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Interstate 5, or I-5, is an interstate highway along the west coast of the United States. Its odd (as opposed to even) number indicates that it is a north-south highway (though in much of the southern half of California it runs in a northwest-southeast direction). Its south terminus is at the international border between the United States and Mexico a few miles south of San Diego. Its north terminus is at the international border between the United States and Canada near Blaine, Washington.
This highway links the majority of the metropolitan areas in California (San Diego, Los Angeles, and Sacramento); Oregon (Eugene, Salem, and Portland); and Washington (Olympia, Tacoma, and Seattle).
A metropolitan area which is not linked by this highway is San Francisco. San Francisco is about 80 miles (130 km) west of the I-5 alignment. Nevertheless, San Francisco is still 'interstate accessible' via Interstate 80 (I-80), a major east-west interstate that junctions with I-5 in Sacramento.
This interstate highway, Interstate 15, Interstate 10, Interstate 8, and U.S. Route 101 serve as the primary roads that link the Los Angeles/San Diego Metropolitan areas and the rest of the nation.
Detailed information on the sections of I-5 in Southern California can be found on the Golden State Freeway, Santa Ana Freeway, and San Diego Freeway pages.
History
The portion of this highway from Los Angeles, California to San Ysidro, California was also co-signed as US 101 until the late 1960s.
The portion of this highway from Lebec, California to Red Bluff, California roughly follows old US 99W.
Length
| Miles | km | state
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| 796.53 | 1281.89 | California
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| 308.14 | 495.90 | Oregon
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| 276.62 | 445.18 | Washington
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| 1381.29 | 2222.97 | Total
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Major cities along the route
- San Ysidro, California (border of Mexico)
- San Diego, California
- Anaheim, California, location of Disneyland
- Los Angeles, California
- Stockton, California
- Sacramento, California
- Redding, California
- Ashland, Oregon
- Medford, Oregon
- Eugene, Oregon
- Salem, Oregon
- Portland, Oregon
- Vancouver, Washington
- Olympia, Washington
- Tacoma, Washington
- Seattle, Washington
- Everett, Washington
- Bellingham, Washington
- Blaine, Washington (border with Canada, becoming British Columbia provincial highway 99 northbound)
- In California south of Tracy, I-5 skirts along the more remote western edge of the great central valley, and thus here is removed from population centers such as Bakersfield, California and Fresno, California with state highways providing connections. Interstate 580 provides a loop-route connection to San Francisco, California and the San Francisco Bay Area.
Junctions with other interstates in California (south to north)
- Interstate 805 (bypass) in south San Diego, California
- Interstate 8 in San Diego, California
- Interstate 805 (bypass)in north San Diego, California
- Interstate 405 (bypass) at the El Toro "Y" in El Toro, California
- Interstate 605 in Santa Fe Springs, California
- Interstate 710 southeast of downtown Los Angeles, California
- Interstate 10 at the East Los Angeles interchange complex, east of downtown Los Angeles, California
- Interstate 405 (bypass) in Sylmar, California
- Interstate 210 in Sylmar, California
- Interstate 80 in Sacramento, California
Junctions with other interstates in Oregon/Washington (south to north)
Spur routes
- I-305 in Sacramento is the hidden Interstate designation for Business Loop I-80 and US 50 between I-80 in West Sacramento and State Highway 99 near downtown Sacramento. Unlike most signed routes in California, there is no assigned California State Route 305, but the number is reserved because I-305 is still used for funding petitions for this road. [1] (http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-305_ca.html)
Notes
 Striking Mormon temple overlooking the I-5 in San Diego. - The western branch of Interstate 5, called I-5W, was replaced by I-505 and I-580, the main spur into the San Francisco Bay Area. What is now I-5 would've been called I-5E.
- There were plans to build a spur into Salem, Oregon, called I-305, as well as a spur in Portland off of I-405, called I-505, but they were never built. However, a stub of I-505 exists as a long exit ramp to US-30.
- Of the existing three-digit Interstate highways, I-105 is the lowest number.
- Interstate 5 is the only Interstate highway to touch both the Canadian and Mexican borders; it is part of the Pan-American Highway, a 26,000 km (16,000 miles) road that runs from Alaska, United States to Chile. It continues into Vancouver, Canada as BC Provincial Highway 99, and crosses from San Diego to adjacent Tijuana, where it becomes Mexico Route 1D.
References and external links
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