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 Imperial Highway street sign in Los Angeles | |
| Part of | |
|---|---|
| Maintained by | Local jurisdictions, Caltrans (for the portion betweenSR 39 andSR 91) |
| Length | 105 mi (169 km) |
| Location | California |
| Nearest metro station |  : |
| Southeastern end |  SR 98 nearOcotillo |
| Major junctions | |
| Northwestern end | Vista Del Mar inPlaya Del Rey |
| Construction | |
| Inauguration | 1931 |
TheImperial Highway is a west-east thoroughfare in the counties ofLos Angeles,Orange,Riverside,San Diego, andImperial in the U.S. state ofCalifornia. The main portion of the existing route begins at Vista Del Mar in Los Angeles near theLos Angeles International Airport and ends at theAnaheim–Orange city line at Via Escola where it becomes Cannon Street. Historically, the Imperial Highway extended from Vista Del Mar toCalexico, where a portion of the highway still exists. The original route was replaced with other highways, leading the older portions of the Imperial Highway to fall out of use.[1]
The total length of theGreater Los Angeles portion of the Imperial Highway is approximately 41 miles (66 km), of which 14 miles (23 km) run through Orange County and 27 miles (43 km) through Los Angeles County.
Between SR 91 and SR 39, Imperial Highway is signed asState Route 90. Ade facto freeway portion of the route inYorba Linda is also known as theRichard M. Nixon Freeway.
The portion in Los Angeles County betweenLakewood Boulevard and Valley View Avenue is located about one mile north of, and runs parallel to,Rosecrans Avenue.
Starting from Cannon Street & Via Escola inOrange, going east to west Cannon Street becomes Imperial Highway upon enteringAnaheim. The highway then passes through the cities and communities ofAnaheim Hills,Yorba Linda,Placentia,Brea,Fullerton,La Habra,La Mirada,Santa Fe Springs (some sections in La Mirada and Santa Fe Springs are next to unincorporated LA County),Norwalk,Downey,South Gate,Lynwood,Los Angeles (Watts, andSouth LA – a portion after South LA is in unincorporated LA County),Inglewood,Hawthorne,El Segundo (southside of street only), andWestchester (part of Los Angeles on the northside). Imperial Highway ends atDockweiler Beach on Vista Del Mar near Playa Del Rey, just pastLAX.
Along its route, Imperial Highway crosses over or under these freeways from west to east:
Metro Local lines 120, 232, and formerly 625 run via Imperial Highway, as well asNorwalk Transit line 4,LADOT line 438, andBeach Cities Transit line 109; Metro line 625 ran between Pershing Drive andLa Cienega Boulevard. Metro line 120 runs between Aviation Boulevard andNorwalk Station, Metro Line 232 runs between Aviation Boulevard andSepulveda Boulevard, Beach Cities Transit line 109 between Aviation Boulevard and California Street, LADOT Commuter Express line 438 between the I-105 on-ramp and Vista Del Mar, and Norwalk line 4 between Norwalk Station and Beach Boulevard. Imperial intersects with theMetro A andC Lines at Wilmington Avenue inWillowbrook at theWillowbrook/Rosa Parks station. There is also another C Linestation atAviation Boulevard.
Western terminus coordinates (El Segundo):33°55′50.91″N118°26′5.42″W / 33.9308083°N 118.4348389°W /33.9308083; -118.4348389
Eastern terminus coordinates (Anaheim):33°50′7.76″N117°47′43.32″W / 33.8354889°N 117.7953667°W /33.8354889; -117.7953667
Imperial Highway was built in large part because of lobbying from the Imperial Highway Association, founded in 1929. The Imperial Highway Association lobbied city and county governments to build Imperial Highway, gaining cities along the way until the highway finished construction in 1961.[2]
Imperial Highway was initially conceived as a commercial route connectingImperial County to Los Angeles County.[3][2] A segment remains today asCalifornia County Route S2 in Imperial County which connects Interstate 8 nearOcotillo. A segment in San Diego County was renamed the Great Overland Stage Route of 1849.[4] Another segment adjacent to Lake Elsinore (Riverside County) was once indicated on 1960s vicinity maps by H.M. Gousha (Gousha), publisher of street maps.[citation needed]
There are other Imperial Highways in the United States, including one inSan Diego (better known as Imperial Avenue) and in theDetroit suburbs ofRedford Township, Michigan andWestland, Michigan. Despite the name, Westland's version runs a mere three blocks, north from Bock Street, then northeast from Hambleton Street, across John Hauk Road and stopping at Pardo Street. (It used to continue toFord Road, but this section has been a hardware store parking lot since the 1970s.)[citation needed]
Media related toImperial Highway at Wikimedia Commons
