California State Route 2
![]() SR 2 highlighted in red | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
Length | 87.295 mi[1] (140.488 km) (broken into 3 pieces by US 101 and I-210) | |||
Existed | 1934[2]–present | |||
Restrictions | No trucks with 3 or more axles, or over 4.5 tons, along the Angeles Crest Highway between La Canada Flintridge and Big Pines.[3] | |||
Major junctions | ||||
West end | Centinela Avenue at the Santa Monica-Los Angeles border | |||
East end | ![]() | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | California | |||
Counties | Los Angeles, San Bernardino | |||
Highway system | ||||
|
State Route 2 (SR 2) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California. Officially, it begins at the intersection of Centinela Avenue in the City of Los Angeles limits adjacent to the city of Santa Monica and extends all the way to SR 138 east of Wrightwood. The highway currently is divided into three segments, running briefly concurrent with U.S. Route 101 (US 101) and Interstate 210 (I-210) to connect the segments. The western section of the highway is an old routing of U.S. Route 66; the eastern portion is known as the Angeles Crest Highway.
Route description
SR 2 is known as the Angeles Crest Scenic Byway from SR 2's east junction with I-210 in La Canada Flintridge to the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line. The Big Pines Highway is routed along SR 2 from County Route N4 (the northwest continuation of the designation) in Big Pines to the Los Angeles-San Bernardino county line.[4]
SR 2 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[5] and except for much of the mountain portion is part of the National Highway System,[6] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[7] SR 2 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System;[8] however, only the portion of SR 2 from a point north of the I-210 interchange to the San Bernardino county line is actually designated as a scenic highway by Caltrans,[9] meaning that it is a substantial section of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.[10]
The California legislature has relinquished state control of various segments of SR 2 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Beverly Hills and West Hollywood, and turned them over to local control.[11]
SR-1 to the southeast junction with US-101
The original official western terminus of SR 2 was at the junction of Lincoln Boulevard, State Route 1, and Interstate 10 in Santa Monica. SR 2 then proceeded northwest on Lincoln Boulevard before turning northeast on Santa Monica Boulevard. With the California legislature relinquishing segments of the highway, state control of Route 2 now officially begins at the point where Santa Monica Boulevard crosses the Santa Monica-Los Angeles city limits at Centinela Avenue.[11] From Centinela Avenue, Route 2 heads northeast on Santa Monica Boulevard, where it heads northeast through West Los Angeles, Westwood, Century City, and Beverly Hills before entering West Hollywood. Santa Monica Boulevard, being a major street, is for most of its length, at least four lanes wide.[12]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b3/WestHollywoodCityHall03.jpg/220px-WestHollywoodCityHall03.jpg)
At its west end, Santa Monica Boulevard starts off Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica. From there until Sepulveda Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard is a densely urban commercial street. Most of the Westside car dealerships are located on Santa Monica Boulevard. After Sepulveda, Santa Monica Boulevard passes Century City, and intersects Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills.
The south roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard, often called Little Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills, runs parallel to the state highway (north) roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard from the city's west limit to Rexford Drive. After Rexford Drive, Little Santa Monica turns east, becoming Burton Way. Burton Way merges into San Vicente Boulevard at its intersection with La Cienega Boulevard. It is noted that the south roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard in Beverly Hills is a city street while the north roadway of Santa Monica Boulevard is a California state highway, each roadway handling bi-directional traffic.
After intersecting Wilshire, Santa Monica Boulevard continues northeast toward West Hollywood, spanning Beverly Boulevard and Melrose Avenue. At Holloway Drive, in the middle of West Hollywood, Santa Monica, now north of Melrose Avenue turns to the east. In West Hollywood, between Fairfax Avenue and Doheny Drive along Santa Monica Boulevard, bronze name plaques are embedded in the sidewalks as part of the West Hollywood Memorial Walk. One of the most famous spots for male prostitution and transgender prostitution is Santa Monica Boulevard in the Hollywood area, the area along Santa Monica Boulevard east of La Brea Avenue. SR 2 continues east through Hollywood on Santa Monica Boulevard to the Hollywood Freeway.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Century_City_van_Santa_Monica_Blvd.jpg/220px-Century_City_van_Santa_Monica_Blvd.jpg)
Route 2 then merges onto U.S. Route 101 (the Hollywood Freeway) and heads southeast leaving US 101 at the Alvarado Street exit.
Southeast junction with US-101 to I-210
From US 101, Route 2 heads northeast on Alvarado Street through the community of Echo Park. The route then turns north onto Glendale Boulevard.
Glendale Freeway
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/SR_2_Glendale.jpg/250px-SR_2_Glendale.jpg)
The route then branches northeast onto the Glendale Freeway, a north–south route. With five lanes each direction, the freeway is quite wide. It crosses the Los Angeles River, and runs through the communities of Glassell Park and Eagle Rock.
After its interchange with the eastern Ventura Freeway (SR 134), the Glendale Freeway route follows a ridge in the San Rafael Hills through eastern Glendale. The freeway ends in the Crescenta Valley, at Foothill Boulevard in La Cañada Flintridge. Just before reaching Foothill Boulevard, SR 2 turns off the Glendale Freeway onto the eastbound Foothill Freeway (Interstate 210) for a short distance until reaching the Angeles Crest Highway exit in La Cañada Flintridge.
The Glendale Freeway was originally proposed to continue through Echo Park all the way to Hollywood Freeway (101).[13] Since that plan has been scrapped, the freeway is somewhat isolated from the remainder of the LA freeway system.
I-210 to Route 138
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/LA_cloudbasin.jpg/220px-LA_cloudbasin.jpg)
Leaving La Cañada Flintridge at an altitude of 1,300 feet (400 m), the route turns north onto the Angeles Crest Highway. This route winds generally east-northeast through the canyons of the San Gabriel Mountains for over 80 miles (130 km), before descending through Big Pines and Wrightwood to the edge of the Victor Valley approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Hesperia and ending at SR 138. The highway climbs to a high point of 7,903 feet (2,409 m) at Dawson Saddle. The eastern portions of the Angeles Crest Highway are notoriously dangerous, with many switchbacks and blind curves, and are often closed during occasions of heavy winter snowfall. The highway is generally closed between Islip Saddle and Vincent Gap from mid-December to mid-May due to snow and rockfall.
History
Designation
In 1964, Route 2 was defined as a single route from Santa Monica to Wrightwood with no discontinuities. The segment of former US 66 on Santa Monica Boulevard west of the Hollywood Freeway and Lincoln Boulevard was added to Route 2 at this time, since US 66 was truncated to Pasadena. Route 2 became discontinuous at Routes 101 and 210 in 1965 and 1990, respectively.[14]
Before the segment of the Glendale Freeway was built between Glendale Boulevard and just west of the Los Angeles River, Route 2 began at the Hollywood Freeway on Santa Monica Boulevard, continued east to Myra Avenue, then north on Myra Avenue, east on Fountain Avenue, northeast on Hyperion Avenue, southeast on Rowena Avenue, southeast on Glendale Boulevard, and northeast on Fletcher Drive to just west of the Los Angeles River. From west of the Los Angeles River, Route 2 continued on the Glendale Freeway to its temporary connection with Fletcher Drive at Avenue 38 and then followed the routing described in the previous paragraph to Route 138 northeast of Wrightwood.
Before the segment of the Glendale Freeway was built north of Glassell Park, Route 2 continued north on Fletcher Drive to Eagle Rock Boulevard, then north on Eagle Rock Boulevard to Verdugo Road, north on Verdugo to Canada, north on Canada back to Verdugo, and north and east on Verdugo to the Angeles Crest Highway (then Haskell Street).
Beverly Hills Freeway
Originally, it was to have been the Beverly Hills Freeway from Route 405 to Route 101 just east of Vermont Avenue, flowing onto the Glendale Freeway. In fact, the proposed freeway on Route 2 west of Route 101 was the original routing of the "Santa Monica Freeway" (a name which subsequently went to the distantly parallel Route 10). However, for a variety of political reasons, the department never reached agreement with Beverly Hills to build the segment through that city. At one time, the department considered building a cut-and-cover tunnel under Beverly Hills, but even this proved a non-starter, and the freeway plan west of Route 101 was quietly cancelled in 1975. Currently, the Glendale Freeway begins as a stub at Glendale Boulevard. A freeway-wide bridge was built over Glendale Boulevard in hopes that the freeway would be built further west. Today, the bridge serves as the westbound lanes of Route 2, connecting the southwestbound freeway lanes to southbound Glendale Boulevard. A more modest freeway/expressway extension to Route 101 has been discussed.[15]
Planners originally intended for it to connect to the Hollywood Freeway near the Vermont Avenue interchange, but community opposition killed the project by the 1960s. The Glendale Freeway offers stunning vistas of the eastern San Fernando Valley, the Verdugo Mountains, the Crescenta Valley, and the San Gabriel Mountains.[16]
In the 1960s, the city of Beverly Hills had begun a transition from a quasi-exurban retreat for the entertainment industry to its current status as one of the world's premier shopping and culinary destinations. Building a freeway along Santa Monica Boulevard, the northwestern border of the city's emergent "Golden Triangle" shopping district, did not fit into city fathers' vision for Beverly Hills' development. Moreover, it was feared that a freeway would exacerbate the already evident divisions between the fabulously wealthy residents of the hilly areas north of Santa Monica Boulevard and the merely affluent ones to the south. A proposed cut-and-cover tunnel for the freeway failed to generate sufficient political support, and by the mid-1970s the project was essentially dead.
California State Senator (later Congressman) Anthony Beilenson was one of the leading opponents of the project.
Caltrans' decision not to build the freeway was both harmful and beneficial to the areas along its proposed route. The massive Century City high-rise commercial development just west of the Beverly Hills city limits was built with freeway access in mind. For many Century City workers who live in Los Angeles' eastern suburbs, the quickest way home takes them through the residential district of Cheviot Hills, which has caused consternation among its well-heeled residents. For Beverly Hills, the decision helped preserve much of its emergent downtown, but at the cost of creating gridlock on Wilshire Boulevard and I-10.
Further construction
The first segment of freeway was built in the 1950s and ran from just west of the Los Angeles River to Avenue 38 in Glassell Park. This portion was at one time named the Allesandro Freeway, because it runs next to Allesandro Street. The last segment of freeway, from Route 134 to Route 210, was built between 1972 and 1975.[17]
Starting in July, 1964, Route 2 began in Santa Monica at its junction with Routes 1 and 10. After heading a few blocks northwest on Lincoln Boulevard, the route turned northeast on Santa Monica Boulevard, just several blocks from the Pacific Ocean. The route continued on Santa Monica Boulevard to Centinela Avenue.[18]
For its entire length, until the tracks were removed, Santa Monica Boulevard followed the tracks of the Pacific Electric Railway. In the portion from Holloway Drive in West Hollywood to Sepulveda Boulevard in West Los Angeles, the tracks were in a separate right-of-way, with two roadways, one on each side of the tracks. For the rest of the route, the tracks ran in the traffic lanes.[19]
Except for a short portion at its eastern end, Santa Monica Boulevard was adopted as a state highway in 1933. From 1934 to 1936, it was signed as State Route 2. Then it became U.S. Route 66. When U.S. Route 66 was truncated to Pasadena in 1964, Santa Monica Boulevard once again became State Route 2 as far east as the Hollywood Freeway. Today, the State Route 2 portion of Santa Monica Boulevard is defined from the Santa Monica/Los Angeles city limits to US 101.[2]
From 1936 to 1964, U.S. Route 66 ran along Lincoln Boulevard from its junction with Alternate U. S. 101 (now California Route 1) and California Route 26 (now replaced by Interstate 10) to Santa Monica Boulevard and along Santa Monica Boulevard from Lincoln Boulevard to the Hollywood Freeway. US 66 turned southeast on the Hollywood Freeway with US 101. At that time, Route 2 began on Alvarado Street at the Hollywood Freeway. As is today, Route 2 traversed Alvarado Street and Glendale Boulevard to the Glendale Freeway. Route 2 continued on the Glendale Freeway to a temporary connection with Fletcher Drive at Avenue 38 in the Atwater district of Los Angeles. From the temporary connection, the route ran northeast on Fletcher Drive, and north on Verdugo Road to its south intersection with Cañada Boulevard in Glendale. From the south intersection, Route 2 headed north on Cañada Boulevard to its north intersection with Verdugo Road, north on Verdugo Road, and east on Verdugo Boulevard, before reaching Foothill Boulevard in La Canada Flintridge. Route 2 continued approximately one mile southeast on Foothill Boulevard with California Route 118 to Angeles Crest Highway. From Foothill Boulevard, Route 2 continued north on Angeles Crest Highway, where it continues to this day.[2]
Today, the California Transportation Commission is relinquishing the street-running parts of Route 2 to local cities which it runs through. In 1996, state law was changed to permit the relinquishment of Route 2 in Santa Monica and West Hollywood. When the relinquishment in Santa Monica went through in 1998, the portion from Route 1 to Centinela Avenue was deleted. The law was changed again in 2001 to allow Route 2 from Route 405 to Moreno Drive to be relinquished to the City of Los Angeles. In 2003 California Senate Bill 315 was chaptered, acknowledging the relinquishments within Santa Monica, West Hollywood, and from Route 405 to Moreno Drive in Los Angeles, and permitting the relinquishment of Route 2 in Beverly Hills. Whether Route 2 west of Route 101 will stay as a paper route after relinquishment is yet to be determined.[20]
Since the 1950s, proposals have been made to extend the Glendale Freeway to the Antelope Valley Freeway via a tunnel under the San Gabriels, relieving some of the latter freeway's notorious congestion. The difficulty of designing and building such a route (designated SR 249) and the cost of insuring it against earthquakes and terrorism would undoubtedly make perpetually cash-strapped Caltrans unable to undertake such an ambitious project.[21]
In popular culture
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2c/Glendalefreeway.jpg/350px-Glendalefreeway.jpg)
The section of freeway between the Ventura Freeway (134) and the Foothill Freeway (210) was largely completed in 1973, but not fully finished until spring, 1978. During this time, the closed freeway was used as a location for several films due to its relatively complete construction status, and its proximity to major movie studios in Southern California. Some of these productions included Coffy, Corvette Summer, The Gumball Rally, Death Race 2000, Cannonball, Hardcore, and several American television series including "Adam-12", "Emergency!" and "CHiPs". The transition overpass from the eastbound Ventura Freeway to the northbound Glendale Freeway was prominently featured in the notorious disaster film Earthquake when a livestock truck and two cars crash over the side of the overpass (a shot completed in miniature special effects). Ever since it was opened in 1979, this section of freeway is still relatively lightly traveled (especially on weekends), and is still utilized as a filming location.
Major intersections
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 to an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary ( ).[1] 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 [1][22][23] | Exit [24][25] | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles LA L0.00-82.27 | Santa Monica | L0.00[N 1] | ![]() ![]() | Continuation beyond I-10 | |
L0.00[N 1] | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | Interchange; west end of SR 2; I-10 east exit 1A, west exit 1B | |||
Santa Monica–Los Angeles line | 2.31 | Centinela Avenue | West end of state maintenance[N 2] | ||
Los Angeles | 3.65 | ![]() | Interchange; former SR 7; I-405 exit 55A; east end of state maintenance[N 2] | ||
3.80 | Sepulveda Boulevard | ||||
Beverly Hills | 6.20 | Wilshire Boulevard | |||
West Hollywood | 8.69 | La Cienega Boulevard | |||
9.57 | Fairfax Avenue | ||||
West Hollywood–Los Angeles line | 10.62 | La Brea Avenue | West end of state maintenance[N 2] | ||
Los Angeles | 10.90 | Highland Avenue | Former SR 170 | ||
12.74 5.55[N 3] | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; west end of US 101 overlap; US 101 exit 7; Santa Monica Boulevard was former US 66 east | |||
West end of freeway on US 101 | |||||
4.85[N 3] | 6B | Melrose Avenue, Normandie Avenue | |||
4.40[N 3] | 6A | Vermont Avenue | |||
3.76[N 3] | 5B | Silver Lake Boulevard | |||
3.34[N 3] | 5A | Rampart Boulevard, Benton Way | |||
East end of freeway on US 101 | |||||
2.86[N 3] 12.75 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; east end of US 101 overlap; US 101 exit 4B | |||
13.19 | Sunset Boulevard | Former US 66 | |||
13.59 | Glendale Boulevard south | ||||
West end of freeway | |||||
14.21 | 12 | Glendale Boulevard north | No eastbound entrance; no exit number eastbound | ||
14.95 | 13A | Riverside Drive | Signed as exit 13 eastbound | ||
15.14 | 13A | ![]() | Signed as exit 13 eastbound; I-5 exit 139 | ||
15.52 | 13B | Fletcher Drive | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
16.01 | 14 | San Fernando Road | Former US 6 / US 99 | ||
R17.00 | 15A | Verdugo Road | Signed as exit 15 eastbound | ||
R17.29 | 15B | York Boulevard | Westbound exit and eastbound entrance | ||
R18.52 | 16 | Colorado Boulevard, Broadway | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
R18.81 | 17B | ![]() | Signed as exits 17A (east) and 17B (west) eastbound; SR 134 exit 9B | ||
Glendale | R19.05 | 17C | Holly Drive | Signed as exit 17A westbound | |
R20.05 | 18 | Mountain Street | |||
R23.00 | 21A | Verdugo Boulevard – Montrose | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
R23.16 R18.87[N 4] | 21B | ![]() ![]() | West end of I-210 overlap; no exit number westbound; I-210 exit 19 | ||
R23.44 | 21C | Foothill Boulevard | Eastbound exit and westbound entrance | ||
La Cañada Flintridge | East end of freeway on I-210 | ||||
R19.88[N 4] 24.41 | ![]() ![]() | Interchange; east end of I-210 overlap; I-210 exit 20 | |||
| 33.80 | ![]() | |||
Islip Saddle | 64.09 | ![]() ![]() | Closed | ||
Big Pines | 79.88 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | |||
San Bernardino SBD 0.00-6.36 | Mountain Top Junction | 6.36 | ![]() | East end of SR 2 | |
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi
|
- ^ a b Postmiles are measured from SR 2's original western end at the I-10/SR 1, before that segment east to Centinela Ave. was deleted and relinquished to local control.
- ^ a b c The state has relinquished, and turned over various segments of the highway to local control.
- ^ a b c d e f Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along US 101 rather than SR 2.
- ^ a b Indicates that the postmile represents the distance along I-210 rather than SR 2.
See also
References
- ^ a b c California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
- ^ a b c "California Highways: State Route 2". Cahighways.org. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ "Vehicle Code Section 35655.6 - State Route 2 Prohibited Vehicles". California Department of Motor Vehicles. Retrieved July 21, 2014.
- ^ 2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California (PDF). Caltrans. p. 116. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
- ^ "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: Los Angeles, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Article 2.5 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets & Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (August 2019). "Officially Designated State Scenic Highways and Historic Parkways" (XLSX). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (2012). Scenic Highway Guidelines (PDF). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. p. 5. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "CA Codes (shc:305-635)". Leginfo.ca.gov. Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-10-16.
{{cite web}}
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ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Santa Monica Blvd. Transition map". Lacity.org. 2005-04-12. Archived from the original on August 5, 2011. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Los Angeles-Orange County Maps 1963". Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ "Los Angeles-Orange County Maps 1963". Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ LAtimes Blog-Beverly Hills Frwy Archived May 28, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Southern California Highways". Socalregion.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ "2007 Named Freeways, Highways, and Other Appurtenances In California" (PDF). Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency. May 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-10-14. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|deadurl=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Marina Del Ray, California". 2007-05-10. Archived from the original on 2012-07-22. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
{{cite web}}
: Unknown parameter|dead-url=
ignored (|url-status=
suggested) (help) - ^ "Motorways Plan Revealed: System of Roads Designed to Cure Traffic Ills". Los Angeles Times. 1938-06-15. Retrieved 2008-08-20.
- ^ "California @ AARoads.com – State Route 2". AARoads.com. Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ "PDF-2003 Los Angeles-Orange County Plan" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-11-29.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
- ^ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 1997, 2005, and 2006
- ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, State Route 2 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-02-05.
- ^ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, U.S. Route 101 Freeway Interchanges, Retrieved on 2009-04-17.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- State highways in California
- State Scenic Highway System (California)
- Roads in Los Angeles County, California
- Roads in San Bernardino County, California
- Southern California freeways
- Transportation in the San Fernando Valley
- Angeles National Forest
- San Gabriel Mountains
- Transportation in Glendale, California
- Wrightwood, California
- U.S. Route 66 in California