of the song Superman by Lazlo Bane reads: "Out the door, just in time / Head down the 405 / Gotta meet the new boss by 8 AM."
• In the song The Vicodin Song , Terra Naomi sings : “You can drive you can drive you can drive / down the 405 / to the 101 to my house / and these highways are in so many songs / I couldn't count them all / I tried / so much sad history described in a ride. "
• The songwriter Neko Case mentions the Autobahn in the song In California with the sentence: "Another suicide on the 405."
• The Swedish rock band Europe dedicates their song California 405 to the highway.
• Halsey , an American singer, released a song called "Drive", which is also about California and contains, among other things, "Swerving on the 405, I can never keep my eyes off this".
• The musician Addal dedicated a song to Interstate 405: 405 .

In pictures

A picture of Interstate 405, apparently taken from the Getty Center , is often used as a symbol of traffic jams . This apparently shows the completely blocked 22-lane I-405. However, this shot is a photomontage of a photo from 1998. The road has ten lanes at this point, as well as a four-lane exit running parallel to it.

Web links

Commons : Interstate 405  - collection of images, videos, and audio files

• History and info at California Highways
• California at AA Roads route description with photos (English)
• Info and pictures at Los Angeles Freeway (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} U.S. Highways With The Most Traffic ( Memento from July 24, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Streets and Highways Code Section 250-257. (No longer available online.) Official California Legislative Information, archived from the original on October 14, 2012 ; accessed on May 21, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ Traffic Congestion and Reliability: Trends and Advanced Strategies for Congestion Mitigation. Federal Highway Administration, accessed May 24, 2009 . 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Interstate 405. California Highways, accessed May 24, 2009 . 
5. ↑ The Chase. (No longer available online.) OJ Simpson, archived from the original on December 19, 2008 ; accessed on May 24, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
6. ↑ Jim Newton and Shawn Hubler: Simpson Held After Wild Chase. Los Angeles Times , June 18, 1994, accessed May 24, 2009 . 
7. ^ B. Drummond Ayres Jr .: Bill Cosby's Son Is Slain Along Freeway. The New York Times , January 17, 1997, accessed May 24, 2009 . 
8. ^ Bryan Chu: W. polo: UCLA to face former, current Bruins on Team USA. (No longer available online.) Daily Bruin, April 23, 2004, formerly the original ; accessed on May 24, 2009 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
9. ↑ Amber Stachowski. (No longer available online.) UCLA Bruins , archived from the original on July 17, 2011 ; accessed on May 24, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
10. ↑ 405. Internet Movie Database , accessed on May 22, 2015 (English). 
11. ↑ Whimsicality: When Photoshop is so good it's bad