Interstate 105 (California)

Interstate 105 (abbreviated I-105) is an interstate highway that runs east-west in southern Los Angeles County, California. I-105 is colloquially referred to as the Century Freeway, but is officially known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway for the Congressman who advocated its construction. I-105 derives its name from nearby Century Boulevard, which parallels its route.

The route

The Century Freeway begins at Sepulveda Boulevard (State Route 1) on the southern edge of Los Angeles International Airport, adjacent to the city of El Segundo. It proceeds generally eastward from there on, crossing the Los Angeles and San Gabriel Rivers before terminating at the San Gabriel River Freeway (I-605) in western Norwalk.

History

An integral part of Caltrans' 1960s master plan for the Southern California freeway system, the Century Freeway nevertheless did not open until 1993. Many factors contributed to the delay. The growth of the environmentalist movement in the 1960s created resistance to new freeway construction. Fiscal difficulties brought about by the 1971 Sylmar earthquake and the California tax revolt of the late 1970s further hampered Caltrans' construction efforts.

However, the major source of resistance to the freeway's construction was community opposition, and the side effects of these demands. By the early 1970s, most of the areas in the freeway's path (and thus slated to be demolished) were predominantly African-American; resentment over previous freeway projects' effects on other black communities resulted in significant modifications to the original route. Most cities along the way, weary of the noise and visual blight created by elevated freeways, demanded that the route be built far below grade in a "trench."

After construction began in the 1980s, failure to perform a full survey of the area's groundwater deposits resulted in buckling and cracking along the eastern portions of the route. Norwalk, opposed to the freeway's proposed route through the center of the city, blocked the route from reaching its intended terminus at the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5); however, Caltrans had already decided to abandon that section due to the inability of the severely congested Santa Ana Freeway to accommodate any more traffic. The freeway eventually replaced Manchester Avenue (State Route 42), which was a road roughly parallel to the freeway.

Throughout the difficulties, Congressman Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro) tirelessly advocated for the route's construction, touting its possibilities for congestion relief along Century, Manchester, and Firestone Boulevards and the Imperial Highway; it has succeeded in these tasks, as well as relieving pressure on the Santa Monica (I-10) and San Diego (I-405) Freeways for travelers between Downtown Los Angeles and LAX. After Anderson's death in 1994, Caltrans honored him by renaming the freeway in his honor. However, the name "Anderson Freeway" is seldom used except on maps; "Century Freeway" is still the most commonly used name.

The I-105 designation had been used for U.S. Route 101 (the Santa Ana Freeway) from I-5 (the Golden State Freeway) at the East Los Angeles Interchange to the connection to I-10 (the San Bernardino Freeway; this connection had been I-110); it went back to U.S. 101 in 1968. Source: Kurumi 3di Interstates

Notable facts

In addition to being below grade for most of its route, the Century Freeway is also notable for the Los Angeles Metro Rail Green Line that runs along its center median. The former Pacific Electric Railway Santa Ana branch right of way on Fernwood Drive parallels the alignment of the Freeway between State Street in Lynwood and the Los Angeles River bridge.

The freeway's elaborate high occupancy vehicle lane structure includes a towering interchange with the Harbor Freeway's HOV lanes. Some refer to this interchange as "the Hump."

During the construction of the freeway, this freeway was featured in the movie Speed as I-10. The production was given as much time as needed to film on the freeway. In the most memorable sequence, the bus successfully jumped over an incomplete section of the freeway to safety.

The boyhood home of brothers Brian, Carl and Dennis Wilson of the famous rock group The Beach Boys, located at 3701 W. 119th Street in Hawthorne, was demolished in the late 1980s for the construction of Interstate 105. A monument now stands at the corner of W. 119th Street and Kornblum Avenue, the intersection where the house once stood.

State law

Legal Definition of Route 105: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 405

Route 105 from Route 1 to Route 605 is known as the Glenn Anderson Freeway. Concurrent Resolution 34, Chapter 83 (1987)

Source: 2004 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California (PDF)

Communities served

Communities along the Century Freeway include:

Major intersections

Freeways intersected by the Century Freeway include:

San Diego Freeway (Sadao S. Munemori Memorial Interchange)
Harbor Freeway (Judge Harry Pregerson Memorial Interchange)
Long Beach Freeway
San Gabriel River Freeway (Joe A. Gonsalves Memorial Interchange)

Exit list

State Route 1 south - Sepulveda Blvd State Route 1 north - Sepulveda Blvd; LAX Interstate 405, San Diego Fwy - Santa Monica; Long Beach Interstate 110, Harbor Fwy - Los Angeles; San Pedro Interstate 710, Long Beach Fwy - Pasadena; Long Beach State Route 19 - Lakewood Blvd Interstate 605, San Gabriel River Fwy South Interstate 605, San Gabriel River Fwy North (Left Exit)

PostmileJanuary 1, 2006 California Log of Bridges on State Highways	Municipality	#Cal-NExUS Interchange Exit Numbering	Destinations	Notes
LA 0.00	El Segundo	1 A	Imperial Highway (Left Exit)	Freeway ends and begins
	Los Angeles	1 B	Exit 1 Eastbound, signed as "Imperial Highway East"
		1 C	Exit 1 Eastbound, signed as "Imperial Highway East"
LA R0.98		1 D	Nash Street	Westbound exit; Eastbound entrance accessible via Atwood Way
LA R1.79		2 A	La Cienega Blvd; Aviation Blvd	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance, both accessible via Imperial Highway
LA 2.91	Hawthorne	2 B	Exit 2 eastbound
LA 3.32	Hawthorne	3	Prairie Avenue; Hawthorne Blvd	Hawthorne Blvd is only directly accessible via westbound exit and eastbound entrance
LA R4.73	Inglewood	5	Crenshaw Blvd	Accessible eastbound via 120th Street
LA R6.74	Los Angeles	7 A	Vermont Avenue
LA 8.05		7 B	There are also separate left exits for the HOV lanes
LA R8.94		9	Central Avenue
LA R9.38	Compton	10	Wilmington Avenue	Accessible westbound via Imperial Highway
LA 11.56	Lynwood	12	Long Beach Blvd
LA R13.47	Lynwood	13	The original routing postmile for the 105/710 junction was LA 14.53
LA R14.13 LA R14.65	Paramount	14	Garfield Avenue; Paramount Blvd	Exit 15 westbound
LA R15.76	Bellflower	16	The original routing postmile for the 105/19 junction was LA 17.45
R16.64	Downey	17	Bellflower Blvd
LA 18.82	Norwalk	18 A	Like many signs along the entrances and freeway junctions of I-605, no destinations ("control cities") are listed here
		18 B
			Studebaker Road	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance (at-grade intersection)

References

External links

Interstate Highways in California | Southern California freeways | Three-digit Interstate Highways | California Freeway and Expressway System

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