On this day in 1940 California opened its first freeway. As it turns out World War II would start in less than a year. During World War II the government implemented gas rationing. So there may have been sometime that LA’s Freeways were not crowded, but not in 1940.
The Arroyo Seco Parkway runs between Los Angeles and Pasadena in Southern California for a distance of approximately 8.2 miles. This National Register-eligible road is a significant historic transportation resource, linking some of the most ethnically and historically diverse communities in the Los Angeles basin.
1940s Rose Queen at Ribbon Cutting Dedicated on December 30, 1940, the Arroyo Seco Parkway was the first freeway in the West. Limited access and the prohibition of cross-traffic provided driving safety and convenience, and marked the road as a thoroughly modern invention. Alternatively termed an engineering marvel and the big ditch, the facility became the prototype of the Los Angeles Freeway system.
Like other Los Angeles area freeways, the road was at its design capacity before it was even built. Consequently, the planned emergency shoulder was converted into a travel lane during construction. The new lane was surfaced with asphalt, providing the road’s characteristic two-toned pavement. Intermittent “safety bays” were added in 1949 to compensate for the lack of shoulders.
