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Beginning at the International Border at San Ysidro, Interstate 5 connects the metropolitan areas of Tijuana, Baja California, and San Diego, California. Due to significant traffic loads at all hours of the day and night, plans call for expansion of the northbound border inspection facility and realignment of the southbound lanes into a larger border inspection facility. While still a nascent proposal, it is likely that the existing configuration of lanes will not suffice given projected traffic volumes over the next 20 years.Passing through the border inspection station, Interstate 5 immediately assumes the role of an urban freeway, with eight to twelve lanes for its entire length through San Diego County. The freeway replaces old U.S. 101, which used to follow surface streets between the border and downtown San Diego. While some parts of the old road are buried (such as in National City, where it was overrun by the Mile of Cars and in La Jolla, where Interstate 5 was routed on top of the old road), many extant sections of U.S. 101 are still around for driving enjoyment, especially between La Jolla and Oceanside via San Diego County Route S-21.Returning to the Interstate, with the recent population explosion resonating throughout Southern California, eight-lane Interstate 5 is ill-equipped to handle the needs of daily commuters, visitors, business people, international tourists, truckers, and more. Plans call for expansion of Interstate 5 in San Diego, for instance, to ten or more lanes, including the implementation of high occupancy vehicle lanes.One such large-scale project is the reconstruction and expansion of the interchange between Interstate 5 and Interstate 805 through the San Diego communities of Sorrento Valley (Mira Mesa), Torrey Hills, and Carmel Valley. The freeway is being widened to a dual freeway configuration, which will allow for trucks and local traffic to use the lanes that lead to exit ramps, while through traffic may use the express lanes. Completion of all phases of this project is expected by the mid- to late-2000s, pending funding identification.Continuing north through Orange County, Interstate 5 was recently reconstructed and widened substantially between California 73 and California 91. Parts of this section of freeway contain as many as 22 lanes, including auxiliary and carpool lanes. Even so, the interchange between Interstate 5 and Interstate 405 can be very busy and congested during rush hour periods and on weekends. Entering Los Angeles County, Interstate 5 reverts to its originally constructed alignment, following concrete poured in the 1960s in some areas. Interstate 5 is generally six lanes wide, and any upgrading would require significant land acquisition. Plans call for this section to be reconstructed, but there are obstacles along the way, including affected property owners and municipalities along the path of Interstate 5. It is not clear when construction of this section might begin, but it is considered a high-priority improvement. For more, please see the official web page.One of the biggest congestion points along Interstate 5 is at its junction with Interstate 10, U.S. 101, and California 60. This maze of interchanges, ramps, and other maneuvers remains largely unchanged since its original construction, and so it is overwhelmed by traffic every day. Through traffic on Interstate 5 is squeezed into two lanes at one point as well as merged with traffic from the busiest freeway in Southern California, Interstate 10 (the Santa Monica Freeway). From here, Interstate 5 generally follows old U.S. 99, which was decommissioned in 1964.Leaving the Los Angeles Basin, Interstate 5 regains its full freeway configuration of eight to ten lanes, but the evening commute generally hits at the north end of San Fernando Valley. The interchange between Interstate 5, Interstate 210, and California 14 is a choke point, even with the truck bypass. The California 14/Interstate 5 interchange is also the site of two devastating earthquake collapses, one in 1971's Sylmar Earthquake and the other in 1994's Northridge Earthquake.At this point, Interstate 5 ascends to one of the highest points along its journey along the western coast. Crossing the Tehachapi Mountains at Tejon Pass (elevation 4,183 feet) as well as the infamous San Andreas fault, Interstate 5 transitions from an urban to a rural freeway for the first time in its northbound journey. In order to make the grade manageable for trucks, the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 just north of Castaic "trades sides" with the sounthbound lanes. The result is several miles in which northbound Interstate 5 is on the left side of the freeway rather than the right side! This kind of configuration is rare; Interstate 8 east of Yuma has a similar inversion of its east and westbound lanes.Descending into the massive Central Valley via the Grapevine, Interstate 5 immediately splits into two routes: Interstate 5 follows the Westside Highway, avoiding all major population centers between the Grapevine and Tracy. California 99 follows the old U.S. 99 route, connecting with most major Central Valley cities, including Bakersfield, Fresno, Modesto, and Stockton. Fresno, in fact, holds the dubious distinction as the largest city in the country not served by an Interstate highway. Nevertheless, Fresno still has its old standby, California 99. Most traffic destined for the Bay Area and points northward prefer to take Interstate 5, which is shorter and avoids urban traffic.The next several hundred miles can be peaceful or stressful depending on the day of the week and time of year. During holiday weekends, Interstate 5 can be a parking lot filled with travelers eager to reach relatives and friends in Northern or Southern California. At other times, Interstate 5 is as free-flowing as any rural freeway. However, over the past decade or so, more people have been using "the 5" to connect between Southern and Northern California. As this kind of usage increases, more traffic delays become problematic in the Central Valley, even if the nearest city is many miles away. At Interstate 580, travelers en route to the San Francisco Bay Area may exit left to their destination. Interstate 5 remains in the Central Valley, closely following the California Aqueduct and Path 22, the flagship transmission power lines that follow the freeway through much of the state. Whenever Southern California needs power from Northern California, these power lines carry that extra power needed to satisfy their needs. The power lines also work in reverse, thus ensuring that neither part of the state is without power for a long period of time.Finally Interstate 5 passes through some cities in the Central Valley, including Tracy, Manteca, Stockton, and the capital city, Sacramento. By the time Interstate 5 reaches Sacramento, it has expanded to eight to ten lanes. Passing under Business Loop I-80, Interstate 5 is well below grade ... so low, in fact, that the bottom of the neaby Sacramento River is higher than the level of the freeway as it passes by Old Town Sacramento! Occasionally, with the right amounts of rain and other variables, this section of Interstate 5 may flood.However, there are plans to change this. Some Sacramento leaders want to see their access to the river restored, and part of that would require removing Interstate 5 from between downtown Sacramento and Old Town Sacramento. Interstate 5 would then be re-routed to the west, connecting with Interstate 80 and Business Loop I-80 in West Sacramento at their current interchange, then continuing northeast to rejoin current Interstate 5 at the current Interstate 5/Interstate 80 interchange. This ambitious plan faces many hurdles, including major cost and environmental concerns, and nothing has been finalized.Interstate 5 leaves Sacramento almost as quickly as it came onto it. Again meeting California 99, Interstate 5 serves the west edge of the northern Central Valley (via old U.S. 99W), while California 99 and California 70 serve the east side of the valley (via old U.S. 99E and Alternate U.S. 40). Most of the towns passed by Interstate 5 are tiny, but they have seen growth through the addition of fast food restaurants, gas stations, and motels. Behind the veneer of these services, old towns with a great deal of history and farming tradition -- such as Williams, Arbuckle, Willows, and Orland -- await.Passing through Red Bluff, Interstate 5 enters the rolling hills that separates Red Bluff from Redding. Interstate 5 leaves the Central Valley, and glimpses of towering Mount Shasta become common. Changing from the great valley to mountain scenery, Interstate 5 follows cuts through towering mountains as it winds its way northward along old U.S. 99. This terrain remains as Interstate 5 passes through northern California and enters southern Oregon. By the time it reaches Eugene, the freeway has entered the narrow Willamette Valley, and it approaches Portland.Both Portland and Seattle have several concerns with Interstate 5. In Portland, the Interstate Bridge over the Columbia River is substandard and causes traffic delays daily. In Seattle, the freeway is congested daily and cannot support the ever increasing crush of traffic. Plans are being considered in both cities to allow Interstate 5 to handle more traffic.
