California State Route 91

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"Riverside Freeway" redirects here. For the highway in Brisbane, Australia, see Riverside Expressway.
State Route 91
Gardena Freeway, Artesia Freeway, Riverside Freeway
Defined by S&HC § 391, maintained by Caltrans
Length: 59.047 mi[1] (95.027 km)
History: 1956 as SR 14; 1964 as Hwy 91
West end: Vermont Ave. in Gardena
Major
junctions:		 I-710 in Long Beach
I-5 in Anaheim
I-15 in Corona
East end: I-215 / SR 60 in Riverside
State highways in California (list - pre-1964)
County routes in California (list)
< SR 90 SR 92 >
History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

State Route 91, also known as simply The 91, is a major east-west freeway located entirely within Southern California and serving several regions of the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Specifically, it runs from Vermont Avenue in Gardena, just west of the junction with the Harbor Freeway (Interstate 110), east to Riverside at the junction with the Pomona (State Route 60 west of 91), Moreno Valley (State Route 60 east of the 91), and Escondido (I-215) freeways. The route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and, since the portion west of Vermont Avenue was relinquished to local governments, it is entirely a freeway. SR 91 is part of the State Scenic Highway System from SR 55 to the east city limit of Anaheim, in the western part of the Santa Ana Canyon,[2] and is eligible for the system through the canyon to I-15.

Although SR 91 is an east-west road, it inherited its odd (as opposed to even) route number from the now mostly decommissioned U.S. 91 which passed through the Inland Empire in a northeasterly direction on its way to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and points beyond. Those segments of U.S. 91 are now parallel to, or have been replaced altogether by, Interstate 15 (I-15).

Contents

[edit] Route description

From the Harbor Freeway to its intersection with the Long Beach Freeway in northern Long Beach, SR 91 is named the Gardena Freeway. Between the Long Beach Freeway and its intersection with the Santa Ana Freeway at the Fullerton-Anaheim border, it is named the Artesia Freeway. From the Santa Ana Freeway to its eastern terminus at the intersection of the Pomona, Moreno Valley, and Escondido Freeways, it is named the Riverside Freeway.

[edit] Gardena Freeway

The Gardena Freeway is a short freeway in southern Los Angeles County. It is the westernmost freeway portion of State Route 91. It begins just west of the Harbor Freeway at the intersection with Vermont Avenue in the eastern edge of the city of Gardena, proceeding eastward approximately six miles (10 km) until it intersects the Long Beach Freeway. Thereafter, SR 91 is known as the Artesia Freeway.

Until 1991, the Gardena Freeway was known as the Redondo Beach Freeway. The name change reflected the successful efforts of the cities of Torrance and Redondo Beach to block the extension of the freeway westward to its intended terminus at the cancelled Pacific Coast Freeway in Redondo Beach.

[edit] Artesia Freeway

The Artesia Freeway is a freeway in southeastern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County. It is signed as State Route 91 for its entire length. It runs east-west from its western terminus at the Long Beach Freeway in northern Long Beach to its eastern terminus at the Santa Ana Freeway at the Fullerton-Anaheim border. (SR 91 continues west of the Long Beach Freeway as the Gardena Freeway, and east of the Santa Ana Freeway as the Riverside Freeway.) The "Artesia Freeway" name originally was assigned to the entire length of SR 91 west of the Santa Ana Freeway in the early 1970s since it was, in sense, the freeway realignment of SR 91 from the paralleling Artesia Boulevard.

As the only freeway to link Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, the 91 is one of the most heavily congested routes in Southern California.

[edit] Riverside Freeway

Eastbound 91 at SR 55 (right) and the express toll lanes (left)
Eastbound 91 at SR 55 (right) and the express toll lanes (left)

The Riverside Freeway is the assigned name of a segment of State Route 91 (SR 91), a major east-west freeway located entirely within Southern California that links the cities/communities of Orange and Riverside counties. This named segment extends from the Santa Ana Freeway, Interstate 5 (I-5), in Buena Park to its eastern terminus at its junction with the San Bernardino Freeway, Interstate 10 (I-10) in San Bernardino. Note that the freeway's number assignment changes to Interstate 215 (I-215) at its junction with the Pomona Freeway, State Route 60 (SR 60) in Riverside. Thus, for the last 6 miles of its eastern alignment is the Riverside Freeway, Interstate 215. Recent improvements to the I-215/SR 60/SR 91 interchange have included new signs, including a "91 South" sign above the last portion of the I-215 southbound lanes which continue on to become the westbound SR 91. A novel feature, for California, is the presence of the toll road (the 91 Express Lanes) that shares alignment with the Riverside Freeway. The Riverside Freeway was first opened in 1963 signed as U.S. Route 91 and U.S. Route 395 and the last section was built in 1975.

[edit] 91 Express Lanes

For more details on this topic, see 91 Express Lanes.

Opening in 1995, the 91 Express Lanes was the first privately-funded tollway built in the United States since the 1940s, and the first fully automated tollway in the world. Tolls are collected when a vehicle carrying a transponder mounted on the inside of the vehicle's windshield passes beneath the toll 'booth' (actually a transceiver array above the toll lanes that is located at about the five-mile point of the toll road). Other characteristics of the toll road include: variable toll based on traffic volume (i.e. variable congestion pricing) with road signs alerting users to the toll to be paid; an alignment contained entirely within the median of the existing Riverside Freeway with two lanes in each direction; limited access provided only at the east and west ends of the toll road (where the toll lanes become regular carpool lanes; and separation between the regular, main lanes of the Riverside Freeway is provided by reflective yellow, 3 ft high, plastic lane markers (as opposed to concrete barriers or a similar solid barrier)).

[edit] History

[edit] Original US 91 - Barstow to Nevada

U.S. Route 91
U.S. Route 91

The Arrowhead Trail, an auto trail connecting Salt Lake City with Los Angeles, initially took a longer route via present US 95 and former US 66 between Las Vegas and Needles, as the more direct Old Spanish Trail was in very poor condition.[3][4] The "Silver Lake cutoff", which would save about 90 miles (145 km),[5] was proposed by 1920,[6] and completed in 1925 as an oiled road by San Bernardino County.[7][8] The Bureau of Public Roads and the state of Nevada both urged its inclusion in the state highway system, the former as part of the federal aid highway connecting Salt Lake City and Los Angeles,[9] and the state legislature did that in 1925,[10] with it becoming an extension of Route 31. (Across the state line, State Route 6 continued through Las Vegas to Arizona.) The initial plan for the U.S. Highway system simply stated that Route No. 91 would run from Las Vegas "to an intersection with Route No. 60" (which became US 66 in 1926),[11] but in 1926 the cutoff was chosen, ending at US 66 at Daggett, just east of Barstow.[12][13] (The roadway south from Las Vegas later became part of US 95.) The route was added to the federal-aid secondary system in 1926,[14] which helped pay for a mid-1930s widening and paving, including some realignments (parts of the old road are now known as Arrowhead Trail). The new routing generally followed the present I-15, except through Baker (where it used Baker Boulevard) and into Barstow (where it followed former SR 58 to First Avenue, ending at Main Street, which carried US 66).[15]

[edit] SR 18 - former extension of US 91 through Santa Ana Canyon to Long Beach

US 91 as it existed just prior to the 1964 renumbering
US 91 as it existed just prior to the 1964 renumbering

US 91 was extended southwest to Long Beach in the late 1940s.[16][17][18] Beginning at Barstow, the extension overlapped US 66 over Cajon Pass to San Bernardino. From San Bernardino west through Riverside and Santa Ana Canyon to Olive, the state took over a mostly-paved county highway[9][19] in 1931 as part of an extension of Route 43 to Newport Beach via Santa Ana.[20] Two branches leading west from Route 43 near Olive along mostly-constructed county roads were added in 1933: Route 175 along Orangethorpe Avenue and Artesia Boulevard from near the mouth of the canyon west to Route 60 (now SR 1) in Hermosa Beach (unconstructed through Compton until the mid-1950s[21][22][23]), and Route 178 along Lincoln Avenue and Carson Street from Olive west to Route 168 (now SR 19) in Lakewood.[24][25] When state routes were marked in 1934, Route 175 became Sign Route 14, and Sign Route 18 included all of Route 178 and most of Route 43 into the San Bernardino Mountains.[26][27] When US 91 was extended to Long Beach, it overlapped SR 18 from San Bernardino to Lakewood, where it turned south along SR 19 to the Los Alamitos Traffic Circle. There it turned west along US 101 Alternate to near downtown Long Beach, where it ended at SR 15 (Atlantic Avenue), at a terminus shared with US 6. (This routing along SR 19 and US 101 Alt. also became an extension of SR 18.)[22][28]

In 1935, the state improved the alignment between Fairmont Boulevard and Gypsum Canyon Road, including a bypass of the old road, which curved along the south slope of the canyon, east of Weir Canyon Road.[29] In the late 1930s, the Prado Dam project resulted in the bypassing of a longer section, replacing Prado Road, an abandoned road curving to the east end of the dam, Pomona Rincon Road, Auto Center Drive, Pomona Road, and Yorba Street with the present Green River Road, Palisades Drive, part of SR 91, and 6th Street.[30][31]

[edit] SR 14 - present SR 91 to Hermosa Beach

Prior to 1991, the Gardena Freeway was known as the Redondo Beach Freeway, referring to Caltrans' original intention for the freeway portion of the route to continue all the way to the never-built Pacific Coast Freeway.

Also, before 1997, the 91 continued all the way to State Route 1 in Hermosa Beach. At that time, the route became discontinuous in Gardena, the portion between Vermont Ave. and Western Ave. being turned over to the city. In 2003, the western portion, from SR 1 to Western Ave. was relinquished to the local jurisdictions. The first segment of the freeway was made in 1965 signed as US 91, and the last segment was made in 1975.

[edit] 91 Express Lanes

Main article: 91 Express Lanes

By the early 1990s, rapid development of the areas of the Inland Empire around Riverside had made the Riverside Freeway—which is the sole freeway connecting the working class, bedroom communities and industrial areas of the Inland Empire to the wealthy suburbs and commercial centers of Orange County—one of the most congested in the Greater Los Angeles region. In response, a private consortium created the 91 Express Lanes, a fully automated, RFID-activated tollway contained entirely within the median of the existing Riverside Freeway. This route operates between the Orange/Riverside county line and the Costa Mesa Freeway interchange in eastern Anaheim. Opening in 1995, the 91 Express Lanes were the first privately funded tollway built in the United States since the 1940s, and the first fully automated tollway in the world. In 2003, their ownership and operation was taken over by the Orange County Transportation Authority.

[edit] Future

 This article contains information about a planned or expected future road.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change as the road's construction or completion approaches and more information becomes available.

Testing evaluations are slated to begin in the winter of 2007 for a tunnel proposal, currently called the Irvine-Corona Expressway proposal. One concept for this project specifies a set of three tunnels—two for cars and one for both trucks and high-speed light rail—that would stretch for 12 miles, burrowing beneath the Santa Ana mountain range, and carrying up to 70,000 cars a day between California’s Riverside and Orange counties.[32] The proposed tunnel project would essentially parallel the 91 freeway and would reduce traffic congestion that has already prompted the need for constructing the 91 Express Lanes. If completed, the Irvine-Corona Expressway would be the longest traffic tunnel in North America.

[edit] Major intersections and exit list

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.
County Location Postmile
[1][33][34][35]		 #[36] Destinations Notes
Los Angeles
(LA 0.00-R20.74)		 Hermosa Beach,
Redondo Beach		 0.00 SR 1 (Pacific Coast Highway, Sepulveda Boulevard)
Lawndale 2 To I-405 north / Redondo Beach Boulevard to Hawthorne Boulevard north Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
Redondo Beach
2.47 SR 107 (Hawthorne Boulevard) No left turn eastbound
Torrance
3.07 I-405 south (San Diego Freeway) – Long Beach Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
3.07 I-405 north (San Diego Freeway) – Santa Monica Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Gardena 6.01 Vermont Avenue Current west end of SR 91
Los Angeles
West end of freeway
R6.34 6 I-110 (Harbor Freeway) to I-405 – San Pedro, Los Angeles No exit number eastbound
Carson R6.90 7A Main Street No westbound entrance
R7.43 7B Avalon Boulevard
R8.44 8 Central Avenue
Compton
R9.16 9 Wilmington Avenue
R9.80 10A Acacia Avenue Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
10.27 10B Alameda Street (SR 47) – Compton Signed as exit 10 westbound
10.41 10C Santa Fe Avenue Signed as exit 10 westbound
Long Beach R11.10 11 Long Beach Boulevard
R11.68 12A I-710 (Long Beach Freeway) – Long Beach, Pasadena Signed as exits 12A (south) and 12B (north) eastbound
Bridge over the Los Angeles River
R12.09 12B Atlantic Avenue Signed as exit 12C eastbound; former SR 15
R13.09 13 Cherry Avenue
R13.59 14A Paramount Boulevard
R14.10 14B Downey Avenue
Bellflower
R14.62 15A SR 19 (Lakewood Boulevard) Signed as exit 15 eastbound
R15.11 15B Clark Avenue Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
R15.61 16 Bellflower Boulevard – Bellflower Former Legislative Route 169
Bridge over the San Gabriel River
Cerritos R16.94 17 I-605 (San Gabriel River Freeway) Signed as exit 17B westbound
R17.09 17A Studebaker Road Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
Artesia R18.09 18 Pioneer Boulevard – Artesia Former SR 35
Cerritos R18.65 19A Norwalk Boulevard
R19.17-
R19.43		 19B Artesia Boulevard, Bloomfield Avenue No eastbound entrance
R19.81 19C Shoemaker Avenue Eastbound exit and entrance
R20.45 20 Carmenita Road No eastbound entrance
Bridge over the Coyote Creek
Orange
(ORA R0.00-R18.91)		 La Palma R0.49-
R0.85		 21 Orangethorpe Avenue, Valley View Street Signed as exit 22 westbound
Buena Park
R1.84 23A Knott Avenue
R2.62 23B SR 39 (Beach Boulevard) – Buena Park
Anaheim,
Fullerton		 R3.64 24 I-5 south (Santa Ana Freeway) – Santa Ana Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
R3.64 24 I-5 north (Santa Ana Freeway) – Los Angeles Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
R3.85 23C Magnolia Avenue, Orangethorpe Avenue Eastbound exit is part of exit 24; westbound exit is also marked as access to I-5 south (Santa Ana Freeway) – Santa Ana (via Magnolia Avenue south)
1.23 26 Brookhurst Street
2.23 27 Euclid Street
3.26-
3.51		 28 Harbor Boulevard, Lemon Street, Anaheim Boulevard Former SR 72
Anaheim 4.26 29 East Street, Raymond Avenue
5.26 30A State College Boulevard Signed as exit 30 westbound; former SR 250
6.12 30B SR 57 (Orange Freeway) – Santa Ana, Pomona Signed as exit 31 westbound
7.36 31 Kraemer Boulevard, Glassell Street Signed as exit 32 westbound
8.40 33 Tustin Avenue
Bridge over the Santa Ana River
R9.19 34 SR 55 south (Costa Mesa Freeway) – Newport Beach Left exit westbound
91 Express Lanes Eastbound left exit and westbound left entrance
R10.09 35 Lakeview Avenue
R11.54 36 SR 90 (Imperial Highway)
R14.43 39 Weir Canyon Road, Yorba Linda Boulevard
Yorba Linda
R15.93 40 SR 241 south (Eastern Toll Road) – Irvine Signed as exit 41B westbound
R16.40 41 Gypsum Canyon Road Signed as exit 41A westbound
R17.95 42 Coal Canyon Road Closed since 2003 for environmental reasons[37][38]
91 Express Lanes Westbound left exit and eastbound left entrance
Riverside
(RIV R0.00-21.66)
R1.03 44 Green River Road
Corona R2.09 45 SR 71 north (Chino Valley Freeway) – Ontario, Pomona
R3.71 47 Serfas Club Drive, Auto Center Drive
4.16 48 6th Street, Maple Street
5.38 49A Lincoln Avenue Signed as exit 49 westbound
6.02 49B Grand Boulevard Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
6.34 50 Main Street Former SR 31/SR 71
7.45 51 I-15 (Corona Freeway) – Barstow, San Diego
9.18 53 McKinley Street Signed as exits 53A (south) and 53B (north) westbound
Riverside 10.81 54 Pierce Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
11.10 55A Magnolia Avenue
11.99 55B La Sierra Avenue
13.04 56 Tyler Street
14.08 58 Van Buren Boulevard – Arlington
15.63 59 Adams Street, Auto Center Drive
16.65 60 Madison Street
17.82 61 Arlington Avenue
18.41 62 Central Avenue – Magnolia Center
20.00 63 14th Street
20.45-
20.53		 64 University Avenue, Mission Inn Avenue – Downtown Riverside Former US 60/US 395
21.47 65A Spruce Street, Poplar Street Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
21.66 65B I-215 south (Escondido Freeway) / SR 60 east (Moreno Valley Freeway) – San Diego, Indio Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
21.66 65C SR 60 west (Pomona Freeway) – Los Angeles Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
21.66 I-215 north (Riverside Freeway) – San Bernardino Eastbound lanes change designation to I-215 north (Riverside Freeway) – San Bernardino; westbound lanes change designation from I-215 south (Riverside Freeway) – Riverside

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b California Department of Transportation, State Truck Route List (XLS file), accessed January 2008
  2. ^ California Department of Transportation, Route 91 - Scenic Highway, accessed February 2008
  3. ^ Official Automobile Blue Book, Volume Eight, 1917, p. 501
  4. ^ Clason Map Company, Touring Atlas of the United States, 1925
  5. ^ Van Nuys News, Auto Club News, December 21, 1923
  6. ^ Los Angeles Times, Brice Canyon, Zion Canyon National Park, Utah, December 26, 1920, p. VIII1
  7. ^ Eric Charles Nystrom, National Park Service, From Neglected Space To Protected Place: An Administrative History of Mojave National Preserve, March 2003
  8. ^ Los Angeles Times, State Takes Over Cut-off to Nevada Line, October 25, 1925, p. G12
  9. ^ a b California Highway Advisory Committee and Arthur Hastings Breed, Report of a Study of the State Highway System of California, California State Printing Office, 1925, p. 97
  10. ^ "An act authorizing and directing the California highway commission to acquire necessary rights of way, and to construct and maintain a highway, which is hereby declared to be a state highway, extending from Barstow...to a point...on the boundary line between the state of California and the state of Nevada...which said highway is commonly known and referred to as the Arrowhead trail.", 1925 chapter 369, p. 670
  11. ^ Report of Joint Board on Interstate Highways, October 30, 1925, Approved by the Secretary of Agriculture, November 18, 1925
  12. ^ United States System of Highways, November 11, 1926
  13. ^ American Association of State Highway Officials, United States Numbered Highways, American Highways, April 1927
  14. ^ Los Angeles Times, Silver Lake Cut-off to Get Federal Aid, February 14, 1926, p. G5
  15. ^ United States Geological Survey, Barstow (1934, scale 1:125000), Avawatz Mountains (1933, scale 1:250000), and Ivanpah (1942, scale 1:250000)
  16. ^ Rand McNally Road Atlas, 1946
  17. ^ Long Beach Independent, For Sale, March 25, 1949: "On 18 and 91 Highway in Corona."
  18. ^ Long Beach Independent, For Sale, June 5, 1949: "Stucco construction. 4 year old. On Highway 18 and 91."
  19. ^ Ben Blow, California Highways: A Descriptive Record of Road Development by the State and by Such Counties as Have Paved Highways, 1920 (Archive.org or Google Books), pp. 194-195, 200
  20. ^ "An act establishing certain additional state highways and classifying them as secondary highways.", 1931 chapter 82, p. 102: "State Highway Route 43, Waterman canyon via Santa Ana canyon to Newport Beach."
  21. ^ H.M. Gousha Company, Los Angeles and Vicinity, 1941
  22. ^ a b H.M. Gousha Company, Enlarged Map of the Los Angeles District, 1955
  23. ^ National Bridge Inventory database, 2006: the bridge over Compton Creek and Alameda Street is dated 1956
  24. ^ "An act...relating to...the addition of certain highways to the State system.", 1933 chapter 767, p. 2040: "State Highway Route 60 near Hermosa Beach to State Highway Route 43 in Santa Ana Canyon via Artesia Avenue." "Cerritos Avenue to State Highway Route 43 near Olive via Anaheim."
  25. ^ "An act to establish a Streets and Highways Code...", 1935 chapter 29, p. 277, 278, 286: "Route 31 is from: (a) San Bernardino to the Nevada State line near Calada, via Barstow. (b) Route 26 near Colton to Route 9 near San Bernardino via Mt. Vernon Avenue." "Route 43 is from Newport Beach to Route 31 at Victorville, via Santa Ana Canyon, San Bernardino, Waterman Canyon, "Crest Drive" into Bear Valley, Big Bear Lake and Baldwin Lake. Route 43 includes a highway around Big Bear Lake." "Route 175 is from Route 60 near Hermosa Beach to Route 43 in Santa Ana Canyon via Artesia Avenue." "Route 178 is from Cerritos Avenue to Route 43 near Olive via Anaheim."
  26. ^ Rand McNally & Company, Los Angeles & Vicinity, 1933
  27. ^ H.M. Gousha Company, Los Angeles and Vicinity, 1935
  28. ^ H.M. Gousha Company, Long Beach, 1953
  29. ^ Los Angeles Times, Old Canyon Road Now Being Improved, April 21, 1935, p. E4
  30. ^ United States Geological Survey, Prado (scale 1:31680), surveyed 1933, "routes usually traveled" as of 1941
  31. ^ United States Geological Survey, Corona and Vicinity (scale 1:31680), surveyed 1933, "routes usually traveled" as of 1941
  32. ^ Dixon, Chris (November, 2007), “Will Longest U.S. Underground Expressway See the Light?”, Popular Mechanics, <http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/transportation/4224670.html?nav=RSS20> 
  33. ^ California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
  34. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2006
  35. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 1999 (the last year before it was updated to remove the relinquished part)
  36. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, SR-91 Eastbound and SR-91 Westbound, accessed January 2008
  37. ^ "Discover a showery 20-foot cascade in Coal Canyon, Orange County's premier wildlife corridor", 2005-03-31. Retrieved on 2007-10-13. 
  38. ^ Wilson, Janet. "Wildlife Highway Under Busy 91 Freeway Links Vital Habitats", Los Angeles Times, 2004-04-19. 

[edit] External links


U.S. Route 91
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Freeways in Greater Los Angeles
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