The Four Level Interchange (officially the Bill Keene Memorial Interchange) is the first
stack interchange
A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...
in the world. Completed in 1949 and fully opened in 1953 at the northern edge of
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
,
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, it connects
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
(
Hollywood Freeway
The Hollywood Freeway is one of the principal freeways of Los Angeles, California (the boundaries of which it does not leave) and one of the busiest in the United States. It is the principal route through the Cahuenga Pass, the primary shortcut ...
and
Santa Ana Freeway
The Santa Ana Freeway is one of the principal freeways in Southern California, connecting Los Angeles and its southeastern suburbs including the freeway's namesake, the city of Santa Ana. The freeway begins at its junction with the San Diego Free ...
) to
State Route 110 (
Harbor Freeway
A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...
and
Arroyo Seco Parkway
The Arroyo Seco Parkway, also known as the Pasadena Freeway, is one of the oldest freeways built in the United States. It connects Los Angeles with Pasadena alongside the Arroyo Seco seasonal river. It is notable not only for being an early f ...
). In 2006, the interchange was officially renamed in the memory of Los Angeles traffic and weather reporter
Bill Keene
Bill Keene (1927 – April 5, 2000) was a television and radio personality who became famous in the Los Angeles, California market as a traffic and weather announcer. He was particularly known for his colorful humorous traffic reports which inclu ...
.
Description
The highway is a
stack interchange
A directional interchange, colloquially known as a stack interchange, is a type of grade-separated junction between two controlled-access highways that allows for free-flowing movement to and from all directions of traffic. These interchanges e ...
that connects
U.S. Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
to
State Route 110. All movements are possible in this interchange between US 101, which crosses over SR 110, but not necessarily with surrounding roads, like
Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades east to Figueroa Street in Downtown Los Angeles. It is a major thoroughfare in t ...
, which crosses SR 110 just northeast of the interchange. The interchange is located at Exit 3 of US 101 and Exit 24A of SR 110.
The four freeway segments ("paths" of travel) from the Four Level Interchange are:
*
*
*
*
History
While the highway oriented east–west at this intersection has consistently been numbered US 101, the numerical designation of road oriented north–south at this interchange has changed over the years. Originally designated
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 or U.S. Highway 66 (US 66 or Route 66) was one of the original highways in the United States Numbered Highway System. It was established on November 11, 1926, with road signs erected the following year. The h ...
and
U.S. Route 6
U.S. Route 6 (US 6), also called the Grand Army of the Republic Highway, honoring the American Civil War veterans association, is a main route of the U.S. Highway system. While it currently runs east-northeast from Bishop, California, to P ...
and later signed as State Route 11, all of these designations were eventually removed from the intersection and replaced with the current designation of Route 110.
The four-level reinforced concrete structure was designed by a team of engineers and built by the James I. Barnes Construction Company. Although it was finished in 1949, it was not put into full use until the freeways it served were completed in 1953.
In July 2006, the freeway interchange was officially named in honor of
Bill Keene
Bill Keene (1927 – April 5, 2000) was a television and radio personality who became famous in the Los Angeles, California market as a traffic and weather announcer. He was particularly known for his colorful humorous traffic reports which inclu ...
, former
KNX and
KNXT traffic and weather reporter, although the new name is rarely used. Keene referred to the interchange as "The Stacks" and the "4-H Interchange". During the 1960s,
Dick Whittinghill
Noral Edwin "Dick" Whittinghill (March 5, 1913 – January 24, 2001) was an American film and television actor, recording artist and radio DJ in the United States. His early music career included membership in The Pied Pipers vocal group whic ...
on
radio station
Radio broadcasting is transmission of audio (sound), sometimes with related metadata, by radio waves to radio receivers belonging to a public audience. In terrestrial radio broadcasting the radio waves are broadcast by a land-based radio ...
KMPC
KMPC (1540 AM, "Radio Korea", 라디오코리아) is a commercial radio station in Los Angeles, California. It is owned by P&Y Broadcasting Corporation. Radio Korea is a division of the Radio Korea Media Group. The station airs Korean– ...
sometimes called it the
Four Letter Interchange.
The interchange was constructed as a stack interchange because surrounding buildings and terrain made construction of a
cloverleaf interchange
A cloverleaf interchange is a two-level interchange in which all turns are handled by slip roads. To go left (in right-hand traffic; reverse directions in left-driving regions), vehicles first continue as one road passes over or under the ...
impractical. The construction of the interchange displaced over 4,000 people from their homes and cost $5.5 million ($ in ) - making it the most expensive half-mile of highway ever built at the time.
The mainline traffic of US 101 is at the top of the interchange, above the ramps, a rarity in stack interchanges. Other examples of similar configurations would later be constructed, including on the
M25 interchange with
M23 passing above the ramps (south of
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
), the junction of
I-695 and
I-70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a park and ride lot just east of I-695 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is the fifth-longest Interstate in the co ...
in
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, and the
Interstate 805
Interstate 805 (I-805) is a major north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in Southern California. It is a bypass auxiliary route of I-5, running roughly through the center of the Greater San Diego region from San Ysidro (part of the c ...
–
Interstate 8
Interstate 8 (I-8) is an Interstate Highway in the southwestern United States. It runs from the southern edge of Mission Bay at Sunset Cliffs Boulevard in San Diego, California, almost at the Pacific Ocean, to the junction with I-10, ...
interchange in
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
.
Its distinctive architecture has long made it a symbol of Los Angeles' post–
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
development, and it appears on numerous
postcard
A postcard or post card is a piece of thick paper or thin cardboard, typically rectangular, intended for writing and mailing without an envelope. Non-rectangular shapes may also be used but are rare. There are novelty exceptions, such as wood ...
s from the 1950s and 1960s.
See also
*
*
Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange
The Dosan Ahn Chang Ho Memorial Interchange, also known as the Harbor–Santa Monica Freeway Interchange, is a three-level cloverstack interchange that serves as the junction between the Harbor ( Interstate 110 and State Route 110) and Santa Mon ...
, the counterpart at the southern edge of Downtown Los Angeles
References
External links
{{commons category, Bill Keene Memorial Interchange
L.A.'s Famous Four-Level Freeway Interchange, 'The Stack,' Turns 58(kcet.org)
Southern California freeways
Road interchanges in California
Buildings and structures on U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 101
Transportation buildings and structures in Los Angeles