Where Does Interstate 405 Start and End?

The development of the massive United States Interstate Highway System began in 1956 when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act. It is one of the largest public works projects in history, costing $114 billion dollars ($558 billion dollars in 2021) and taking nearly 40 years to complete. Today, the Interstate Highway System is essential to the transportation of people and goods in the United States. This article explores one segment of the Interstate Highway System: Interstate 405 of California. Interstate 405 is a bypass auxiliary route of Interstate 5, meaning it serves to reduce congestion on Interstate 5. Where does Interstate 405 start and end? Let’s explore the details.

Where Does Interstate 405 Start?

Interstate 405 is the northern segment of the San Diego Freeway, which begins where State Route 94 feeds into the northbound Interstate 5 in San Diego. From there, the San Diego Freeway continues north as Interstate 5 to Irvine, where Interstate 405 splits off. Let’s look at where exactly Interstate 405 starts.

Interstate 405 starts at the El Toro “Y” in the city of Irvine in Orange County. At the El Toro “Y” interchange, the northbound Interstate 5 continues toward Los Angeles, while Interstate 405 splits off and runs toward Long Beach. The El Toro “Y” Interchange is named after the unincorporated community of El Toro, which was renamed Lake Forest when it was incorporated into a city in 1991.

Where Does Interstate 405 End?

Interstate 405 ends near Sylmar and Granada Hills, two suburban neighborhoods of Los Angeles. These two neighborhoods lie in the San Fernando Valley of northern Los Angeles. Interstate 405 merges with Interstate 5 at the border of the Sylmar and Granada Hills neighborhoods. From this point, Interstate 5 continues north all the way to the Canadian border in Washington state.

What Cities Does Interstate 405 Pass Through?

Interstate 405 runs through two of the most populous counties in California: Los Angeles County and Orange County. Los Angeles County is the most populous county in California, with 9,861,224 people. Orange County is California’s third-most populous county, with 3,151,184 people.

According to the United States Department of Transportation, Interstate 405 is one of the most highly traveled highways in the country. Its average annual daily traffic in 2019 was 383,500 vehicles, making it the fourth-most traveled highway in the United States. Interstate 5 in Los Angeles, which Interstate 405 is a bypass auxiliary highway of, is the most traveled highway in the United States with an average annual daily traffic of 504,000 vehicles.

Interstate 405 spans 72.15 miles of southern California. Since Interstate 405 runs through such a highly populated area and sees so much daily traffic, it follows that it passes through many cities. Additionally, Interstate 405 passes through many neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Let’s explore the many cities and neighborhoods that Interstate 405 passes through.

Cities Interstate 405 Passes Through In Orange County

Interstate 405 begins its journey north from Irvine in Orange County. Here is a list of all the Orange County cities Interstate 405 passes through:

• Irvine
• Costa Mesa
• Fountain Valley
• Huntington Beach
• Westminster
• Seal Beach

Cities Interstate 405 Passes Through In Los Angeles County

After passing through Seal Beach in Orange County, Interstate 405 crosses the San Gabriel River and enters Los Angeles County. Here is a list of all the cities that Interstate 405 passes through in Los Angeles County:

• Long Beach
• Carson
• Torrance
• Lawndale
• Redondo Beach
• Hawthorne
• Inglewood
• Culver City
• Los Angeles

Once it enters Los Angeles, Interstate 405 passes through several of the city’s major neighborhoods. Here is a list of the Los Angeles neighborhoods Interstate 405 passes through:

• Westchester
• Mar Vista
• West Los Angeles
• Westwood
• Sherman Oaks
• Van Nuys
• North Hills
• Granada Hills
• Sylmar

Notable Landmarks Along Interstate 405

Interstate 405 passes by some incredible landmarks on its short journey through southern California. Let’s explore some of these notable places.

Los Angeles International Airport

The Los Angeles International Airport, also known as LAX, is the second-busiest airport in the United States. This bustling airport handled 88,068,013 passengers in 2019. It is by far the largest airport on the West Coast and is a major gateway to and from the United States.

SoFi Stadium

SoFi Stadium is a massive indoor stadium that is home to the Los Angeles Rams and the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). With 70,240 seats, it is one of the largest stadiums in the United States. SoFi stadium hosted Super Bowl LVI for the 2021 season, in which the Los Angeles Rams won the championship.

The Getty Center

The Getty Center is home to the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Getty Research Institute, the Getty Foundation, and other Getty Trust programs. With an endowment of 7.7 billion dollars in 2020, the Getty Foundation is the wealthiest art institution in the world. The J. Paul Getty Museum is home to some incredibly valuable and famous paintings, including one by Van Gogh and one by Claude Monet.

Conclusion

Interstate 405 is a 72.15-mile-long bypass auxiliary highway of Interstate 5 in Southern California. It is part of the San Diego Freeway, which includes Interstate 5 south of Interstate 405. Interstate 405 begins in Orange County and ends in Los Angeles County, passing by many notable cities and landmarks along its short route.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Stefano Politi Markovina/Shutterstock.com