Interstate 605 (abbreviated I-605, officially known as the San Gabriel River Freeway) is a major north–south
auxiliary Interstate Highway
Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States.
Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which con ...
in the
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
urban area of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...
. It runs from
I-405 and
State Route 22 (SR 22) in
Seal Beach
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
to
I-210 in
Duarte Duarte may refer to:
* Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name
* Duarte, California, United States
* Duarte Province, Dominican Republic
* Pico Duarte
Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on th ...
. The San Gabriel River Freeway closely parallels the
San Gabriel River for most of its alignment, hence its name, which is one of the few
Southern California freeways
The Southern California freeways are a vast network of interconnected freeways in the megaregion of Southern California, serving a population of 23 million people. The Master Plan of Metropolitan Los Angeles Freeways was adopted by the Region ...
not named after a city along its route.
Aside from changes to the interchange with I-105 (which did not open until the early 1990s), and the addition of an HOV lane between I-405 and I-10, I-605 is one of the only remaining freeways that kept its original alignment throughout its run through Los Angeles County since it first opened.
Route description
The California Streets and Highways Code defines Route 605 as "(a) Route 1 near Seal Beach to Route 405. (b) Route 405 to Route 210 near Duarte." However, the portion in subsection A has yet to be constructed.
The southern terminus of I-605 is at the
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 ...
(
I-405) and Garden Grove (
SR 22) Freeways in
Seal Beach
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
. From there, it runs roughly north through the
Gateway Cities
The Gateway Cities Region, or Southeast Los Angeles County (also shortened to Southeast Los Angeles and Southeast LA) is an urbanized region located in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, between the City of Los Angeles proper, Orange C ...
of the
Los Angeles Basin
The Los Angeles Basin is a sedimentary basin located in Southern California, in a region known as the Peninsular Ranges. The basin is also connected to an anomalous group of east-west trending chains of mountains collectively known as the Tr ...
. It then shifts north-northeast, crossing the
Whittier Narrows
The Whittier Narrows is a narrows or water gap in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles County, California, United States, between the Puente Hills to the east and the Montebello Hills to the west. The gap is located at the southern boundary of th ...
and across the
San Gabriel Valley
The San Gabriel Valley ( es, Valle de San Gabriel) is one of the principal valleys of Southern California, lying immediately to the east of the eastern city limits of the city of Los Angeles, and occupying the vast majority of the eastern part ...
. I-605 then ends at its junction with the
Foothill Freeway
The Foothill Freeway is a freeway in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, California, running from the Sylmar district of Los Angeles east to Redlands. The western segment is signed as Interstate 210 (I-210) from its western end at I-5 to S ...
, (
I-210) in
Duarte Duarte may refer to:
* Duarte (surname), person's surname (or composed surname) and given name
* Duarte, California, United States
* Duarte Province, Dominican Republic
* Pico Duarte
Pico Duarte is the highest peak in the Dominican Republic, on th ...
, a small city located at the foothills of the
San Gabriel Mountains
The San Gabriel Mountains ( es, Sierra de San Gabriel) are a mountain range located in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County and western San Bernardino County, California, United States. The mountain range is part of the Tr ...
.
I-605 follows most of the length of the
San Gabriel River from the San Diego Freeway in Seal Beach to the
Santa Fe Dam
Santa Fe Dam is a flood-control dam on the San Gabriel River located in Irwindale in Los Angeles County, California, United States. For most of the year, the -high dam and its reservoir lie empty, but can hold more than of water during major ...
. Typically dry riverbed and flood basins are visible from many portions of the route, especially near the northern terminus.
In the mid 2000s, a
HOV lane
A high-occupancy vehicle lane (also known as an HOV lane, carpool lane, diamond lane, 2+ lane, and transit lane or T2 or T3 lanes) is a restricted traffic lane reserved for the exclusive use of vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers, i ...
was added for motorists with two or more people to use between I-405 and I-10. The HOV lane ends at I-10 and there are no plans to extend it to I-210 at this time. With the addition of the HOV lane, the left shoulder was eliminated to avoid massive costs to widen the freeway. The highway also suffers from traffic jams regularly, especially the junction with
I-5
Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...
(the
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 ...
). Newer signs with exit numbers replaced the older signs between the Orange County line and I-10 in 2016, with the completion of the I-605 and I-10 junction improvement. Guide signs along I-605 never included destinations (
control cities
A control city is a city, locality, or other location posted on a series of traffic signs along a particular stretch of road indicating destinations on that route. Together with route numbers and cardinal directions, these focal points aid the m ...
) such as "
Seal Beach
Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242, up from 24,168 at the 2010 census.
Seal Beach is located in the westernmost corner of Orange County. To the northwest ...
" or "
Irwindale
Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
" since its opening. Rather, cardinal directions ("NORTH" or "SOUTH"), and a simple "THRU TRAFFIC" designation in place of control cities, are used on signs along I-605 itself.
I-605 is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System
The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (commenci ...
,
and is part of the
National Highway System,
a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the
Federal Highway Administration
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program a ...
.
I-605 from I-405 to I-10 is known as the San Gabriel River Freeway, as named by Senate Bill 99, Chapter 1101 in 1967.
History
![I605 CA dv 26 north lg](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/I605_CA_dv_26_north_lg.jpg)
In 1957, the number for this route was proposed as I-13, as it is positioned approximately midway between I-5 and I-15 (although it intersects the former). That number was rejected, as was the second proposed number, I-102. Finally, the designation I-605 was accepted in 1958.
I-605 began construction in 1963 and the first section was opened in 1964 from
I-405 to
SR 60. The newest section (extension to
I-210) was opened in 1971 was originally signed as SR 243. There are plans to extend it to
SR 1 further south in Orange County as SR 605, but strong community opposition means that it is unlikely that the alignment will ever be built.
In 2020, there was a proposal to widen I-605, which would have added four new lanes to of I-605 between
Norwalk and
El Monte, California
}
El Monte (Spanish for "The Mountain") is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city lies in the San Gabriel Valley, east of the city of Los Angeles.
El Monte's slogan is "Welcome to Friendly El Monte" and is historically ...
. This proposal was rejected due to strong community opposition, in particular due to the fact that it would have led to the destruction of houses in
Downey, California
Downey is a city located in Southeast Los Angeles County, California, United States, southeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is considered part of the Gateway Cities. The city is the birthplace of the Apollo space program. It is also the home of ...
.
Exit list
See also
*
*
References
External links
California @ AARoads.com - I-605Caltrans: Route 605 highway conditions
{{3di, 5
605
Year 605 ( DCV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 605 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the pr ...
05-6
6 California
Interstate 05-6
Interstate 05-6
05-6
San Gabriel River (California)
San Gabriel Valley
Irwindale, California
Lakewood, California