Ventura Freeway
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The Ventura Freeway is a freeway in southern California running from Ventura to Pasadena. It is the principal east-west route through Ventura County and in the southern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County. From Ventura to its intersection with the Hollywood Freeway in the southeastern San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, it is signed as U.S. Route 101. East of the Hollywood Freeway intersection, it is signed as State Route 134.
Prior to the construction of a new alignment in the 1970s, the portion east of the Hollywood Freeway was known as the Colorado Freeway in reference to nearby Colorado Boulevard, a historic thoroughfare in Pasadena and northeastern Los Angeles.
The route
The freeway begins southeast of La Conchita --which alternates between a freeway, an expressway, and an ordinary divided highway previous to this point--East of this point, U.S. 101 is known as the Ventura Freeway. It travels eastward through the citrus orchards and strawberry fields of the Oxnard Plain before ascending a short, steep pass into the Conejo Valley. Continuing eastward through the northern Santa Monica Mountains, it crosses the Ventura/Los Angeles county line before entering the San Fernando Valley. The freeway continues eastward along the valley's southern rim, crossing the 405 and 5 freeways and the Los Angeles River. After passing through the Glendale civic center south of the Verdugo Mountains, it continues along the southern slope of the San Rafael Hills between Glendale and Eagle Rock before entering Pasadena near the Arroyo Seco and terminating at the Foothill Freeway.The Ventura Freeway suffers from severe congestion. Its intersection with the San Diego Freeway, in Sherman Oaks, is consistently rated as one of the five most congested interchanges in the nation; the Hollywood Freeway junction is also notably congested. During events at the Rose Bowl, the freeway's eastern portions often resemble a parking lot.
The east-west geographical alignment of the Ventura Freeway and the north-south designation of U.S. 101 on freeway signs can be confusing to visitors; the same freeway entrance can often be signed as "101 North" and "101 West"; this is most common in the San Fernando Valley.
In popular culture
Ventura Highway is the title of a 1972 hit by America. The freeway "runnin' through the yard" in Tom Petty's 1989 hit, "Free Fallin'," is most likely the Ventura Freeway.Legal definition
Routes 101 and 134 from Route 5 to Santa Barbara County Line.- Note: Although the freeway's name had a long local usage, it did not become officially legal until Senate Concurrent Resolution 4, Chapter 62 (1973).
Screaming Eagles Highway
The Ventura Freeway in Ventura County is also officially known as the "Screaming Eagles Highway", with appropriate signage at both ends, honoring the 101st Airborne Division of the United States Army. The 101st Division was formed on July 23 1918, and subsequently has been involved in every major war that the United States has participated in since then. [link]
Communities served
Communities along the Ventura Freeway include:- Ventura
- Oxnard
- Camarillo
- Thousand Oaks
- Westlake Village
- Agoura Hills
- Calabasas
- Woodland Hills
- Tarzana
- Encino
- Sherman Oaks
- Studio City
- Toluca Lake
- Burbank
- Glendale
- Pasadena
Major intersections
Freeways intersecting the Ventura Freeway include:Ojai Freeway (SR-33)Santa Paula Freeway (SR-126) San Diego Freeway (I-405) Hollywood Freeway (US-101/SR-170)
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