|
State Route 91, also known as simply the 91, is a major east-west freeway located entirely within Southern California and serving several regions of the Greater Los Angeles metropolitan area. Its eastern terminus is located in Riverside at the junction with the Pomona, Moreno Valley, and Escondido freeways (State Route 60, SR 60, and I-215 respectively). Its western terminus is at Vermont Avenue in Gardena, just west of the junction with the Harbor Freeway (I-110). Before 1997, SR-91 continued all the way to State Route 1 in Hermosa Beach. At that time, the route became discontinuous in Gardena, the portion between Vermont Ave. and Western Ave. being turned over to the city. In 2003, the western portion, from SR-1 to Western Ave. was relinquished to the local jurisdictions. From the Harbor Freeway to its intersection with the Long Beach Freeway in northern Long Beach, SR-91 is named the Gardena Freeway. (Prior to 1991, it was known as the Redondo Beach Freeway, referring to Caltrans' original intention for the freeway portion of the route to continue all the way to the never-built Pacific Coast Freeway.) Between the Long Beach Freeway and its intersection with the Santa Ana Freeway in Fullerton, it is named the Artesia Freeway. From the Santa Ana Freeway to its eastern terminus at the intersection of the Pomona, Moreno Valley, and Escondido Freeways, it is named the Riverside Freeway. Although SR-91 is an east-west road, it inherited its odd (as opposed to even) route number from the now mostly decommissioned U.S. Route 91 (U.S. 91) which passed through the Inland Empire in a northeasterly direction on its way to Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, and points beyond. Those segments of U.S. 91 are now parallel, or have been replaced altogether, by Interstate 15 (I-15). SR-91 traverses (from west to east) through Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties. As one of only two highways (and the only freeway) linking Orange and Riverside Counties, SR-91 is one of the most heavily congested routes in Southern California (see 91 Express Lanes).
Control Cities Eastbound 91 Express Lanes By the early 1990s, rapid development of the areas of the Inland Empire around Riverside had made the Riverside Freeway—which is the sole freeway connecting the working class, bedroom communities and industrial areas of the Inland Empire to the wealthy suburbs and commercial centers of Orange County—one of the most congested in the Greater Los Angeles region. In response, a private consortium created the 91 Express Lanes, a fully automated, RFID-activated tollway contained entirely within the median of the existing Riverside Freeway. This route operates between the Orange/Riverside county line and the Costa Mesa Freeway interchange in eastern Anaheim. Opening in 1995, the 91 Express Lanes were the first privately funded tollway built in the United States since the 1940s, and the first fully automated tollway in the world. In 2003, their ownership and operation was taken over by the Orange County Transportation Authority. Trivia Prior to the reconstruction of the SR-91/SR-60/I-215 interchange in Riverside, the connector to westbound SR-91 from westbound SR-60/northbound I-215 was signed "91 SOUTH" with a control city of Corona. It is unclear if the southbound signage will carry over when construction is completed. State law Legal Definition of Route 91: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 391 Cities/Communities along CA/SR-91 (west to east) | ||||||||
|
| |||||||||
 |
|
| |