The 405 San Diego Freeway runs from the northern San Fernando Valley and skirts through the western side of Los Angeles down past Long Beach. It is also one of the most congested freeways in the US. This photo (facing north heading into the Sepulveda Pass) was taken in 1962, a year after the main part first opened. I used to drive it every morning and at the Sunset Blvd off-ramp all six southbound lanes would be at a standstill—at 6 o’clock in the morning. So when I saw this photo, I actually gasped. What a joy getting around L.A. would be if its freeways still looked like this.
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When I was going to school in Inglewood, forty years ago, I’d take side roads rather than deal with the 405 getting to Woodland Hills where my father lived…
During my years working for the City of Los Angeles, I drove home from downtown on the Santa Monica Freeway. I was fortunate to have relatively decent traffic, but every time I passed over the 405, I’d shudder at the prospect of being stuck in such a hellish mess every day. Other than very early in the morning on New Year’s Day, and in the first days of the pandemic, I’ve never seen it look like this photo.