Traffic Tips for Los Angeles Freeways

Having just moved from Seattle I was overwhelmed by the twisted knot of backed up freeways in LA. I tapped into a few locals as traffic resources and they gave me the lowdown. Here are a few basic LA freeway tips that will help you get where you need to go. 

• The 405 is the monster of all LA freeways.  Running north-south from Irvine to San Fernando this freeway follows along the western ridge of the greater Los Angeles area. There is traffic at all points of the day, including late Sunday night.  Avoid taking the 405 if you can.

• The San Joaquin Hills Transportation Corridor, SR-73, parallels the 405 and can be a shortcut between the 5 in San Juan Capistrano and the 405 in Costa Mesa. It is a toll road, so have your change handy.

• The Interstate 5 is the big freeway that stretches from Washington State through all of LA and touches the Southern tip of California. Traffic is especially bad heading both directions from Commerce all the way to Fullerton.  The interchange where the 5 meets SR-22 and SR-57 is listed in the 2002 Guinness Book of World Records for the most complex road junction and is referred to as the “orange crush” by locals.

• The US-101 is known as the scenic route through the state and goes north-south through the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood. The 101 has heavy traffic in the morning going south toward Hollywood and in the evenings heading north. 

• The 101 turns west when it reaches the Valley and becomes the Ventura Freeway, also known as Highway 134. There is always traffic in the afternoons where the 101 and 134 connect.  The 134 runs east-west and merges into the 210 in Pasadena.  

• The 134 and 210 are heavy with traffic heading west toward Burbank and Hollywood in the morning. In the afternoon there is usually traffic heading east. Be ware that there is always a standstill on the 210 East after the Lake Avenue exit. 

• There is traffic at all times of the day downtown where the 110, 101, 10 and 5 freeways all connect, known as the “four-level.”

• The 10 highway runs from east to west and is the most popular way to get from the west side to downtown Los Angeles.

• Running north to south is the 110 freeway.  The 110 N is always backed up where it connects to the 5 because there is only one lane for everyone to merge into. 

• The 105 runs east to west from the LAX airport to south-central Los Angeles.  There is always traffic around the airport, especially heading west in the mornings away from LAX.