Interstate 5 Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
Interstate 5 is an interstate highway along the west coast of the United States. Like other interstates, it is commonly referred to as I-5 by most Americans (Southern Californians typically call it the 5). Its odd number indicates that it is a north-south highway (though in much of the southern half of California it runs in a northwest-southeast direction). It extends from San Ysidro, California—south of San Diego—at the Mexican border to Blaine, Washington at the Canadian border; apart from the San Francisco Bay Area, which lies further off to the west and is connected by spur routes, links all of the major metropolitan areas on the West Coast. In California and Oregon the route runs up the central valleys of those states.Detailed information on the sections of I-5 in Southern California can be found on the Golden State Freeway, Santa Ana Freeway, and San Diego Freeway pages.
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2 Length 3 Major cities along the Route 4 Intersections with other Interstates 5 Spur routes 6 Notes 7 References and external links |
History
The portion of this highway from Los Angeles, California to San Ysidro, California was also co-signed as US 101 until the late 1960s.
The portion of this highway from Lebec, California to Red Bluff, California roughly follows old US 99W.
| Miles | km | state | |
| 796.53 | 1282 | California | |
| 308.14 | 496 | Oregon | |
| 276.62 | 445 | Washington | |
| 1381.29 | 2223 | Total | |
Major cities along the Route
In California south of Tracy, I-5 skirts along the more remote western edge of the great central valley, and thus here is removed from population centers such as Bakersfield, California and Fresno, California with state highways providing connections. Interstate 580 provides a loop-route connection to San Francisco, California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Intersections with other Interstates
Spur routes
I-305 in Sacramento is the hidden Interstate designation for Business Loop I-80 and US 50 between I-80 in West Sacramento and State Highway 99 near downtown Sacramento. Unlike most signed routes in California, there is no assigned California State Route 305, but the number is reserved because I-305 is still used for funding petitions for this road. [1]
- Zamora, California - I-505
- Eugene, Oregon - I-105
- Portland, Oregon - I-205, I-405
- Tacoma, Washington - I-705
- Seattle, Washington - I-405
Notes
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- The western branch of Interstate 5, called I-5W, was replaced by I-505 and I-580, the main spur into the San Francisco Bay Area.
- There were plans to build a spur into Salem, Oregon, called I-305, but it was never built.
- Of the existing three-digit Interstate highways, I-105 is the lowest number.
- Interstate 5 is the only Interstate highway to touch both the Canadian and Mexican borders; it is part of the Pan-American Highway, a 17,000-mile road that runs from Alaska to South America. It continues into Vancouver, Canada as BC Provincial Highway 99, and crosses from San Diego to adjacent Tijuana, where it becomes Mexico Route 1D.
References and external links
This is an Article on Interstate 5. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About Interstate 5
