Highway 101 meets up with the
405 Freeway in Sherman Oaks, where it splits to the south toward Los
Angeles and north to Ventura.
The picture above
shows the connector exit where the
intersection of the 405
and Interstate 101 highways meet in California near Los Angeles.
There are several
ways to pick up Interstate Highway 101 when traveling north along
coastal California. This LAX route takes you past the Los Angeles
Airport, where traffic almost always comes to a stop either at the
airport or just north of it near the Hughes Center, a shopping
complex on the west side of the road. As you creep along this
stretch, many times barely moving at all, locals like an inland road
filled with stoplights galore over on Manchester and La Cienega.
Unfortunately that route goes inland to West Hollywood, and will not
help for those trying to catch the 101 as it veers northwest. Of
course you can pick it up on Highway 10 or another route, but if you
decide to take the popular 405, just hang in there if you can.
What will you
see? Traffic and lots of graffiti. Some areas look like they could
be bombed out wastelands, but believe it or not, many housing units
are being built directly off the freeway and facing it. Hopefully
the condos and apartments will curb the appetite for spray paint
decor, but it's unlikely.
Finally, as you
inch beyond LAX, see downtown Los Angeles to your right, then The
Getty to the left, you either will find clear sailing as you arrive
at the 101, or you will continue to creep on.
Sometimes when
traveling you just get too tired to carry on. Other times you may
pull off the highway because you have to use the bathroom, or the
traffic gets to you. If this is true, one Sherman Oaks hotel
just a short distance from the 101 is the Courtyard by Marriott on
Ventura Blvd. near the spot where the 101 meets the 405 shown in the
photo above. If you spend the night, the Sherman Oaks Galleria is an
ideal place to dine and shop.
|