Interstate 405 (California)

Route

Interstate 5 turns due south in Mission Viejo and continues in that direction until it reaches the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Dana Point, at which point it once again turns southeastward to follow the contour of the shoreline. After passing through the 28 miles of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in northern San Diego County, it travels through the wealthy northern suburbs of San Diego and into the city itself. In the Sorrento Valley district, the freeway ends, splitting into the unnamed final portion of I-5 and the Jacob Dekema Freeway (Interstate 805).

The San Diego Freeway's congestion problems are legendary, leading to the joke that the Interstate was named 405 because traffic moves at "four or five" miles an hour. Indeed, average speeds as low as five miles per hour are routinely recorded during morning and afternoon commutes, and its interchanges with the Ventura Freeway and with the Santa Monica Freeway each consistently rank among the five most congested freeway interchanges in the United States. While much of this gridlock has to do with the lack of alternate routes between many of the areas it connects (some of which, such as the Pacific Coast and Laurel Canyon freeways, were proposed but abandoned for political reasons), the freeway would likely be busy even with the addition of other roads and mass transit solutions, as it connects so many important locations in the Greater Los Angeles area.

Landmarks

Transportation