Santa Ana Freeway - Definition and Overview

The Santa Ana Freeway is the name of a segment of Interstate 5 (I-5) between Los Angeles, California and its southeastern suburbs. This named segment begins at the East Los Angeles Interchange complex located about one mile east of downtown Los Angeles. Its alignment is generally northwest to southeast towards its junction with the San Diego Freeway, Interstate 405 (I-405) (informally referred to as the El Toro Y), in Irvine. North of the East Los Angeles interchange complex, Interstate 5's name changes to the Golden State Freeway. South of its junction with the I-405, its name changes to the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405 ends at this junction).

As the main freeway arterial in Orange County, it serves as "Main Street Orange County".

An abundance of landmarks (Disneyland, Anaheim Stadium, the John Wayne Airport) along the Orange County portion of its route combines with a severe bottleneck beginning at the Los Angeles County border (shrinking from 12 to 6 lanes) to make it one of the most congested freeways in Southern California. The infamously busy intersection of the Santa Ana, Garden Grove, and Orange freeways in southwestern Orange is nicknamed the Orange Crush.

Cities/Communities along the Santa Ana Freeway (northwest to southeast)

• Boyle Heights
• East Los Angeles
• Commerce
• Downey
• Santa Fe Springs
• Norwalk
• La Mirada
• Buena Park
• Anaheim
• Orange
• Santa Ana
• Tustin
• Irvine

Major Freeways/Highways intersecting with the Santa Ana Freeway (northwest to southeast)

• Hollywood Freeway - U.S. Route 101
• Golden State Freeway - Interstate 5
• San Bernardino Freeway/Santa Monica Freeway - Interstate 10
• Long Beach Freeway - Interstate 710
• San Gabriel River Freeway - Interstate 605
• Riverside Freeway - California State Highway 91
• Orange Freeway - California State Highway 57
• Garden Grove Freeway - California State Highway 22
• Costa Mesa Freeway - California State Highway 55
• San Diego Freeway - Interstate 405