Santa Ana Freeway
|
|
Santaanafreeway.jpg
The Santa Ana Freeway is the name of a segment of Interstate 5 (I-5) between Los Angeles, California and its southeastern suburbs. This named segment begins at the East Los Angeles Interchange complex located about one mile east of downtown Los Angeles. Its alignment is generally northwest to southeast towards its junction with the San Diego Freeway, Interstate 405 (I-405) (informally referred to as the El Toro Y), in Irvine. North of the East Los Angeles Interchange complex, Interstate 5's name changes to the Golden State Freeway. South of its junction with the I-405, its name changes to the San Diego Freeway. (Interstate 405 ends at this junction.)
An abundance of landmarks (Disneyland, Anaheim Stadium, and the John Wayne Airport) along the Orange County portion of its route combines with a severe bottleneck beginning at the Los Angeles County border (shrinking from 12 to 6 lanes) to make it one of the most congested freeways in Southern California. The infamously busy intersection of the Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Orange freeways in southwestern Orange is nicknamed the Orange Crush.
Communities Served
Cities/Communities along the Santa Ana Freeway (northwest to southeast):
- Boyle Heights
- East Los Angeles
- Commerce
- Downey
- Santa Fe Springs
- Norwalk
- La Mirada
- Buena Park
- Anaheim
- Orange
- Santa Ana
- Tustin
- Irvine
Major Intersections
Major Freeways/Highways intersecting with the Santa Ana Freeway (northwest to southeast):
- Hollywood Freeway - U.S. Route 101
- Golden State Freeway - Interstate 5
- San Bernardino Freeway/Santa Monica Freeway - Interstate 10
- Long Beach Freeway - Interstate 710
- San Gabriel River Freeway - Interstate 605
- Riverside Freeway - California State Route 91
- Orange Freeway - California State Route 57
- Garden Grove Freeway - California State Route 22
- Costa Mesa Freeway - California State Route 55
- San Diego Freeway - Interstate 405