The
Orange Crush Interchange is a freeway interchange in the city of
Orange, CaliforniaThe City of Orange is located in Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately 3 miles north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in that many of the homes in its Old Town District were built prior to 1920; whereas many other cities in the region demolished such houses...
, near the confluence of the cities of Orange,
Santa AnaSanta Ana is the county seat and most populous city in Orange County, California, and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States with a 2007 estimated population of 339,555...
,
AnaheimAnaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of January 1, 2009, the city population was about 348,467, making it the 10th most-populated city in California and ranked 54th in the United States. The city anticipates that the population will surpass 400,000 by 2014 due to rapid development...
, and
Garden GroveGarden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. In 2009, the city's population was estimated at 174,715. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area...
. The
Disneyland ResortThe Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort complex, that opened in 1955, in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area.Known...
,
The Block at OrangeThe Block at Orange is an open-air shopping mall developed byThe Mills Corporation and owned by Simon Property Group in Orange, California, a few miles southeast of Disneyland near the heart of the Orange Crush interchange. It is popular with teenage skateboarders, housing Vans skatepark...
, St. Joseph Hospital, Children's Hospital of Orange County, the
UCI Medical CenterThe University of California, Irvine Medical Center is a major research hospital located in the City of Orange. It is Orange County's central public hospital and the teaching center for the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.-History:Plans had been in place since the founding of...
,
Westfield MainPlaceWestfield MainPlace, formerly known as MainPlace Santa Ana and sometimes colloquially as Main Place Mall, is an indoor tri-level, shopping center located on the far north side of Santa Ana, California...
,
Angel Stadium of AnaheimAngel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
, Honda Center, and the
Platinum TriangleThe Platinum Triangle is a district of Anaheim, California surrounding the city's two major sports venues, the Honda Center and Angel Stadium of Anaheim...
are all located at or near the interchange. The name of the interchange is a play on the name of the
eponymous sodaCrush is a soft drink brand that originated as Ward's Orange Crush , which was invented by Clayton J. Powel of Los Angeles, California in 1916....
.
The interchange comprises five freeway segments (i.e.
The
Orange Crush Interchange is a freeway interchange in the city of
Orange, CaliforniaThe City of Orange is located in Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately 3 miles north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in that many of the homes in its Old Town District were built prior to 1920; whereas many other cities in the region demolished such houses...
, near the confluence of the cities of Orange,
Santa AnaSanta Ana is the county seat and most populous city in Orange County, California, and the 53rd-most populous city in the United States with a 2007 estimated population of 339,555...
,
AnaheimAnaheim is a city in Orange County, California. As of January 1, 2009, the city population was about 348,467, making it the 10th most-populated city in California and ranked 54th in the United States. The city anticipates that the population will surpass 400,000 by 2014 due to rapid development...
, and
Garden GroveGarden Grove is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. In 2009, the city's population was estimated at 174,715. State Route 22, also known as the Garden Grove Freeway, passes through the city running east-west. The city is known outside the Southern California area...
. The
Disneyland ResortThe Disneyland Resort is a recreational resort complex, that opened in 1955, in Anaheim, California. The resort is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks and Resorts division and is home to two theme parks, three hotels and a shopping, dining, and entertainment area.Known...
,
The Block at OrangeThe Block at Orange is an open-air shopping mall developed byThe Mills Corporation and owned by Simon Property Group in Orange, California, a few miles southeast of Disneyland near the heart of the Orange Crush interchange. It is popular with teenage skateboarders, housing Vans skatepark...
, St. Joseph Hospital, Children's Hospital of Orange County, the
UCI Medical CenterThe University of California, Irvine Medical Center is a major research hospital located in the City of Orange. It is Orange County's central public hospital and the teaching center for the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine.-History:Plans had been in place since the founding of...
,
Westfield MainPlaceWestfield MainPlace, formerly known as MainPlace Santa Ana and sometimes colloquially as Main Place Mall, is an indoor tri-level, shopping center located on the far north side of Santa Ana, California...
,
Angel Stadium of AnaheimAngel Stadium of Anaheim is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. It is the home ballpark to Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim of the American League, and was previously home to the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...
, Honda Center, and the
Platinum TriangleThe Platinum Triangle is a district of Anaheim, California surrounding the city's two major sports venues, the Honda Center and Angel Stadium of Anaheim...
are all located at or near the interchange. The name of the interchange is a play on the name of the
eponymous sodaCrush is a soft drink brand that originated as Ward's Orange Crush , which was invented by Clayton J. Powel of Los Angeles, California in 1916....
.
The interchange comprises five freeway segments (i.e. there are five freeway 'paths' of travel into the complex) of three major highways:
Significant construction funded by Measure M in the late 1990s and early 2000s has greatly improved the efficiency and safety of motorists traveling through the interchange. Most of the transitions were re-aligned and/or widened during this reconstruction, including the addition of HOV transitions between SR 57 and I-5. Prior to its reconstruction, driving through was challenging and, combined with heavy traffic volume, resulted in frustrating traffic congestion, hence the name "Orange Crush."
In late 2004 the
Orange County Transportation AuthorityThe Orange County Transportation Authority is the public sector transportation planning body and transit service provider for Orange County, California. Its ancestor agencies include not only the prior Orange County Transit District but also such diverse entities as the Pacific Electric Railroad...
began a construction project to widen the entire length of SR 22, including the stretch through the Orange Crush Interchange. This project also added new HOV lanes to SR 22, but no direct HOV connectors from I-5 to SR 22 were constructed. Construction called for the closing of the connector from eastbound SR 22 to southbound I-5 for one year, from November 2005 to November 2006. The project was completed at the end of November 2006.
The 2002 edition of the
Guinness World RecordsGuinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing an internationally recognised...
book cites this as the most complex road interchange in the world, stating that it is an intersection of 34 different routes, when taking into account collector/distributor roads, surrounding on- and off-ramps (such as Bristol Street/La Veta Avenue, Broadway/Main Street), and direct carpool-to-carpool flyovers. Adding to the complexity is that of the five possible directions to enter the interchange, entering eastbound on SR-22 is the only approach that allows motorists to exit the interchange in all possible directions of travel. This is a result of the acute intersecting angles of SR-57 and I-5, as well as the fact that the interchange is approximately from SR-22's eastern terminus at SR-55, which also intersects I-5 several miles south of the Orange Crush.
In addition, although it is not a vehicular road, the
Santa Ana RiverThe Santa Ana River begins in San Bernardino County, California, in the San Bernardino National Forest. Its highest source lakes are Dollar Lake and Dry Lake , both on the northern flank of San Gorgonio Mountain in the San Gorgonio Wilderness...
coincidentally crosses I-5 at the Orange Crush area, forming a large "X" visible from space imagery in the heart of Orange County. Its
bike pathThe Santa Ana River bicycle path is a bicycle trail in Southern California stretching from the Pacific Ocean Huntington Beach to the Orange/Riverside county line...
offers bicyclists an alternative route through the Orange Crush, avoiding signals backed up with vehicles getting on or off freeways there during rush hour. Normal traffic is exacerbated during game times for the
AngelsThe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The Angels have been based in Angel Stadium of Anaheim since 1966...
or
DucksThe Anaheim Ducks are a professional ice hockey team based in Anaheim, California, USA. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, whose home stadiums lie in very close proximity to the Crush.