East Los Angeles Interchange
Encyclopedia
The East Los Angeles Interchange complex is the busiest freeway interchange
in the world, with its southern portion handling over 550,000 vehicles per day (2008 AADT). The northern portion, called the San Bernardino Split, is often considered a separate interchange. The interchange was named the Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Interchange, to honor U.S. Marine Corps
veteran Eugene A. Obregon
.
marvel. Located at the eastern edge of Downtown
Los Angeles
, California
along the east bank of the Los Angeles River
, the interchange comprises six freeway segments; that is, there are six freeway paths of travel into the complex. The actual number of numbered highways intersecting at this interchange is four:
The interchange is so complex because the intersecting freeways shift alignments and directions:
There is not complete freedom of movement within the interchange. Traffic flowing into it on certain freeways cannot leave it on all of the others. For example, there is no direct connector between the westbound Pomona Freeway (SR 60) and the southbound Santa Ana Freeway (I-5); travelers wanting to make this transition must exit at the Pomona Freeway's interchange with the Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 710) located three miles (5 km) to the east, head south, and then transition to the Santa Ana Freeway at the interchange between those two freeways.
Further complication is caused by the varying designs of each intersecting freeway and their related transition roads. Some have four lanes and are relatively straight and wide, while others have one lane, are narrow, or have curves with tighter radii or cambers. Traffic congestion is thus exacerbated as vehicles moving at high rates of speed on the wider transition roads try to merge with slower moving vehicles coming from the narrow transition roads.
Although not commonly called such by residents and other reporters, the freeway intersection was often called "Malfunction Junction
" by former KNX
traffic reporter Bill Keene
, because of its complicated interchange structure. The interchange is also commonly referred to as the "Nickel/Dime" during traffic reports.
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...
in the world, with its southern portion handling over 550,000 vehicles per day (2008 AADT). The northern portion, called the San Bernardino Split, is often considered a separate interchange. The interchange was named the Eugene A. Obregon Memorial Interchange, to honor U.S. Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
veteran Eugene A. Obregon
Eugene A. Obregon
Eugene Arnold Obregon was a United States Marine who was posthumously awarded the United States' highest military decoration for valor — the Medal of Honor — for sacrificing his life to save that of a wounded comrade during the Second Battle of Seoul...
.
Description
At the time of its construction in the early 1960s, the East Los Angeles Interchange was considered a civil engineeringCivil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...
marvel. Located at the eastern edge of Downtown
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
along the east bank of the Los Angeles River
Los Angeles River
The Los Angeles River is a river that starts in the San Fernando Valley, in the Simi Hills and Santa Susana Mountains, and flows through Los Angeles County, California, from Canoga Park in the western end of the San Fernando Valley, nearly southeast to its mouth in Long Beach...
, the interchange comprises six freeway segments; that is, there are six freeway paths of travel into the complex. The actual number of numbered highways intersecting at this interchange is four:
The interchange is so complex because the intersecting freeways shift alignments and directions:
- Interstate 5 (originally U.S. 99) enters the complex from the south as the Santa Ana Freeway, but exits to the north as the Golden State Freeway. The Santa Ana Freeway continues west as U.S. 101 toward the Four Level InterchangeFour Level InterchangeThe Four Level Interchange was the first stack interchange in the world. Completed in 1949 and fully opened in 1953 at the northern edge of downtown Los Angeles, California, USA, it connects U.S...
(Bill Keene Memorial Interchange) in downtown Los Angeles. - Interstate 10 (originally U.S. 70 "Ramona Freeway" [sic] / U.S. 60) is not contiguous through the interchange. Heading west into the complex on the San Bernardino Freeway (I-10), the trunk road heads to U.S. 101 at the San Bernardino Split. In order to follow the I-10 alignment, one must exit the trunk road and follow a connector that merges with the alignment of southbound I-5, then exit that trunk and follow another connector to the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10).
- Heading west into the complex on the Pomona Freeway (SR 60), the primary road (or trunk) heads into the Santa Monica Freeway (I-10).
There is not complete freedom of movement within the interchange. Traffic flowing into it on certain freeways cannot leave it on all of the others. For example, there is no direct connector between the westbound Pomona Freeway (SR 60) and the southbound Santa Ana Freeway (I-5); travelers wanting to make this transition must exit at the Pomona Freeway's interchange with the Long Beach Freeway (Interstate 710) located three miles (5 km) to the east, head south, and then transition to the Santa Ana Freeway at the interchange between those two freeways.
Further complication is caused by the varying designs of each intersecting freeway and their related transition roads. Some have four lanes and are relatively straight and wide, while others have one lane, are narrow, or have curves with tighter radii or cambers. Traffic congestion is thus exacerbated as vehicles moving at high rates of speed on the wider transition roads try to merge with slower moving vehicles coming from the narrow transition roads.
History
For a brief time in 1967-1968 , the I-5 and I-10 junction through the interchange was numbered as I-105 (in this case making I-10 + I-5 = I-105). That number was later reassigned to the Century Freeway.Although not commonly called such by residents and other reporters, the freeway intersection was often called "Malfunction Junction
Malfunction Junction
Malfunction Junction is a derisive nickname given by motorists to a confusing, dangerous, or otherwise problematic interchange.-Alabama:*Interstates in Birmingham. This interchange is the busiest in Alabama, and has been the site of many accidents, including roadway punctures and two fiery...
" by former KNX
KNX (AM)
KNX is an all-news radio station in Los Angeles, California, USA. The station operates on a clear channel and is owned by CBS Radio. KNX broadcasts from facilities shared with sister stations KFWB, KCBS-FM, KTWV, and KAMP on Los Angeles' Miracle Mile...
traffic reporter Bill Keene
Bill Keene
Bill Keene was a television and radio personality who became famous in the Los Angeles, California market as a traffic and weather announcer...
, because of its complicated interchange structure. The interchange is also commonly referred to as the "Nickel/Dime" during traffic reports.