Ventura Freeway

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Ventura Freeway
Ventura Freeway highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Component highways	US 101 from the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line[1] to North Hollywood SR 134 from North Hollywood to Pasadena
Major junctions
West end	US 101 at the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line
	SR 23 in Thousand Oaks I-405 in Sherman Oaks US 101 / SR 134 / SR 170 in North Hollywood I-5 in Glendale SR 2 in Glendale
East end	I-210 in Pasadena
Location
Counties	Ventura, Los Angeles
Highway system
State highways in California Interstate U.S. State Pre-1964 History Unconstructed Deleted Freeway Scenic ← SR 133 SR 135 →

The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California, United States, running from the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line^[1] to Pasadena in Los Angeles County. It is the principal east-west route (designated north-south) through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. From the Santa Barbara County line to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles (the Hollywood Split), it is signed as U.S. Route 101, which was built in the late 1950s and opened on April 5, 1960.^[3] East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134 (SR 134) which was built by 1971.

Prior to the construction of a new alignment in 1971, the portion east of the Golden State Freeway was known as the Colorado Freeway in reference to nearby Colorado Boulevard, a historic thoroughfare in Pasadena and northeastern Los Angeles.

Route description[edit]

U.S. Route 101[edit]

The Ventura Freeway begins at the Santa Barbara/Ventura county line at the Bates Road exit of U.S. 101 (Exit 83), west of La Conchita. The road alternates between a freeway and an expressway up to the seashore community of Mussel Shoals, when it becomes a freeway for the rest of its length;^[4] the freeway travels eastward through the citrus orchards and strawberry fields of the Oxnard Plain before ascending the short, steep Conejo Grade into the Conejo Valley. Continuing eastward through the northern Santa Monica Mountains, it crosses the Ventura/Los Angeles county line before entering the San Fernando Valley; the freeway continues eastward along the valley's southern rim, crossing the 405 and 5 freeways and the Los Angeles River. After passing through Downtown Glendale south of the Verdugo Mountains, it continues along the southern slope of the San Rafael Hills between Glendale and Eagle Rock before entering Pasadena near the Arroyo Seco and terminating at the Foothill Freeway.

The Ventura Freeway suffers from severe congestion, its intersection with the San Diego Freeway, in Sherman Oaks, is consistently rated as one of the five most congested interchanges in the nation.^[5] Where it meets the Hollywood Freeway at the Hollywood Split junction, it is also notably congested. During events at the Rose Bowl, the freeway's eastern portions often resemble a parking lot.

The east-west geographical alignment of the Ventura Freeway and the overall north-south (Washington-to-California) designation of U.S. 101 on freeway signs can be confusing to visitors; the same freeway entrance can often be signed as "101 North" and "101 West"; this is most common in the San Fernando Valley.^[6]

Both the SR 134 and US 101 portions of the freeway are part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,^[7] and is part of the National Highway System,^[8] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.^[9]

California State Route 134[edit]

The SR 134 portion of the Ventura Freeway at the western edge of Burbank, California looking west from N Pass Ave.

The Ventura Freeway crosses the Los Angeles River at its confluence with Verdugo Wash

Westbound SR 134 near I-5 in Glendale.

The road is the main connector from the San Fernando Valley and points north to the San Gabriel Valley and points east; the future Interstate 710 dead-ends at California Blvd and is signed as State Route 710. Residents of South Pasadena have blocked efforts to extend Interstate 710 north to California Boulevard from its current end at Valley Boulevard north of Interstate 10 near the Alhambra/Los Angeles city limit. Signs on SR 134 and I-210 refer to the SR 710 stub in Pasadena as TO State Route 110, because exiting left from the SR 710 stub onto California Blvd and turning right on Arroyo Parkway leads directly to SR 110, which is Pasadena's only direct freeway link to Downtown Los Angeles.

The Interstate 5 offramp at Colorado Street is old SR 134, and there are still mileposts that refer to it as such. Old SR 134 followed Colorado Street through Glendale and Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock to the ramp connecting Colorado Boulevard and Figueroa Street to the Ventura Freeway. Old SR 134 continued onto the ramp and then onto what is now the Ventura Freeway to Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena; the Colorado Boulevard/Figueroa Street ramps and the segment of freeway between the ramps and just east of Orange Grove Boulevard used to be known as the Colorado Freeway.

History[edit]

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History of State Route 134[edit]

A pre-freeway alignment of State Route 134 originated at U.S. Route 101 (Ventura Boulevard) and Fulton Avenue in Los Angeles, then along Fulton, Moorpark Street, Riverside Drive and Alameda Avenue before meeting up with U.S. 6/99 (San Fernando Road) in Burbank. It traveled along San Fernando Road to Colorado Street, then ran along Colorado Street (portions of which have been renamed Eagle Vista Drive) through Glendale, Eagle Rock and Pasadena before terminating at U.S. Route 66. The alignment was later cut back to terminate in Studio City at Lankershim and Ventura.

The Interstate 5 off-ramp at Colorado Street is actually a former routing of SR 134, and there are still mileposts that refer to it as such. Old SR 134 followed Colorado Street through Glendale and Colorado Boulevard in Eagle Rock to the ramp connecting Colorado Boulevard and Figueroa Street to the Ventura Freeway. Old SR 134 continued onto the ramp and then onto what is presently the Ventura Freeway to Orange Grove Boulevard in Pasadena; the Colorado Boulevard/Figueroa Street ramps plus the segment of freeway between the ramps and just east of Orange Grove Boulevard were previously known as the Colorado Freeway.

From 1964 to 1992, the Colorado Boulevard portions of Route 134 were renumbered as California State Route 248.

Legal definitions[edit]

Sign marking the "Screaming Eagles Highway"

The official Ventura Freeway designation is Routes 101 and 134 from Route 5 to the Santa Barbara County line;^[1] this does not include the portion of Route 134 between Route 5 and Route 210 even though local usage extends the name over this portion of freeway. At the freeway's eastern terminus with Interstate 210 in Pasadena, highway signs indicate "Ventura" as the destination direction for Route 134.

The interchange of SR 134 and I-5 is officially the "Gene Autry Memorial Interchange", after the Singing cowboy superstar Gene Autry. Autry's Museum of the American West is located near the interchange in Griffith Park.

Assembly Concurrent Resolution 54, Chapter 85 in 2003 also designated Route 101 in Ventura County as the "Screaming Eagles Highway";^[10] this honors the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army, which formed on July 23, 1918 and has been involved in every major war that the United States has participated in since then.^[11]

The California Legislature passed a resolution in 2017 to designate the easternmost segment of the SR 134 freeway between SR 2 and its terminus at I-210 as the "President Barack H. Obama Highway", in honor of the 44th U.S. President Barack Obama, who had attended Occidental College in Eagle Rock from 1979 to 1981.^[12] Signs were posted on December 20, 2018.^[13]

Exit list[edit]

This exit list proceeds from east to west, since the majority of the freeway is the north-south US 101. Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions).^[14] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County	Location	Postmile [14][2][15]	Exit [16][17]	Destinations	Notes
Los Angeles LA R13.34-0.00 11.75-38.19	Pasadena	R13.34		I-210 east (Foothill Freeway) – San Bernardino	Eastern terminus of SR 134 and Ventura Freeway
		​	25C	Fair Oaks Avenue, Marengo Avenue	No westbound exit; exit number follows I-210 mileage
		R13.34	13B	I-210 west (Foothill Freeway) to SR 110 / Del Mar Boulevard, California Boulevard – San Fernando	I-210 not signed westbound
		R12.97	13A	Colorado Boulevard, Orange Grove Boulevard	Former SR 248
		R12.36	12	San Rafael Avenue, Linda Vista Avenue	Linda Vista Avenue was former SR 159 north
	Eagle Rock	R11.44	11	Figueroa Street, Colorado Boulevard	Figueroa Street was former US 66 Alt. west / SR 159 south; Colorado Boulevard was former US 66 Alt. east / SR 248 east; westbound exit and eastbound entrance for Colorado Boulevard only connected via 0.7 mile flyover ramps, formerly part of SR 134 west
	Glendale	R8.96	9B	SR 2 (Glendale Freeway)	Signed as exit 9A eastbound; SR 2 east exits 17A-B, west exit 17B
		R8.81	9A	Harvey Drive	Signed as exit 9B eastbound
		R7.87	8	Glendale Avenue
		R6.96– R7.13	7B	Central Avenue, Brand Boulevard
		R6.57	7A	Pacific Avenue
		R6.18	6	San Fernando Road	Former US 6 / US 99
	Los Angeles	R5.47	5	I-5 north (Golden State Freeway) – Sacramento, Burbank Airport	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-5 south exit 144
		R5.47	5B	I-5 south (Golden State Freeway) – Los Angeles	Signed as exit 5 westbound; I-5 north exit 144A-B
		4.81	5A	To I-5 north / Victory Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		3.81	4	Forest Lawn Drive
	Burbank	2.90	3	Bob Hope Drive, Buena Vista Street
		2.11	2	Hollywood Way	No eastbound exit
		1.82		Pass Avenue – Burbank	Eastbound exit only
	Los Angeles	0.86	1D	Cahuenga Boulevard – Hollywood	Signed as exit 1 eastbound; no westbound entrance
		0.51	1C	Lankershim Boulevard – North Hollywood	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		0.35		Vineland Avenue	Eastbound exit and entrance only
		0.00	1B	SR 170 north (Hollywood Freeway) – Sacramento	West/northbound exit and east/southbound entrance; signed as exit 13 on US 101 north; SR 170 south exit 5B
		0.00 11.75	West/north end of SR 134; east/south end of US 101 overlap; signed as exit 1A on SR 134 westbound
		11.75		US 101 south (Hollywood Freeway) – Los Angeles	East/southbound exit and west/northbound entrance
		11.83	13A	Tujunga Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
		12.85	14	Laurel Canyon Boulevard – Studio City
		13.88	15	Coldwater Canyon Avenue
		14.89	16	Woodman Avenue
		15.91	17	Van Nuys Boulevard
		16.94	18	Sepulveda Boulevard	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		17.17	19A	I-405 (San Diego Freeway) – Santa Monica, Sacramento	I-405 exit 63B
		17.50	19B	Haskell Avenue	No southbound entrance
		18.61	20	Hayvenhurst Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		19.22	21	Balboa Boulevard – Encino
		20.23	22	White Oak Avenue
		21.25	23	Reseda Boulevard
		22.25	24	Tampa Avenue
		23.26	25	Winnetka Avenue – Woodland Hills
		24.31	26A	De Soto Avenue, Serrania Avenue	Signed as exit 26 southbound
		24.85	26B	Canoga Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		25.34	27	SR 27 (Topanga Canyon Boulevard) / Ventura Boulevard	Signed as exits 27A (north) and 27B (south) northbound
		25.76	27C	Shoup Avenue	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		26.45	28	Fallbrook Avenue	Southbound exit only
		26.86		Woodlake Avenue	Northbound exit and entrance
		27.36	29	Mulholland Drive, Valley Circle Boulevard
	Calabasas	28.29	30	Parkway Calabasas
		31.06	32	Las Virgenes Road – Malibu Canyon
		31.92	33	Lost Hills Road
	Agoura Hills	32.79	34	Liberty Canyon Road
		33.69	35	Chesebro Road – Agoura Hills
		35.04	36	Kanan Road
		36.18	38	Reyes Adobe Road
	Westlake Village	37.54	39	Lindero Canyon Road
Ventura VEN 0.00-R43.62	Thousand Oaks	0.70	40	SR 23 south (Westlake Boulevard)	South end of SR 23 overlap
		1.62	41	Hampshire Road
		3.02	43A	Rancho Road	Signed as exit 43B northbound
		3.11	43B	SR 23 north (Moorpark Freeway) – Fillmore	North end of SR 23 overlap; signed as exit 43A northbound; SR 23 south exits 12A-B
		4.06	44	Moorpark Road – Thousand Oaks
		5.05	45	Lynn Road
		6.19	46	Ventu Park Road – Newbury Park
		7.02	47A	Rancho Conejo Boulevard, Borchard Road	Signed as exits 47A (Rancho Conejo Boulevard) and 47B (Borchard Road) northbound
		7.89	47B	Wendy Drive – Newbury Park	Signed as exit 47C northbound
	Camarillo	10.74	50	Camarillo Springs Road – Camarillo Grove County Park
		12.30	52	Santa Rosa Road, Pleasant Valley Road
		13.75	53A	Flynn Road, Dawson Drive
		13.85	53B	SR 34 (Lewis Road)
		14.80	54	Carmen Drive – Camarillo
		15.89	55	Las Posas Road
		​	56	Springville Drive
		17.75	57	Central Avenue
	Oxnard	19.17	59	Del Norte Boulevard
		20.08	60	Santa Clara Avenue, Rice Avenue
		21.01	61	Rose Avenue
		22.01	62A	SR 232 (Vineyard Avenue) – Oxnard
		22.73	62B	Oxnard Boulevard (SR 1)	South end of SR 1 overlap
		​	63A	Ventura Road	Southbound exit only
	Ventura	R23.45	63B	Johnson Drive – Montalvo	Signed as exit 63 northbound
		R24.65	64	Victoria Avenue – Channel Islands Harbor
		25.97	65	Telephone Road	Northbound entrance is via Main St
		26.39	66A	SR 126 east (Santa Paula Freeway) – Santa Clarita	Signed as exit 66 southbound; no southbound entrance; SR 126 west exit 1A
		26.72	66B	Main Street (US 101 Bus. north) – Ventura	No southbound exit
		28.45	68	Seaward Avenue
		29.45	69	Vista del Mar Drive, Sanjon Road	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
		30.15	70A	California Street, Ventura Avenue
		30.91	70B	SR 33 north (Ojai Freeway) – Ojai
		31.50	71	Main Street (US 101 Bus. south) – Ventura	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
	​	R32.70	72	SR 1 north (PCH) – State Beaches	North end of SR 1 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
	​	R38.98	78	SR 1 south (PCH) – Seacliff	South end of SR 1 overlap
	​	R43.57	83	Bates Road
Ventura–Santa Barbara county line	​	R43.62		US 101 north – Santa Barbara, San Francisco	Western terminus of Ventura Freeway; continuation into Santa Barbara County
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       Incomplete access       Route transition

See also[edit]

• California Roads portal
• Los Angeles portal
• Colorado Street

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to California State Route 134.

Route map:

• California @ AARoads — State Route 134
• Caltrans: Route 134 highway conditions
• California Highways: SR 134
• Colorado Freeway History