Garden Grove Freeway - Definition and Overview

The Garden Grove Freeway is a freeway in southern Los Angeles County and northern Orange County, California. Running from Long Beach to Orange, it is one of the two principal east-west routes in Orange County (the other being the Riverside Freeway approximately eight miles to the north). It is signed as California State Route 22 along its entire length.

The route

7th Street in Long Beach widens from an expressway into the Garden Grove Freeway just before crossing the San Gabriel River (and with it, the Los Angeles/Orange county line). It then merges with the San Diego Freeway and runs concurrently with it for approximately five miles before the two routes diverge in eastern Seal Beach. Thereafter, the Garden Grove Freeway travels mostly within the city of Garden Grove or along its border with neighboring Westminster. Just inside the Orange city limits, the freeway enters the infamously congested Orange Crush interchange with the Santa Ana and Orange Freeways. It continues along the border of Orange and Santa Ana for three miles until terminating at the Costa Mesa Freeway.

It also has only 3 lanes and no carpool lanes despite the extremely heavy traffic that occurs during the afternoon and evening hours.

Communities along the route

Communities along the Garden Grove Freeway's route include:

• Long Beach
• Seal Beach
• Garden Grove
• Westminster
• Orange
• Santa Ana

Freeways intersected

Freeways intersected by the Garden Grove Freeway include:

• San Diego Freeway
• San Gabriel River Freeway
• Santa Ana Freeway
• Orange Freeway
• Costa Mesa Freeway