Everything about Interstate 710 California totally explained
Interstate 710 (abbreviated
I-710, and
colloquially referred to as
The 710 or
the seven-ten) is a major north-south
interstate freeway running for 23 miles (37 km) through
Los Angeles County, California. Officially known as the
Long Beach Freeway, it runs north from
Long Beach to
Alhambra following the course of the
Los Angeles River for most of its route, rarely wandering more than a few hundred feet from the riverbed. South of
SR 1 in Long Beach, I-710 is officially part of the
Seaside Freeway.
Originally known as the
Los Angeles River Freeway prior to
November 18,
1954, the 710 has been planned since its inception to run all the way north to
Pasadena, but the construction of the segment from Alhambra to Pasadena through
South Pasadena has been delayed for several decades due to community opposition. Prior to 1983, the road wasn't an Interstate, although it was built to Interstate standards. Until 1964 it was
State Route 15, but it was renumbered to
State Route 7 in the
1964 renumbering because of the existence of
Interstate 15, and to I-710 in 1983.
This route is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System.
Route description
Major cities
Bolded cities are officially-designated control cities for signs |
|
Current route
The southern terminus of the freeway presently signed as Interstate 710 is at Ocean Boulevard in
Long Beach. From there, the Long Beach Freeway follows the course of the
Los Angeles River to
Atlantic Boulevard in the city of
Bell. The 710 then travels roughly due north, east of
Downtown Los Angeles, to its current northern terminus at
Valley Boulevard (just north of
Interstate 10) in
Alhambra, just east of the Los Angeles community of
El Sereno.
The South Pasadena Gap
Overview
The planned segment from
Alhambra to
Pasadena through
South Pasadena has been subject to legal battles and hasn't been built yet. Because of these disputes, the freeway's northern terminus has been
Valley Boulevard since the 1960s. However, a short unsigned freeway does exist in
Pasadena, heading south from the
interchange of
Interstate 210 and
State Route 134 to California Boulevard.
As a result of the route's incomplete condition, freeway signs are inconsistent in their identification of the northbound Long Beach Freeway's destination, with some indicating Pasadena as a
control city and others identifying Valley Boulevard as the freeway's terminus. For example, approaching I-710 from
State Route 60 (
Pomona Freeway) in
East Los Angeles, westbound traffic is given Valley Boulevard as the destination for northbound I-710, while eastbound traffic is given a destination of Pasadena. Even signs at the interchange with
Interstate 105 show Pasadena as the destination for northbound I-710.
This signage suggests that Caltrans still fully expected to extend I-710 to Pasadena at that time, decades after the original proposals for the route through South Pasadena were defeated. Currently, traffic headed for Pasadena on I-710 is redirected to
Interstate 10 (
San Bernardino Freeway) eastbound by signs at the interchange between the two routes in
Monterey Park. These signs identify both Pasadena and
San Bernardino as control cities for the eastbound San Bernardino Freeway, although it doesn't actually pass through Pasadena. Rather, traffic destined for the city is directed to take
State Route 19 (Rosemead Boulevard) northbound from its junction with I-10 (about 6 miles east of the Long Beach Freeway) to reach Pasadena. In reality, however, most traffic from northbound I-710 is forced onto Fremont Avenue in Alhambra and South Pasadena, and the
Pasadena Freeway (
State Route 110).
The failure to complete the Long Beach Freeway has contributed to some
traffic congestion in northeastern Los Angeles and the northwestern
San Gabriel Valley, as there are no north-south freeways in the heavily populated area between
Interstate 5 (
Golden State Freeway) and
Interstate 605 (
San Gabriel River Freeway). Pro- and anti-710 lobbies have debated whether finishing I-710 would alleviate any of the San Gabriel Valley's congestion, or merely displace it from surface streets to the freeway.
Historic plans
The original plans for the unbuilt segment through
South Pasadena had the freeway run parallel to
Atlantic Boulevard in Alhambra and Los Robles Avenue in
San Marino and Pasadena. However, opposition to this route by the people of Alhambra and San Marino resulted in an alternate routing that skirted Alhambra to the west and bisected
South Pasadena. Subsequent opposition to the rerouted project by residents of South Pasadena and the Los Angeles district of
El Sereno, and the resulting litigation, have prevented
Caltrans from completing the northernmost leg of the route.
Current plans
Currently, Caltrans is researching the possibility of using advanced tunneling technologies to build the Long Beach Freeway under South Pasadena without disturbing the
residential neighborhoods on the surface, similar to other tunnels through similarly sensitive cities like
Versailles in
France. The proposed twin 4.5-mile-long tunnels would be the longest in the United States, but are small compared with
others around the world.
South Pasadena's government has grudgingly conceded that it may assent to such a project. However, it's unclear whether this option would be financially feasible, owing to the state budget crisis of the early 21st century. Caltrans has indicated that the South Pasadena real estate that it owns along the original 710 right-of-way, which has appreciated several hundred percent in real terms since its acquisition in the mid-1960s, would currently command a sufficiently high price to pay for the state's share of the tunnel.
As of March, 2008, Caltrans is conducting soil samples for the tunneling project near the 710 terminus in Pasadena.
If the segment is eventually completed, the Long Beach Freeway and the
Foothill Freeway (
Interstate 210) would form a continuous route around Los Angeles from Long Beach northwards through Pasadena, beyond the Verdugo Mountains via the Cresenta Valley, across the sparsely populated hills in Sunland-Tujunga and finally joining Interstate 5 at Newhall Pass at the northern end of the San Fernando Valley. Interstate 210 from Newhall Pass to Pasadena was expanded to eight lanes in anticipation of this.
History
1930 to 1965
Legislative Route 167 was defined in 1933 to run from
San Pedro east to
Long Beach and north to
Monterey Park. An extension was added in 1947, taking it north to
Pasadena.
State Route 15 was signed in 1934 along the section of Legislative Route 167 from
Pacific Coast Highway (
State Route 3, later
U.S. Route 101 Alternate, now
State Route 1) in Long Beach north to
Garvey Avenue (
U.S. Route 99, replaced by
Interstate 10) in Monterey Park. The original pre-freeway alignment ran Los Robles Avenue (Pasadena) and
Atlantic Boulevard.The freeway replacement of SR 15/LR 167 was built from 1953 to 1965. The whole route of LR 167, including the proposed extensions west to
San Pedro and north to
Pasadena, was renumbered
State Route 7 in the 1964 after it was decommissined from portions of
San Diego Freeway which is now
Interstate 405 state highway renumbering, as the number 15 conflicted with
Interstate 15. In 1965 the route was truncated to
State Route 1 in Long Beach; the part from SR 1 south and west to
State Route 47 was deleted, and the rest from SR 47 west to
State Route 11 (now
Interstate 110) became part of SR 47.
1965 to present
The section of Long Beach Freeway was built from 1954 to 1975. The Long Beach Freeway was approved as a chargeable interstate in September 1983, and the Long Beach Freeway changed out the SR 7 signs with Interstate 710 in 1984. It was added shortly after the
Harbor Freeway went up changing out the SR 11 signs with
Interstate 110 in 1981. The short stub in Pasadena was built in 1975, along with the adjacent sections of
Interstate 210 and
State Route 134. The rest of the defined route, west on Ocean Boulevard to SR 47, is still locally maintained.
Reconstruction
The explosive growth of cargo volumes handled at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach has added an enormous amount of truck traffic to the Long Beach Freeway, since it's the most direct route between the port complex and the railyards in
Vernon and
East Los Angeles, as well as the
Pomona and
San Bernardino freeways that connect Los Angeles to railyards in
San Bernardino and
Colton. The freeway's pavement has been badly damaged as a result, since it wasn't designed to carry nearly as large of a load of truck traffic. It has also become a major source of
air pollution, emanating from
diesel-fueled trucks idling in rush hour
traffic congestion and giving cities along its route some of the worst air quality in already
smoggy Southern California.
In response to these developments, Caltrans and the
Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority have called for a radical expansion of the segment of the freeway between the San Diego (I-405) and Pomona (SR-60) Freeways. It would include dedicated truck lanes, elevated
carpool lanes similar to those on the
Harbor Freeway (
I-110), and up to 10 lanes for general traffic. By using existing right-of-way along the Los Angeles River, very few homes would need to be taken by
eminent domain. (Initial plans for the construction called for the condemnation of nearly a thousand residences, drawing fierce opposition from local governments and community activists along the route.) Groundbreaking on the ambitious new freeway, which would be one of the world's most advanced, is pending allocation of federal transportation funds.
Exit list
» Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and don't necessarily reflect current mileage.
The entire route is in
Los Angeles County.
| Location |
Postmile
|
# |
Destinations |
Notes |
| Long Beach |
|
|
|
Continuation beyond SR 47 north |
|
|
– Pier A |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
|
|
Pier T Avenue – Piers S T |
|
| Gerald Desmond Bridge over the Cerritos Channel |
| 4.96 |
|
Port of Long Beach Piers A-J |
South end of state maintenance; northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 5.46 |
1A |
Piers F-J, Queen Mary |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 5.98 |
1B |
Pico Avenue – Piers B-E |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 6.06 |
1C |
Downtown Long Beach, Aquarium |
Southbound left exit and northbound entrance |
| 6.38 |
1D |
Anaheim Street |
Signed as exit 1 northbound |
| 6.88 |
2 |
|
|
| 7.89 |
3 |
Willow Street |
Signed as exits 3A (east) and 3B (west) |
| 9.07 |
4 |
Wardlow Road |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| 9.41 |
4 |
|
|
| 10.82 |
6 |
Del Amo Boulevard |
Signed as exits 6A (east) and 6B (west) northbound |
| 12.01 |
7 |
Long Beach Boulevard |
Signed as exits 7A (south) and 7B (north) southbound |
| 12.89 |
8A |
Artesia Boulevard |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 12.97 |
8 |
|
Signed as exits 8A (east) and 8B (west) northbound and the opposite southbound |
| Compton |
13.95 |
9 |
Alondra Boulevard – Compton |
Signed as exits 9A (east) and 9B (west) southbound |
| Paramount |
R14.98 |
10 |
Rosecrans Avenue |
|
| Lynwood |
R15.69 |
11A |
|
Signed as exit 11 northbound |
|
11B |
Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard |
Southbound exit and entrance |
| South Gate |
16.99 |
12 |
Imperial Highway – Lynwood |
Signed as exits 12A (east) and 12B (west) southbound |
| 18.44 |
13 |
Firestone Boulevard |
Former SR 42 |
| Bell |
19.73 |
15 |
Florence Avenue – Bell |
|
| 21.92 |
17A |
Atlantic Boulevard, Bandini Boulevard |
Signed as exits 17A (north/east) and 17B (south/west) northbound |
| Commerce |
22.45 |
17B |
Washington Boulevard – Commerce |
Signed as exit 17C northbound |
| 23.28 |
18A |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 23.28 |
18 |
|
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Los Angeles |
23.77 |
19 |
Whittier Boulevard, Olympic Boulevard |
Signed as exit 18B northbound; former SR 72 |
| 24.47 |
20A |
3rd Street |
Signed as exit 20B northbound |
| 24.63 |
20B |
|
Signed as exit 20A northbound |
| 24.97 |
20C |
Cesar Chavez Avenue |
|
| Monterey Park |
26.38 |
21 |
Ramona Boulevard |
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| 26.50 |
22 |
|
Signed as exits 22A (west) and 22B (east) southbound |
| Los Angeles |
T27.48 |
|
Valley Boulevard |
At-grade intersection |
| Gap in I-710 |
| Pasadena |
T30.95 |
|
Columbia Street |
At-grade intersection |
| T31.76 |
|
California Boulevard |
At-grade intersection |
| South end of freeway |
| T32.11 |
|
Del Mar Boulevard |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| T32.45 |
|
Colorado Boulevard – Pasadena |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| R32.72 |
|
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| R32.72 |
|
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
| R32.72 |
|
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
Spurs
Both spurs are entirely in
Long Beach,
Los Angeles County.
Harbor Scenic Drive (exit 1A)
| Destinations |
Notes |
| Queen Mary |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Harbor Scenic Drive, Harbor Plaza – Piers H-J |
Southbound exit and northbound entrance |
| Harbor Plaza – Port of Long Beach, Piers F-G, Fire HQ |
Southbound exit only |
| Downtown Long Beach (Queensway Bridge) |
Northbound exit and entrance |
| Queensway Drive |
Northbound exit and entrance |
| Pico Avenue – Piers F-G |
No northbound exit |
| Downtown Long Beach (Ocean Boulevard) |
Northbound exit only |
|
Northbound exit and southbound entrance |
Shoreline Drive (exit 1C)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Interstate 710 California'.
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