California State Route 91

California State Route 91

California State Route 91, often called "the 91," is a major freeway in California that runs east to west. It starts near Gardena close to Interstate 110 and goes all the way to Riverside, passing through many parts of the Greater Los Angeles area. People in Southern California usually just refer to it as “the 91.”

Even though some signs still show it, a part of the road near Artesia Boulevard is no longer officially part of the state highway system. This section was handed back to local areas in 2003.

The number 91 was chosen because it comes from an older road called U.S. Route 91, which used to go through places like the Inland Empire and even all the way to Las Vegas and Salt Lake City. Today, that old road is mostly replaced by I-15.

Route description

From the Harbor Freeway to its interchange with the Long Beach Freeway in northern Long Beach, SR 91 is named the Gardena Freeway. Between the Long Beach Freeway and its interchange with the Santa Ana Freeway in Buena Park, it is named the Artesia Freeway. From the Santa Ana Freeway to its eastern terminus at the interchange of the Pomona, Moreno Valley, and Escondido Freeways, it is named the Riverside Freeway.

Control cities on the route vary by location. When traveling westbound between SR 60/I-215 and the Orange County line, the listed control city is "Beach Cities". With SR 241 heading towards Irvine, Laguna Beach, and the rest of south Orange County, the control city becomes Los Angeles between the Orange–Riverside county line and I-5. I-5 directs travelers to Los Angeles, so between I-5 and Pioneer Boulevard, the control city is Artesia. Between Pioneer Boulevard and SR 1, the control city becomes Beach Cities again; besides Carmenita Road in Cerritos, the control city is in Long Beach. Heading eastbound, the control city for the entire route is Riverside.

SR 91 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are important for the country's economy, defense, and travel. SR 91 is part of the State Scenic Highway System from SR 55 to the east city limit of Anaheim, in the western part of the Santa Ana Canyon.

Gardena Freeway

The Gardena Freeway is a freeway in southern Los Angeles County. It is the westernmost part of State Route 91. It begins just west of the Harbor Freeway, at the intersection with Vermont Avenue in Gardena, and goes eastward for about six miles until it meets the Long Beach Freeway. After that, SR 91 is called the Artesia Freeway.

Until 1991, the Gardena Freeway was called the Redondo Beach Freeway. The name changed because cities like Torrance and Redondo Beach stopped plans to extend the freeway westward.

Artesia Freeway

The Artesia Freeway is a freeway in southeastern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County. It runs east–west from its western end at the Long Beach Freeway in northern Long Beach to its eastern end at the Santa Ana Freeway in Buena Park. During the 1984 Summer Olympics, part of the highway was used for a cycling event.

As the only freeway linking Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, SR 91 is one of the busiest routes in Southern California.

Riverside Freeway

Between the Santa Ana Freeway, Interstate 5 in Buena Park and the 91 Freeway's eastern end at a junction with Interstate 215 and State Route 60 in Riverside, the 91 Freeway is called the Riverside Freeway. Past the I-215/SR 60/SR 91 junction, the Riverside Freeway continues as I-215.

The freeway through the Santa Ana Canyon has a train line next to it called the 91/Perris Valley Line of Metrolink.

A weigh station for both directions is located between the Imperial Highway and Yorba Linda Boulevard/Weir Canyon Road exits.

The Riverside Freeway first opened in 1963 and the last section was built in 1975.

91 Express Lanes

The 91 Express Lanes are 18-mile high-occupancy toll lanes in the median of the Riverside Freeway in Orange and Riverside counties. The toll lanes opened in 1995 and were the country's first fully-automated toll collection system.

The toll lanes have two lanes in each direction, separated from the main lanes. Entry and exit points are only at the west and east ends, and at the Orange–Riverside county line.

Toll rates differ between the counties. In Riverside County, tolls are based on traffic levels. In Orange County, tolls change based on the time of day. Carpools with three or more people and motorcycles have discounts at certain times. All tolls are collected using an open road tolling system, and every vehicle needs a FasTrak transponder.

History

Original US 91: Barstow to Nevada

The Arrowhead Trail was an old road linking Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. It first went through Las Vegas and Needles because the more direct Old Spanish Trail was not in good condition. In 1920, a shorter route called the "Silver Lake cutoff" was suggested and finished in 1925. This new road helped connect Salt Lake City and Los Angeles and became part of the state highway system. In 1926, it was chosen as part of U.S. Route 91, running from Las Vegas to Barstow. The road was later made wider and paved in the mid-1930s.

SR 18: former extension of US 91 through Santa Ana Canyon to Long Beach

In the late 1940s, U.S. Route 91 was extended southwest to Long Beach. It shared the path with U.S. Route 66 over Cajon Pass to San Bernardino, then continued west through Riverside and Santa Ana Canyon. In 1931, the state took over a county highway to help extend Route 43 to Newport Beach. By 1934, parts of this route became Sign Route 18 when state routes were marked. When U.S. 91 was extended to Long Beach, it shared the road with SR 18 from San Bernardino to Lakewood, then turned south to end near downtown Long Beach.

SR 14: present SR 91 to Hermosa Beach

Before the current freeway was built, SR 14 followed surface streets like Gould Avenue and Artesia Avenue. In the 1964 renumbering, SR 14 became SR 91. Before 1991, the Gardena Freeway was called the Redondo Beach Freeway. The first part of the freeway opened in 1965 as U.S. 91, with the last part finishing in 1975. Even after some parts were given back to local cities, Artesia Boulevard between I-110 and SR 1 still has SR 91 signs.

Construction of the 91 Express Lanes

Because many people moved to areas like Riverside, traffic on the Riverside Freeway became very heavy. The solution was to build a toll road in the middle of the freeway. The 91 Express Lanes opened in 1995 between Anaheim and the Orange–Riverside county line. It was the first privately funded tollway in the U.S. since the 1940s. In 2003, the Orange County Transportation Authority bought the toll road and started managing it. In 2017, the express lanes were extended east to Corona.

Future

In 2005, people thought about building two tunnels through the Santa Ana Mountains. These tunnels could help move many cars and maybe add a train service between Corona and Irvine. But they decided it wasn’t possible then because of money and technology problems. They decided to wait until things get better before trying again.

If these tunnels were ever built, they would be close to the 91 Freeway to help with traffic. They would be very long—about 11.5 miles—and one tunnel could change direction depending on the time of day. The other tunnel would be just for trains. Some groups near where the tunnels would end don’t like the idea because they think there are better ways to help traffic now.

Many other projects by the Orange County Transportation Authority are still being worked on or planned for future years.

Exit list

Postmiles were measured on the road in 1964. They do not always show the distance today. Letters next to the numbers show changes: R means the road was moved, M means it was moved again, L means there was an overlap, and T means the postmiles were only temporary. Some parts of the road were never built or are now controlled by local authorities and are not listed. The numbers start over in each county, and the beginning and ending distances for each county are shown in the county column.