California State Route 57

California State Route 57, also called the Orange Freeway, is a major north-south highway in the Greater Los Angeles Area of California. It starts at the interchange of Interstate 5 and State Route 22 near downtown Orange, known locally as the Orange Crush, and ends at the Glendora Curve interchange with the Foothill Freeway in Glendora. This highway helps connect many important areas, including the Los Angeles Basin, Pomona Valley, and San Gabriel Valley, by crossing several spurs of the Peninsular Ranges.

Before it became the Orange Freeway, a road ran through Brea Canyon in the early 1900s and was later added to the state highway system. The freeway was built in stages during the 1950s, and it was officially named State Route 57 during the 1964 state highway renumbering. The last part of the Orange Freeway was finished in the mid-1970s. In 1998, a section that was once part of Interstate 210 was added to SR 57 when State Route 210 was extended to San Bernardino.

Even today, there is a planned but not yet built extension of SR 57 that would go from Santa Ana south to Huntington Beach. This possible extension has been studied as a toll road that would run above the Santa Ana River.

Route description

State Route 57, also called the Orange Freeway, starts at a place called the Orange Crush interchange near downtown Orange. Here, it connects with the Santa Ana Freeway (I-5) and the Garden Grove Freeway (SR 22). From there, the freeway goes north, passing through suburbs in Anaheim. It goes by important spots like Anaheim Regional Transportation Intermodal Center, Angel Stadium, and Honda Center.

As it continues, SR 57 meets the Riverside Freeway (SR 91) and passes through Placentia and Fullerton, giving access to California State University, Fullerton. The road then goes through Brea Canyon between the Chino Hills and Puente Hills before meeting the Pomona Freeway (SR 60) in Diamond Bar. After that, SR 57 joins SR 60 for a short stretch before continuing north into the Pomona Valley. It ends at the Glendora Curve interchange with the Foothill Freeway (I-210) in Glendora. There are special carpool lanes called HOV lanes on part of the road in Diamond Bar.

History

In the late 1910s, a road made from oiled dirt connected parts of the Peninsular Ranges between the Los Angeles Basin and Pomona Valley. This road started near Fullerton and joined with Valley Boulevard close to Walnut, heading east toward Pomona. By 1923, Los Angeles County had paved this road with concrete. In 1931, it became part of the state highway system as a branch of Route 19.

In the 1930s, the state built a new route that went around part of the old road. In 1933, another route called Route 180 was added. By the 1950s, plans were made to build the Orange Freeway, which would connect to Santa Ana and go north to Pomona. In 1957, more plans were added to extend the freeway further.

Construction of the Orange Freeway began in 1967. The first part opened in 1969, running from SR 91 north to a place called Nutwood Avenue in Fullerton. Over the next few years, more sections were completed, including parts that joined with I-10 and I-210. The final pieces, including a section through Brea Canyon and a large interchange called the Kellogg Hill Interchange, opened in 1972. In the mid-1970s, the freeway was extended south to I-5. Later, in 1998, part of SR 210 became an extension of SR 57.

Future

The plan to extend State Route 57 further south to Huntington Beach has not yet been built. In the past, leaders in Orange County thought about making this road a toll road above the Santa Ana River, but it would only go as far as the San Diego Freeway in Costa Mesa. This idea came about because many people were having trouble using another road called SR 55.

Work to make a part of SR 57 wider, adding an extra lane for traffic going north, was completed in 2014 between two streets called Katella Avenue and SR 91. Plans are still being made to add one more lane in this area to help traffic move more smoothly.

Exit list

County	Location	mi	km	Exit	Destinations
Orange	Santa Ana–Orange line	0.19	0.31	1A	I-5 south (Santa Ana Freeway) – Santa Ana
				♦	I-5 south
		0.24	0.39	1B	SR 22 east (Garden Grove Freeway) – Orange
		0.38	0.61	1C	SR 22 west (Garden Grove Freeway) / Bristol Street / La Veta Avenue – Long Beach
	Orange	0.56	0.90	1D	Chapman Avenue – Orange
		1.13	1.82	1E	Orangewood Avenue
	Anaheim	1.87	3.01	2	Katella Avenue
		2.75	4.43	3	Ball Road
		4.10	6.60	4	Lincoln Avenue
		4.71– 4.73	7.58– 7.61	5A	SR 91 east (Riverside Freeway) – Riverside
				5B	SR 91 west (Riverside Freeway) – Los Angeles
				♦	SR 91 west
	Placentia	5.72	9.21	6A	Orangethorpe Avenue
	Fullerton	6.57	10.57	6B	Chapman Avenue – Fullerton
		6.90	11.10	7	Nutwood Avenue
		7.67	12.34	8	Yorba Linda Boulevard
	Fullerton–Brea line	9.18	14.77	9	SR 90 (Imperial Highway)
	Brea	10.21	16.43	10	Lambert Road
		11.11	17.88	11	Tonner Canyon Road
Los Angeles	Diamond Bar	12.64	20.34	13	Brea Canyon Road
		13.66	21.98	14	Diamond Bar Boulevard
		14.90	23.98	15	Pathfinder Road
	Diamond Bar–Industry line	15.89	25.57	16	SR 60 west (Pomona Freeway) – Los Angeles
				—	SR 60 Alt. west / Brea Canyon Road
				—	SR 60 west (Pomona Freeway) – Los Angeles
				24B	Grand Avenue – Diamond Bar
	Diamond Bar	16.33	26.28	—	SR 60 east (Pomona Freeway) – Pomona, Riverside
		16.70	26.88	18	Sunset Crossing Road to SR 60 east (Pomona Freeway)
	Pomona	19.80	31.87	20	Temple Avenue
	Pomona–San Dimas line	21.11– 21.34	33.97– 34.34	22A	I-10 west (San Bernardino Freeway) – Los Angeles
				22B	I-10 east (San Bernardino Freeway) – San Bernardino
	San Dimas	21.58	34.73	22C	SR 71 south (Chino Valley Freeway) – Corona
		22.34	35.95	22D	Via Verde / Raging Waters Drive
		23.90	38.46	24A	Covina Boulevard
		24.42	39.30	24B	Arrow Highway
	San Dimas–Glendora line	25.20	40.56	25A	Auto Centre Drive
	Glendora	25.47	40.99	25B	SR 210 east (Foothill Freeway) – San Bernardino
				25C	I-210 west (Foothill Freeway) – Pasadena
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Concurrency terminus       HOV only       Incomplete access