Introduction
Right of Way maps obtained from Caltrans still show some of the route the SR-2 Freeway. These maps cover the route from its current end at Glendale Blvd in Silverlake to just west of La Cienega Blvd in West Hollywood. Had this freeway been constructed, it would have obliterated the central business district of West Hollywood and the Santa Monica Blvd corridor west of there. Documents from Caltrans and the California Highway Commission dating to 1976 show the adopted routing, described below, being rescinded. Various reasons were given for this decision, all very much applicable today.
As planned, the freeway would have crossed the US 101 Hollywood Freeway near Vermont Ave, where the existing freeway was built to accommodate the interchange. The interchange with the Hollywood Freeway has had a few different plans itself. I’ve seen at least three separate designs so far. Only the 1949 design seems to be what was built. According to the freeway plans, as shown in 1979, it was to be an elevated viaduct similar to the Santa Monica Freeway between the East Los Angeles Interchange and the Harbor Freeway.
Designs for the US 101 Interchange
These maps show the various designs that were proposed for the US 101 and SR-2 Interchange. One design, the one it seems to be at least partly built for, shows a freeway going southeast from the interchange. This was to be the “Santa Monica Parkway”, a short freeway running parallel with the Hollywood Freeway to the Harbor Freeway.
Right of Way Maps
These maps show the route as planned in 1974 and 1979. I have only been able to find maps as far as its junction with Santa Monica Blvd near Palm Ave. These maps do overlap so some data may be duplicated. I have posted them in a West to East format.
Naming
The unbuilt portion of the SR-2 Freeway would have had two names. East of the US 101 Freeway, it was the Glendale Freeway. West of US 101, it would have been the Beverly Hills Freeway. Early maps from the 1950’s called this the Santa Monica Freeway, as the route would have supplanted Santa Monica Blvd. What is now the Santa Monica Freeway was known as the Olympic Freeway, supplanting Olympic Blvd. As such, technically present I-10 did not bypass US 66, the Beverly Hills Freeway would have but never did.
Routing
The basic route of the unbuilt freeway heads southwest from its current end at Glendale Blvd, crossing the Hollywood Freeway at Vermont Ave. At Vermont Ave, the route takes a more westerly direction, following Melrose Ave. The freeway would have taken the block between Melrose Ave and Clinton St west to Gower St. Here, the route takes a northerly curve to near Highland Ave, settling on a western course again between Willoughby Ave and Waring Ave. In this section, Waring Ave would become a one-way east frontage road with the freeway forming the northern side. The route stays with this course until just west of La Cienega Blvd, where it curves southerly to blend into Santa Monica Blvd at Palm Ave.
Interchanges
A few local interchanges were also planned along the route. All are basic diamond interchanges with some using frontage roads. Starting at Glendale Blvd, the ramps are as follows:
Duane Ave – WB On and EB Off
Silverlake Blvd – WB Off and EB On
Sunset Blvd – WB On and EB Off
Hoover St – WB Off and EB On
US 101 ramps would have covered all movements except WB 2-SB 101, SB 101-WB 2
Normandie Ave – WB On and EB Off
Western Ave – Full
Larchmont Blvd / Gower St – WB Off and EB On
Vine St – WB Off
Melrose Ave (south side hook ramps between Wilcox Ave and Cahuenga Blvd) – EB On and Off
Cahuenga Blvd – WB On
Highland Ave – Full
La Brea Ave – Full
Genesee Ave – WB Off and EB On
Crescent Heights Blvd – WB On and EB Off
La Cienega Blvd – Full
Bridges
The freeway would have had a limited amount of bridges, which would have hampered an already problematic street grid system in the West Hollywood / Hollywood / Silverlake area. While a complete bridge log is not possible to construct, a partial log is. Starting at the east end near Glendale Blvd, the bridges are listed below, heading west:
Glendale Blvd
Duane St
Berkeley Ave
Benton Way
Silverlake Blvd / Sunset Blvd (viaduct)
Micheltorena St
Hoover St
Virgil Ave
Vermont Ave
Heliotrope Dr
US 101
West of US 101, the elevated viaduct would have had the following streets pass under:
Normandie Ave
Harvard Blvd
Western Ave
Wilton Pl
Van Ness Ave
Larchmont Blvd
Melrose Ave (rerouted between Gower St and Cahuenga Blvd)
Vine St / Rossmore Ave
Cahuenga Blvd
Wilcox Ave
June St / Seward Ave (June St NB transitions to Seward Ave)
Highland Ave
La Brea Ave
Poinsettia Pl
Martel Ave / Vista St (Martel Ave NB transitions to Vista St)
Curson Ave
Genesee Ave
Fairfax Ave
Crescent Heights Blvd
Sweetzer Ave
La Cienega Blvd
Photographs of the built sections
While the freeway itself was never built, there are some stub ramps and provisions for the freeway at the Hollywood Freeway junction.
Abandonment of the proposed freeway
In 1976, the route adopted for the Hwy 2 Freeway from its present terminus in Silverlake to the 405 was rescinded. This officially ended any plans for a freeway along that route or any other route.
Conclusion
Congestion would have spilled onto the streets much the same way that it does today on the Santa Monica Freeway, making a bad problem worse. In many ways, it is good this freeway was not built. The dense and popular commercial corridor along Melrose Ave would have been obliterated or permanently handicapped by the close proximity of the freeway. A compromise may have been extending the Glendale Freeway to terminate at the Hollywood Freeway. This was also never constructed. Instead, surface streets such as Alvarado St, Glendale Blvd, and others take up the slack of the unbuilt freeway. SR-2 was rerouted onto Alvarado and Glendale Blvd after the existing portion of the Glendale Freeway was built. This was meant as a temporary connection in 1962 but is still in use, it’s obvious a change is needed. Some are planned, but none will truly solve the congestion problem in this area.
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