Los Angeles Major Streets and Roadways

The city of Los Angeles makes use of an extensive grid pattern when laying out streets. There are surface streets (also called arterial streets) that link the freeways with the smaller streets in the neighborhoods and these are usually used by drivers wishing to avoid the delay on the freeways. 

Various measures are put in place to reduce the congestion on the surface streets. One of the steps taken is to use sensors to adjust the duration of the traffic signals, and this helps in reducing traffic on the most heavily used roads. Another measure is the use of the smart-grid traffic control system to facilitate the flow of traffic and there is a limit to the number of turns, especially at times when the traffic is heavy. 

A straight, vertical pattern of street layout is employed in some other parts of the city while the numbering of the streets is done from the east to west and also in a north-south orientation. Although this can be regarded as the convention, there are some other streets that are not numbered this way. In some parts of the city, surface streets are also referred to as boulevards and have been glamorized by the film industry.

Major Freeways, Highways, and Streets

• I-5 - Traverses city from NW to NE
• I-10 - Traverses city from W to E
• I-405 - Traverses near coast
• I-710 - Cuts from I-10 to coast N to S
• I-210 - Traverses from W to E along N of city
• I-15 - Cuts from N to S East of city
• I-605 - Connects I-210 to I-405 N to S