Interstate 405; Carmageddon on the San Diego Freeway and legacy of the first California State Route 7
Recently while in the Los Angeles Area I drive the entirety of Interstate 405 which is otherwise known as the San Diego Freeway. Interstate 405 is a 72 mile auxiliary spur of Interstate 5. I-405 is a north/south freeway which begins at I-5 near San Fernando in Los Angeles County and ends at I-5 in Irvine of Orange County. I-405 is one of the more infamous freeways in California due to it carrying some of the busiest freeway segments in the entirety of the United States. The segment of I-405 between Exit 21 and Exit 22 in Seal Beach is the busiest stretch of freeway in the United States with an annual average daily traffic count of almost 400,000 vehicles. I-405 has a reputation for being a commuting nightmare and probably is responsible for much of the urban sprawl of west of downtown Los Angeles. I-405 is typically referred to as "the Four-oh-Five" and has inspired terminology such "Carmageddon" or "Carpocalypse." I-405 has surprisingly humble...