Ventura Freeway

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Not to be confused with the song "Ventura Highway".

US 101 (1961 cutout).svg California 134.svg

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 / SR 710 in Pasadena
Location
CountiesVentura, Los Angeles
Highway system
← SR 133SR 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.[2] East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134 (SR 134) which was built by 1971. The entire Ventura Freeway is not built to freeway standards,[disputed – discuss] however; the segment that runs through the coastal communities of La Conchita and Mussel Shoals in western Ventura County still remains an expressway.

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]

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.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

Both the SR 134 and US 101 portions of the freeway are part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[6] and is part of the National Highway System,[7] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[8]

California State Route 134[edit]

State Route 134 marker

State Route 134
Ventura Freeway
The Ventura Freeway, with US 101 and SR 134 highlighted in red
Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 434
Maintained by Caltrans
Length14 mi[9] (23 km)
Existed1957–present
Major junctions
West end US 101 / SR 170 in Los Angeles
 
East end I-210 / SR 710 in Pasadena
Location
CountiesLos Angeles
Highway system
← SR 133SR 135 →
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 Route 710 stub onto California Blvd and turning right on Arroyo Parkway will take you directly to SR 110, which is Pasadena's only direct freeway link to Downtown Los Angeles.

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

The Interstate 5 offramp at Colorado St. is old SR 134, and there are still mileposts that refer to it as such. Old SR 134 followed Colorado St. 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]

See also: Ventura Boulevard

History of State Route 134[edit]

The interchange of SR 134 and Interstate 5 is dedicated "Gene Autry Memorial Interchange". Autry's Museum of the American West is located near the interchange in Griffith Park.

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 alingment was later cut back to terminate in Studio City at Lankershim and Ventura.

The Interstate 5 offramp at Colorado St. is actually a former route of SR 134, and there are still mileposts that refer to it as such. Old SR 134 followed Colorado St. 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 definition[edit]

Sign marking the "Screaming Eagles Highway"

The Ventura Freeway 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.

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]

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).[12] 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.

CountyLocationPostmile
[12][9][13]		Exit
[14][15]		DestinationsNotes
Los Angeles
LA R13.34-0.00
11.75-38.19		PasadenaR13.34 I-210 east (Foothill Freeway) – San BernardinoEastern terminus of SR 134/Ventura Fwy.
​25CFair Oaks Avenue, Marengo AvenueNo westbound exit; exit number follows I-210 mileage
R13.3413B I-210 west (Foothill Freeway) to SR 110 / Del Mar Boulevard, California Boulevard – San FernandoI-210 not signed westbound
R12.9713AColorado Boulevard, Orange Grove BoulevardFormer SR 248
R12.3612San Rafael Avenue, Linda Vista AvenueLinda Vista Avenue was former SR 159 north
Eagle RockR11.4411Figueroa Street, Colorado BoulevardFigueroa 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
GlendaleR8.969B SR 2 (Glendale Freeway)Signed as exit 9A eastbound; SR 2 east exits 17A-B, west exit 17B
R8.819AHarvey DriveSigned as exit 9B eastbound
R7.878Glendale Avenue
R6.96–
R7.13		7BCentral Avenue, Brand Boulevard
R6.577APacific Avenue
R6.186San Fernando RoadFormer US 6 / US 99
Los AngelesR5.475 I-5 north (Golden State Freeway) – Sacramento, Burbank AirportWestbound exit and eastbound entrance; I-5 south exit 144
R5.475B I-5 south (Golden State Freeway) – Los AngelesSigned as exit 5 westbound; I-5 north exit 144A-B
4.815A To I-5 north / Victory BoulevardEastbound exit and westbound entrance
3.814Forest Lawn Drive
Burbank2.903Bob Hope Drive, Buena Vista Street
2.112Hollywood WayNo eastbound exit
1.82Pass Avenue – BurbankEastbound exit only
Los Angeles0.861DCahuenga Boulevard – HollywoodSigned as exit 1 eastbound; no westbound entrance
0.511CLankershim Boulevard – North HollywoodWestbound exit and eastbound entrance
0.35Vineland AvenueEastbound exit and entrance only
0.001B SR 170 north (Hollywood Freeway) – SacramentoWest/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 AngelesEast/southbound exit and west/northbound entrance
11.8313ATujunga AvenueSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
12.8514Laurel Canyon Boulevard – Studio City
13.8815Coldwater Canyon Avenue
14.8916Woodman Avenue
15.9117Van Nuys Boulevard
16.9418Sepulveda BoulevardNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
17.1719A I-405 (San Diego Freeway) – Santa Monica, SacramentoI-405 exit 63B
17.5019BHaskell AvenueNo southbound entrance
18.6120Hayvenhurst AvenueNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
19.2221Balboa Boulevard – Encino
20.2322White Oak Avenue
21.2523Reseda Boulevard
22.2524Tampa Avenue
23.2625Winnetka Avenue – Woodland Hills
24.3126ADe Soto Avenue, Serrania AvenueSigned as exit 26 southbound
24.8526BCanoga AvenueNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
25.3427 SR 27 (Topanga Canyon Boulevard) / Ventura BoulevardSigned as exits 27A (north) and 27B (south) northbound
25.7627CShoup AvenueNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
26.4528Fallbrook AvenueSouthbound exit only
26.86Woodlake AvenueNorthbound exit and entrance
27.3629Mulholland Drive, Valley Circle Boulevard
Calabasas28.2930Parkway Calabasas
31.0632Las Virgenes Road – Malibu Canyon
31.9233Lost Hills Road
Agoura Hills32.7934Liberty Canyon Road
33.6935Chesebro Road – Agoura Hills
35.0436Kanan Road
36.1838Reyes Adobe Road
Westlake Village37.5439Lindero Canyon Road
Ventura
VEN 0.00-R43.62		Thousand Oaks0.7040 SR 23 south (Westlake Boulevard)South end of SR 23 overlap
1.6241Hampshire Road
3.0243ARancho RoadSigned as exit 43B northbound
3.1143B SR 23 north (Moorpark Freeway) – FillmoreNorth end of SR 23 overlap; signed as exit 43A northbound; SR 23 south exits 12A-B
4.0644Moorpark Road – Thousand Oaks
5.0545Lynn Road
6.1946Ventu Park Road – Newbury Park
7.0247ARancho Conejo Boulevard, Borchard RoadSigned as exits 47A (Rancho Conejo Boulevard) and 47B (Borchard Road) northbound
7.8947BWendy Drive – Newbury ParkSigned as exit 47C northbound
Camarillo10.7450Camarillo Springs Road – Camarillo Grove County Park
12.3052Santa Rosa Road, Pleasant Valley Road
13.7553AFlynn Road, Dawson Drive
13.8553B SR 34 (Lewis Road)
14.8054Carmen Drive – Camarillo
15.8955Las Posas Road
​56Springville Drive
17.7557Central Avenue
Oxnard19.1759Del Norte Boulevard
20.0860Santa Clara Avenue, Rice Avenue
21.0161Rose Avenue
22.0162A SR 232 (Vineyard Avenue) – Oxnard
22.7362BOxnard Boulevard (SR 1)South end of SR 1 overlap
​63AVentura RoadSouthbound exit only
VenturaR23.4563BJohnson Drive – MontalvoSigned as exit 63 northbound
R24.6564Victoria Avenue – Channel Islands Harbor
25.9765Telephone RoadNorthbound entrance is via Main St
26.3966A SR 126 east (Santa Paula Freeway) – Santa ClaritaSigned as exit 66 southbound; no southbound entrance; SR 126 west exit 1A
26.7266BMain Street (US 101 Bus. north) – VenturaNo southbound exit
28.4568Seaward Avenue
29.4569Vista del Mar Drive, Sanjon RoadNorthbound exit and southbound entrance
30.1570ACalifornia Street, Ventura Avenue
30.9170B SR 33 north (Ojai Freeway) – Ojai
31.5071Main Street (US 101 Bus. south) – VenturaSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
​R32.7072 SR 1 north (PCH) – State BeachesNorth end of SR 1 overlap; northbound exit and southbound entrance
​R38.9878 SR 1 south (PCH) – SeacliffSouth end of SR 1 overlap
​R43.5783Bates Road
Ventura–Santa Barbara
county line		​R43.62 US 101 north – Santa Barbara, San FranciscoWestern terminus of Ventura Fwy.; continuation into Santa Barbara County
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c 2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California (PDF). Caltrans. p. 78. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
  2. ^ Kevin Starr, Golden Dreams: California in an Age of Abundance, 1950-1963 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 3.
  3. ^ Wenner, Gretchen (November 4, 2013). "Bike path to bypass treacherous stretch of Highway 101 taking shape". Ventura County Star. Archived from the original on 2018-09-30. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
  4. ^ Infoplease, Quoting the" American Highway Users Alliance, Unclogging America’s Arteries, 1999–2004 [1] rates 101-405 as the Worst Highway Bottleneck
  5. ^ Total Traffic LA 101 NORTH (WEST) AT WINNETKA IN WOODLAND HILLS CLOSED DUE TO AN OVERTURNED SUV (note 101 NORTH (WEST))
  6. ^ California State Legislature. "Section 250–257". Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California State Legislature. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ^ Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: Los Angeles, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
    Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: Oxnard, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved September 29, 2017.
  8. ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
  9. ^ a b California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
  10. ^ Ib. at 76
  11. ^ "California Highways (www.cahighways.org): Routes 97 through 104". www.cahighways.org. Retrieved 2012-11-07.
  12. ^ a b California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
  13. ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  14. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, US-101 Northbound and US-101 Southbound. Retrieved February 2008.
  15. ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, SR-134 Eastbound and SR-134 Westbound. Retrieved February 2008.

External links[edit]

Route map:

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