Los Angeles, California Highway and Street Network

Highway network

The highway network is built in a grid pattern, with Interstate 5 and Interstate 10 providing through connections outside the metropolitan area. Interstate 15 in California forms a north-south route through the Inland Empire, and is the primary connection to Las Vegas. I-5 is the main diagonal highway from San Diego toward Sacramento. I-10 begins at the Pacific Ocean and runs through downtown and the Inland Empire toward Phoenix. US 101 forms the coastal route to Ventura, Santa Barbara and finally San Francisco. For an agglomeration of this size, there are relatively few radial highways running outside the agglomeration. This is because Los Angeles is relatively isolated, surrounded by sparsely populated deserts.

State Routes and three-digit Interstate Highways complement the highway network. Interstate 405 was once intended as a bypass for through traffic, but is primarily a commuter route and runs its entire distance through built-up areas. Interstate 210 forms the northern bypass of Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. Interstate 605 forms the easternmost north-south Interstate in the Los Angeles Basin and, along with Interstate 710, is a major route for freight traffic from the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the industries of the Inland Empire. Interstate 110 connects the ports with downtown Los Angeles. The State Route 118 along with US 101, it forms one of two east-west highways through the San Fernando Valley. State Route 60 forms an east-west highway parallel to I-10. Further south, State Route 91 runs as an east-west highway between the southern suburbs and the Inland Empire.

The network of main routes is supplemented by somewhat less important routes that mainly serve local and regional traffic. State Route 14 connects the desert cities of Palmdale and Lancaster with Los Angeles. State Route 170 along with US 101 forms an alternative to I-5 between the north and the center of the city. State Route 2 connects Glendale to the center of town. An east-west route forms State Route 134 to Pasadena. It forms a link between US 101 and I-210, thus providing a through east-west connection through the north of the conurbation.

According to collegetoppicks, in Orange County, State Route 55 and State Route 57 run parallel north-south routes between the economic centers in that area, namely Santa Ana and Anaheim. State Route 22 connects the ports of Long Beach with Santa Ana. Further south, State Route 73 provides a toll road alternative to I-405 south of Irvine, especially interesting for through traffic. State Route 241 is a toll road from the southeastern suburbs to Anaheim and has no through function. In the Inland Empire, State Route 71 connects from Corona to Pomona, two larger subcenters. The Interstate 215 forms the easternmost north-south route through the Inland Empire, connecting traffic from San Diego to Riverside and San Bernardino.

Overview freeways

Street network

Los Angeles is generally laid out in a grid system, with north-south and east-west routes. Street names often run through several municipalities and are thus continuous from start to finish. From Downtown Los Angeles to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the streets that run east-west are numbered. The numbering goes south from 1st Street to 266th Street. Important east-west roads have a name, the number is then skipped. Most freeway connections are on these major east-west routes. The north-south roads generally have a name, and can be a Street, Boulevard or Avenue. Exceptions to the grid system can be found in the mountain areas and in some suburbs, for example Inglewood. In the northwestern San Fernando Valley, the roads are also built in a grid, these streets have only names and no numbers. Street names are generally well known and also appear on the signage of the freeways. The City of Los Angeles manages 11,600 miles of road.

The underlying road network is monitored particularly well by induction loops in the road surface, with which traffic lights are adjusted. 85% of intersections with a VRI are synchronized with other intersections, the largest network in the United States. During peak hours, parking is prohibited on important streets, in order to free up extra capacity. Normally, parking is allowed along most roads. On priority roads, vehicles are towed immediately. Every year, 3.2 million parking fines are issued in the city of Los Angeles. The speed limit is usually 25 mph on residential streets, on major roads a higher speed limit often applies. The busiest non-freeway in Los Angeles is Wilshire Boulevard at Veteran Avenue with 123,000 vehicles per day.