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. The Beach Cities control city may have to do with SR 91's former western terminus in Hermosa Beach.

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 considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration. 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, and is eligible for the system through the canyon to Interstate 15.

Gardena Freeway

The Gardena Freeway is a freeway in southern Los Angeles County. It is the westernmost freeway portion of State Route 91. It begins just west of the Harbor Freeway, at the intersection with Vermont Avenue in the eastern edge of the city of Gardena, proceeding eastward approximately six miles (9.7 km) until it intersects the Long Beach Freeway. Thereafter, SR 91 is known as the Artesia Freeway.

Until 1991, the Gardena Freeway was known as the Redondo Beach Freeway. The name change reflected the successful efforts of the cities of Torrance and Redondo Beach to block the extension of the freeway westward to its intended terminus at the cancelled Pacific Coast Freeway in Redondo Beach. In 1997, the California government dedicated the portion of SR 91 between Alameda Street and Central Avenue to former assemblyman Willard H. Murray Jr.

Artesia Freeway

The Artesia Freeway is a freeway in southeastern Los Angeles County and northwestern Orange County. It runs east–west from its western terminus at the Long Beach Freeway in northern Long Beach to its eastern terminus at the Santa Ana Freeway in Buena Park. (SR 91 continues west of the Long Beach Freeway as the Gardena Freeway, and east of the Santa Ana Freeway as the Riverside Freeway.) The "Artesia Freeway" name originally was assigned to the entire length of SR 91 west of the Santa Ana Freeway in the early 1970s since it was, in a sense, the freeway realignment of SR 91 from the paralleling Artesia Boulevard.

During the 1984 Summer Olympics, a 25 km (16 mi) stretch of the highway was home to the cycling men's road team time trial event.

As the only freeway to link Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside counties, SR 91 is one of the most heavily congested routes in Southern California.

Riverside Freeway

Between the Santa Ana Freeway, Interstate 5 (I-5), in Buena Park and the 91 Freeway's eastern terminus at a junction with Interstate 215 and State Route 60 in Riverside, the 91 Freeway's assigned name is 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 is paralleled by the 91/Perris Valley Line of Metrolink. Named after SR 91, the line also connects Los Angeles to Orange and Riverside counties.

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

In 2003, Caltrans permanently closed off the Coal Canyon Road westbound and eastbound exits and entrances for environmental purposes; however, there are still traces of unmaintained road where the former exit lay, showing evidence that the ramps still exist, available to use as runaway ramps or for emergency stops.

In 2015, Caltrans permanently closed off the Grand Boulevard eastbound exit and westbound entrance to accommodate the widening of the freeway. If the ramps had stayed open, more businesses and houses would have been demolished. The ramps were scrapped with the widening and there is no emergency exit.

The Riverside Freeway first opened in 1963 signed as U.S. Route 91 and U.S. Route 395, and the last section was built in 1975.

91 Express Lanes

The 91 Express Lanes are 18-mile (29 km) high-occupancy toll lanes (HOT lanes) contained entirely within the median of the Riverside Freeway in Orange and Riverside counties. The 91 Express Lanes run from the junction of SR 91 with the SR 55 Freeway (Costa Mesa Freeway) in Anaheim to its junction with I-15 in Corona. Before the extension in 2017, they ended at the Riverside County line. With the extension of the toll lanes, the HOV lane between I-15 and Green River Road was converted into a HOT lane. The primary purpose of the toll lanes is to provide a faster output for drivers due to the congestion the highway experiences during peak hours, and to promote carpooling. The toll lanes opened in 1995 and when they opened, it was the country's first fully-automated toll collection system to feature value pricing.

The 91 Express Lanes consist of two primary lanes in each direction, separated from the main lanes of the Riverside Freeway with white, 3-foot-high (0.91 m), plastic lane markers (as opposed to concrete barriers or a similar solid barrier, or even just double white lines separating many other California HOT lanes). Entry and exit points for the 91 Express Lanes are only located at their west and east ends, and at the Orange–Riverside county line where the toll road originally terminated before 2017.

As of July 2025^[update], the toll rates differ between the counties. In the Riverside County segment, drivers are tolled using a congestion pricing system based on the real-time levels of traffic. The Orange County segment instead uses a preset variable pricing system based on the time of day, with the highest toll rate set at $9.35 being charged at 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm eastbound on Fridays. Carpools with three or more people and motorcycles are charged 50 percent of the posted toll when traveling eastbound from 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm on weekdays, and travel toll-free at all other times, if they use the designated carpool lane at the toll collection points. All tolls are collected using an open road tolling system, and therefore there are no toll booths to receive cash. Each vehicle is required to carry a FasTrak transponder. The 91 Express Lanes' system predates the introduction of the FasTrak Flex version, with a switch set to indicate the number of the vehicle's occupants, so that either the standard FasTrak tag without the switch may be used. However, carpools with three or more people and motorcycles must still apply for a "special Access account" to receive the carpool discounts. Drivers without any FasTrak tag will be assessed a toll violation regardless of whether they qualify for the carpool discounts.

History

Original US 91: Barstow to Nevada

The Arrowhead Trail was an old road connecting Salt Lake City with Los Angeles. It first used a longer path through Las Vegas and Needles because the more direct Old Spanish Trail was in poor condition. In 1920, a shorter route called the "Silver Lake cutoff" was proposed and completed 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 widened 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 overlapped 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 as part of extending 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 overlapped 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 segment of the freeway opened in 1965 as U.S. 91, with the last segment completing in 1975. Even after some parts were given back to local cities, Artesia Boulevard between I-110 and SR 1 still carries 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 began managing it. In 2017, the express lanes were extended east to Corona.

Future

In 2005, people looked into building two tunnels through the Santa Ana Mountains. These tunnels could help move many cars and maybe even add a train service between Corona and Irvine. But they decided it wasn’t possible at that time 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 run close to the 91 Freeway to help with traffic. They would be very long—about 11.5 miles—and one would change direction depending on the time of day to help cars move easier. The other tunnel would be just for trains. Some groups and companies 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, some maybe finishing by 2030.

Exit list

Postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time. They do not always show the current distance. Letters next to the numbers show changes: R means the road was realigned, M means it was realigned a second time, L means there was an overlap due to a change, and T means the postmiles were temporary. Some parts of the road that were never built or are now controlled by local authorities 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.