Interstate 5 in California

Interstate 5 In California

Interstate 5 (I-5) is a major north–south route of the Interstate Highway System in the U.S. state of California. It begins at the Mexico–United States border at the San Ysidro crossing, goes north across the length of California and crosses into Oregon south of the Medford-Ashland metropolitan area. It is the more important and most used of the two major north-south routes on the Pacific Coast, the other being U.S. Route 101, which is primarily coastal and always west of the Interstate beginning at the same point in downtown Los Angeles, but gradually the routes diverge until in the northernmost areas of California, they can average more than 150 miles (240 km) apart.

This highway links the major California cities of San Diego, Santa Ana, Los Angeles, Stockton, Sacramento, and Redding. Among the major cities not directly linked by Interstate 5 but are connected by local highways to it are San Francisco, Oakland and San Jose, which are about 80 miles (130 km) west of the highway.

Interstate 5 has several named portions: the Montgomery Freeway, San Diego Freeway, Santa Ana Freeway, Golden State Freeway, and West Side Freeway.