🚀 go-pugleaf

On Wed, 13 Apr 1994 15:13:54 GMT, hatunen@netcom.com (DaveHatunen) said:
> California began its major freeway building program right after World
> War Two, mostly in SoCal. At that time there was no Interstate Highway
> program, and the freeways got names instead of route numbers. 

Actually, most of the original freeways had names that didn't reflect their
destinations, as well as route numbers, usually in older Federal Highway
system (US-xxx). For example, the Arroyo Seco Parkway (now the Pasadena
Freeway) was US66, and the Ramona Expressway (now part of the Hollywood
Freeway) was US99/US6. 

> The names were mostly geographical. The San Diego Freeway went toward San
> Diego, the Harbor Freeway went to San Pedro, etc. Made perfect sense, as
> long as you were from the area. And you gotta call 'em something.

Both the San Diego Freeway and the Harbor Freeway were built after the
Interstate Highway system was approved in the 1950's. The first parts of the
San Diego Freeway to be built was the stretch in West Los Angeles. At that
time, Sepulveda Blvd was State Rte 7, a number later reassigned to the Long
Beach Freeway, which is now non-chargable Interstate 710. When Sepulveda Blvd
was State Rte 7, the Long Beach Freeway was State Rte 15, a number later
reassigned to an Interstate (I-15).

> Anyway, once the Interstate Highway program was passed, it eventually
> became advantageous to incorporate the freeways into the Interstate
> system, and they got numbers. 

The freeways were always designed to be part of the Interstate system.

> Even the non-Interstate freeways have numbers now.

Actually, all state highways have numbers.

> Question for old-timers: did the original freeways, like the Harbor,
> originally also have numbers (state highway numbers, I would assume).

Yes.

Daniel

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