The 10 Freeway, Explained

Transportation & Mobility

How miles of asphalt forever changed LA

Cato Hernández has scoured through tons of archives to understand how our region became the way it is today.

Published November 29, 2023 5:00 AM

A black and white northeast view showing Ramona Boulevard after completion. The road winds down the center with automobiles in its wide lanes and railroad tracks next to the electrical lines along its left side. Large trees stand in the foreground obstructing the view of the dirt hill on the far right. A residential area lies across the background and a very large, lightly-colored building stands on the far left.

Ramona Boulevard, 100 feet north of the intersection of Mitchell and Echandia Streets, on April 16, 1935.

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Public Domain, USC Libraries Special Collections

USC Libraries and California Historical Society

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Topline:

Angelenos have a love/hate relationship with the 10 Freeway (and probably any other for that matter), but the 10’s historical feats have left quite a mark on the county. So as repairs continue on the 10, we look into how this route changed driving in L.A.

How did the 10 Freeway start? The routes have gone through many name changes and have fallen under different plans, but the state really got coordinated in the 50s.

But was it the first freeway? Not quite, but it’s sort of its own first. Before the 10 Freeway that we know today existed — with its elevated and structured routes — Ramona Boulevard created buzz as a highway in 1935. This four-mile stretch had some hallmarks of a freeway, which later became the 10, but it lacked a key safety feature.

Read on… to learn about other big firsts on the freeway.

Freeways aren’t that cool — but the 10 gets kind of close because of its curious past.

It’s been in the news after the pallet fire and speedy recovery (although it's still undergoing repairs), but now, let’s look at some of its pivotal growth spurts.

A brief history of the 10 Freeway

While it wasn’t always called the 10, the route has been around for a long time.

In the early 20th century, Los Angeles was experiencing rapid growth. More and more people were buying cars, and there was a hodgepodge of different types of roads, ranging from dirt roads to flashier paved routes where you could drive faster than on other streets.

Travelers could use these roads to get from point A to point B in L.A. a little faster, but it was still slightly chaotic. So by the 1930s, the city began planning for a more organized network of roadways, especially between commerce and urbanized areas.

Today the route of Interstate 10 stretches thousands of miles from Santa Monica all the way to Florida, but before all that concrete was laid out, what would become the 10 Freeway was a much smaller system of highways with different names and destinations.

Is it LA’s first freeway?

A black and white view of a graded roadbed lined with concrete walls goes under the Macy St. Bridge during construction of the Ramona Freeway. The view is looking east towards L.A. County General Hospital.

One of those upgraded routes was Ramona Boulevard, which opened in April 1935. It ran for four miles downtown under where the 10 is now, between Aliso Street and Garvey Avenue (ironically likely near where the pallets caught fire).

It created buzz because of its physical innovations — many of which would become central to the definition of a freeway.

Author Paul Haddad wrote that it was a roadway “with all the hallmarks of a freeway: separate grades, sloped embankments, and bridges replacing cross-traffic.”

(The person who coined the term 'freeway' — h/t Edward Bassett — saw it as different from other types of thoroughfares. A freeway wasn't about scenic routes or open access, it was about controlled and quick movement, leading to a free flow of traffic.)

Whether or not it’s the first freeway isn’t an easy answer because Ramona Boulevard started with new nomenclature.

The L.A. Department of Transportation says the state called it an “airline route” because “motorists could ‘fly’ without intersectional conflict at 50 miles per hour.”

But then in 1943, eight years after opening, the county’s regional planning commission referred to this stretch as a freeway “conversion of an existing highway.”

It’s not all semantics, though. The commission did define a freeway as a route:

exclusively for the movement of motor vehicles
separated from other properties by barriers
that prohibits going in and out
with reasonably spaced out entries and exits
with uninterrupted traffic flow that’s divided into two sides

The thing is, Ramona Boulevard had all the above except that last one — the dividing section between the two sides. So, it didn’t pass the “freeway” name test.

But ironically it proved how important a dividing section could be because of the number of accidents that happened without one: during its first 40 months, there were 77 injuries (including deaths) on Ramona Boulevard, according to LADOT history, mostly from head-on and sideswipe collisions.

To make it safer, a city traffic engineer asked the state to approve a “narrow guard rail design with lights atop” that would go in the middle. The interim measure worked, and since then all high-speed state highways use a raised median or barrier in the center.

While Ramona can’t technically claim the “first freeway” title because it didn’t have a divider between sides, we wouldn’t have sussed out what a freeway needs to be without it. A real chicken or the egg situation.

The upshot is that the title of L.A.’s first freeway officially goes to its neighbor, the 110, the Arroyo Seco Parkway which mostly opened in 1940 — Ramona was L.A.’s scrappy trial run.

A growing freeway system

A black and white wide view overlooking traffic on multiple lanes in front of multiple bridges and freeway routes.

Through the 1940s, '50s, and '60s, coordinated state plans emerged to develop these routes and other thoroughfares, into a network of fast-paced freeways.

There was much back and forth between leaders about what freeway routes would exist, where they’d lead and how they’d be named. But eventually, crews broke ground on the newly named Santa Monica Freeway portion over the L.A. River in 1957. The eastern side near Alhambra, which used to be called Ramona Freeway, was already open and was renamed the San Bernardino Freeway in 1954.

A portion of the freeway was included in the interstate highway system in 1957, earning that recognizable I-10 number. Other sections were included under the 10 moniker later, in an honestly way too confusing way.

Growth came at a cost for those in the freeway’s path. The routes were put close to schools and residences, which Angelenos complained would impact people’s health over time. A west side section of the 10 also displaced thousands of residents, including folks who lived in the now bisected Sugar Hill neighborhood.

Innovations on the 10

A black and white view of a large freeway sign above traffic. It says freeway condition on the top and has lit up letters that read typical information.

The 10 Freeway brought other big innovations to L.A., such as electronic message boards.

A black and white view of people standing on a sidewalk outside holding up picket signs. It's a small crowd in view of about a dozen mena and women. One sign near the front says they gave us the diamonds your getting the shaft.

According to Haddad, the new boards pointed drivers to another innovation: the diamond lane. Essentially a carpool lane, it ended up a flop. Drivers hated it because it took over an existing freeway lane and you could only use it if you had three or more people in your car. The dislike was so strong that the woman behind the lane received “sexist taunts and death threats,” according to Haddad.

Sexism in engineering would have to take another back seat, though. Marilyn Reece, designer of the 10 and 405 interchange, was the first woman engineer registered in California, and Caltrans dedicated this junction to her in 2008.

According to Haddad, the 10 is also the first to use white letters on green signs and turnouts for the California Highway Patrol to clear accidents.

Climate & Environment

Santa Ana River death

Body recovered from riverbed in Fountain Valley

Kevin Tidmarsh is a producer for LAist, covering news and culture. He’s been an audio/web journalist for about a decade.

Published January 1, 2026 6:21 PM

An overhead shot of a river with a freeway overpass.

Conditions along the Santa Ana River can become dangerous during heavy rains.

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Courtesy Orange County Public Works

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Topline:

An unidentified body was recovered from the bed of the Santa Ana River just before noon on Jan. 1, according to the Orange County Fire Authority.

What we know: Officials said a witness called 911 to report a person in the riverbed near the intersection of Warner Avenue and Harbor Boulevard in Santa Ana. The person traveled about two miles downstream before the search and rescue crew recovered their body in the city of Fountain Valley.

The response: About 60 firefighters from OCFA and the Fountain Valley and Costa Mesa fire departments contributed to the water rescue effort.

The danger of moving water: With more rain in the forecast this weekend, keep in mind that just six inches of fast-moving water can knock down most people, while 12 inches can carry away most cars.

How to stay safe: Emergency officials recommend limiting travel as much as possible during heavy rain and floods, including by car. If you see flooding in your path, remember the slogan, “Turn around, don’t drown.” LAist also has a guide on driving safely in the rain.

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Civics & Democracy

California labor rights

Why Trump administration is challenging new law

By Levi Sumagaysay | CalMatters

Published January 1, 2026 4:56 PM

People carry signs reading: TANNC Amazon UPL Strike in white, gold and black.

Manny Ruiz strikes alongside other workers with Teamsters 2785 at Amazon Warehouse DCK6 in the Bayview District in San Francisco on Dec. 19, 2024. Amazon workers at multiple facilities across the U.S. went on strike to fight for a union contract.

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Jungho Kim for CalMatters

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Topline:

Under a law taking effect Jan. 1, California seeks to uphold the labor and unionization rights of private-sector employees, as the federal agency that has held that power for decades is in limbo.

Where things stand: The new law’s future is unclear because the Trump administration is challenging it.

Why now: The law, which grants more powers to the California Public Employment Relations Board, is a response to the National Labor Relations Board lacking a quorum. President Donald Trump fired the NLRB’s chairperson, Gwynne Wilcox, days after he began his second term in January. His two nominees to the board have yet to be confirmed, so the federal board has been without the three members it needs for a quorum for months.

California under a law taking effect today seeks to uphold the labor and unionization rights of private-sector employees, as the federal agency that has held that power for decades is in limbo.

But the new law’s future is unclear because the Trump administration is challenging it.

The law, which grants more powers to the California Public Employment Relations Board, is a response to the National Labor Relations Board lacking a quorum.

President Donald Trump fired the NLRB’s chairperson, Gwynne Wilcox, days after he began his second term in January. His two nominees to the board have yet to be confirmed, so the federal board has been without the three members it needs for a quorum for months.

Assemblymember Tina McKinnor, the Inglewood Democrat who wrote the bill, said when the governor signed it in September that “California will not sit idly as its workers are systematically denied the right to organize due to employer intransigence or federal inaction.”

The NLRB sued California over the law in October, saying in its lawsuit that the state is trying to assert authority over “areas explicitly reserved for federal oversight.”

On the legal challenge to the law, Terry Schanz, McKinnor’s chief of staff, referred CalMatters to the state attorney general. Attorney General Rob Bonta’s office is responsible for defending the law in court. A spokesperson for Bonta said the office would have nothing to say about it.

With the NLRB unable to fulfill its duties, states are trying to fill the gap in enforcing the National Labor Relations Act, which Congress passed in 1935. But labor experts contacted by CalMatters do not have high hopes for the California law, which is similar to a law passed in New York this year. They said courts, including the Supreme Court, have ruled that states cannot decide matters pertaining to federal labor law because of preemption, the doctrine that a higher authority of law overrides a lower authority.

“It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where the courts do not overturn these (state) laws,” said John Logan, professor and chairperson of Labor and Employment Studies at San Francisco State University.

William Gould, a former chairperson of the National Labor Relations Board during the Clinton administration and a professor emeritus at Stanford University, agreed: “In the courts the matter is a dead letter unless (the Supreme Court) shifts gears.”

That’s what the California and U.S. chambers of commerce, along with other business groups, are hoping, according to their amicus brief in support of the Trump administration’s lawsuit against California: “Under California’s view, every state could have its own labor law for private-sector workers. Dozens of laws would overlap and collide.”

The California Labor Federation, an umbrella organization for unions that represents about 2 million California workers, said in an amicus brief that even before Trump fired the NLRB chief, the federal agency’s backlog had been a problem, leading to companies being able to delay bargaining in good faith with their employees’ unions without consequences.

If the California law is overturned, employees who have formed unions but have not succeeded in securing contracts with employers such as Amazon and Starbucks — which are among the companies seeking to have the NLRB declared unconstitutional — may continue to face delays, according to Logan. Or, he said, it’s not clear what would happen if other workers tried to organize and their companies simply fired them.

“The NLRB defunctness is a scandal which cries out for political reform,” Gould said.

News

Welcoming 2026

Photos from New Year's Eve around the world

By NPR Staff

Published January 1, 2026 2:05 PM

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Izhar Khan

Getty Images

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Topline:

Check out celebrations around the world.

Why now: As the clock struck midnight across time zones, people gathered to celebrate the new year.

Keep reading... for those photos.

As the clock strikes midnight across time zones, people gather to celebrate the new year.

We take a look at the shared joy and traditions in these photos.
Copyright 2026 NPR

Falling balloons and confetti drop on people.

Skyscrapers are lined in lights with fireworks in the dark sky.

White lights in 2026 along with a deer and a gazebo.

People are sillhouetted against a setting sun in a cloudy sky.

A ferris wheel is lighted with the word "happy."

Health

What's next for ACA?

Bipartisan group is working on a compromise

By Luke Garrett | NPR

Published January 1, 2026 1:50 PM

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Julia Demaree Nikhinson

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Topline:

Millions of Americans are facing higher health care premiums in the new year after Congress allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire.

Where things stand: Earlier this week, a bipartisan group of senators worked to strike a compromise that could resurrect the enhanced ACA premium tax credits — potentially blunting the blow of rising monthly payments for Obamacare enrollees.

What's next: Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., who is part of that effort, says he thinks the Senate can pass a "retroactive" Affordable Care Act subsidy extension, but "we need President Trump."

Millions of Americans are facing higher health care premiums in the new year after Congress allowed Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire. But earlier this week, a bipartisan group of senators worked to strike a compromise that could resurrect the enhanced ACA premium tax credits — potentially blunting the blow of rising monthly payments for Obamacare enrollees.

"There's a number of Republican and Democratic senators who are seeing what a disaster this will be for families that they represent," Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., said on Morning Edition Thursday. "That's the common ground here, and it's a doable thing."

Welch said he joined a bipartisan call Tuesday — first reported by Punchbowl News — in which a handful of senators charted out a possible health care compromise.

"We could extend the credits for a couple of years, we could reform it," Welch said of the call. "You could put an income cap, you could have a copay, you could have penalties on insurers who commit fraud. You actually could introduce some cost saving reductions that have bipartisan support."

But according to Welch, this legislation is only doable with President Trump's blessing.

"It would require that President Trump play a major role in this, because he has such influence over the Republican majority in the House and even in the Senate," Welch said.

Last fall, Republicans and Democrats fought bitterly over the Obamacare subsidy extension, causing a political standoff that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Meanwhile, Trump has remained relatively hands-off, withholding his support for any health care legislation.

Despite these obstacles, Welch said he believes the jump in prices that people across the country now face will break the logjam in Congress.

"A farmer in Vermont, their premium is going to go from $900 a month to $3,200, a month," Welch said. "So they're going to really face sticker shock. There's going to be a secondary impact, because the hospitals, particularly in rural areas, are going to lose revenue."

But even if the Senate advanced a compromise bill on the ACA, the House would also have to get behind it. And the lower chamber has its own bipartisan effort on an ACA subsidy extension.

Just before the recess began in mid-December, four House Republicans joined Democrats in signing a discharge petition on a three-year extension of the ACA subsidies — forcing a floor vote on the bill when the House returns.

Hours after bucking House Speaker Mike Johnson and joining Democrats, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., told Morning Edition back in December that he thinks this vote will get even more Republican support.

"I don't like the clean extension without any income cap," Fitzpatrick said. "But given the choice between a clean three-year extension and letting them expire, that's not a hard choice for me. And I suspect many of my other colleagues are going to view it the same way."

Fitzpatrick and Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., have held meetings with moderate senators on legislative paths to extend the ACA subsidies, a source familiar with the talks but not authorized to speak publicly tells NPR.

The Senate returns on Jan. 5 and the House comes back to Capitol Hill on Jan. 6.

Hey, LA listener!

The Brief

A brief history of the 10 Freeway

Is it LA’s first freeway?

A growing freeway system

Innovations on the 10

Keep up with LAist.