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Santa Ana Freeway Signed as Interstate 5 U.S. Route 101 Major cities/towns: Boyle Heights East Los Angeles Commerce Downey Santa Fe Springs Norwalk La Mirada Buena Park Anaheim Orange Santa Ana Tustin Irvine Direction: North-South Southern California freeways

Interstate 5; the Santa Ana Freeway segment is highlighted in purple, the Golden State Freeway segment is highlighted in red, and the San Diego Freeway segment is highlighted in blue.

The Santa Ana Freeway is one of the principal freeways in Southern California, connecting Los Angeles, California and its southeastern suburbs. The freeway begins at the four level Bill Keene Memorial Interchange complex in downtown Los Angeles, signed as U.S. Route 101. From there, it proceeds one mile east to the East Los Angeles Interchange where it takes the designation of Interstate 5. Its alignment then generally goes northwest to southeast towards its junction with the San Diego Freeway, Interstate 405 (I-405) (informally referred to as the El Toro Y), in Irvine.

North of the East Los Angeles Interchange complex, Interstate 5's name changes to the Golden State Freeway. South of its junction with the I-405, its name changes to the San Diego Freeway. (Interstate 405 ends at this junction.)

An abundance of landmarks, most importantly (Disneyland and Angel Stadium of Anaheim) in Anaheim, along the Orange County portion of its route combines with a severe bottleneck beginning at the Los Angeles County border (shrinking from 12 to 6 lanes) to make it one of the most congested freeways in Southern California. The infamously busy intersection of the Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Orange freeways in southwestern Orange is nicknamed the Orange Crush.

The entire Santa Ana Freeway began construction in 1947 and completed in 1956. Originally it was signed as US-101 before the segment of the 101 between the East Los Angeles Interchange and the United States–Mexico border in San Ysidro, California was decommissioned in favor of Interstate 5. It was approved as as an chargable interstate in 1961. The Santa Ana went up changing the U.S. 101 signs to Interstate 5 in 1964, including full length of Golden State Freeway which was originally signed as US-99.

Routes 101 and 5 from Route 110 (Four Level Interchange) to Route 405.^[1]

Northbound

• Los Angeles - between the East Los Angeles Interchange and Downtown Orange

• Santa Ana-between Downtown Orange and Downtown San Diego

Southbound

• Santa Ana - between the East Los Angeles Interchange and the Orange Crush interchange

• San Diego - between the Orange Crush interchange and the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405)

Cities/Communities along the Santa Ana Freeway (northwest to southeast):

• Chinatown
• Boyle Heights
• East Los Angeles
• Commerce
• Downey
• Santa Fe Springs
• Norwalk
• La Mirada
• Buena Park
• Anaheim
• Orange
• Santa Ana
• Tustin
• Irvine

The Santa Ana Freeway is often congested, especially where it meets Interstate 605 (the San Gabriel River Freeway) in southeastern Los Angeles County.

• At the Four Level Interchange complex in downtown Los Angeles:
  • Hollywood Freeway
  • Pasadena Freeway

• At the East Los Angeles Interchange complex in East Los Angeles (the largest freeway interchange in the world):
  • Golden State Freeway
  • Santa Monica Freeway/San Bernardino Freeway
  • Pomona Freeway

• Long Beach Freeway in City of Commerce
• Rosemead/Lakewood Boulevard (surface street) in Downey (Exit 125)
• San Gabriel River Freeway in Santa Fe Springs (Exit 124)
• Beach Boulevard (surface street) in Buena Park (Exit 116)
• Riverside Freeway (Exits 113C/114)
• At the Orange Crush Interchange complex in Orange:
  • Orange Freeway (Exit 107A)
  • Garden Grove Freeway (Exit 106)

• Costa Mesa Freeway in Tustin (Exit 103AB)
• Eastern Transportation Corridor (toll road) in Irvine (Exit 100 via Jamboree Road).
• Eastern Transportation Corridor/Laguna Freeway (toll road) in Irvine (Exit 95).
• San Diego Freeway at the El Toro 'Y' in Irvine (Exit 94A). Note: The name of Interstate 5 south of this interchange is the San Diego Freeway.

1. ^ 2006 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California. Caltrans, 63. Retrieved on 2007-03-28.