on the upper deck of the Harbor Freeway, south of Adams Boulevard with the
Century Freeway (I-105), on approach to Los Angeles International Airport. The
Palos Verdes Peninsula and
Santa Catalina Island are visible in the distance. In the 1924 Major Street Traffic Plan for Los Angeles, a widening of
Figueroa Street to
San Pedro as a good road to the
Port of Los Angeles was proposed. Progress was slow, and, in 1933, the state legislature added the entire length to the state highway system as
Route 165, an unsigned designation. This route not only extended from San Pedro north to Los Angeles, but continued through the city-built
Figueroa Street Tunnels and along the northern extension of Figueroa Street to
Eagle Rock, and then followed Linda Vista Avenue (via an
overlap on
Route 161 (
SR 134) over the
Colorado Street Bridge) to
Route 9 (now
I-210) at the
Devil's Gate Reservoir. The entire length of Route 165 became
Sign Route 11 in 1934.
US Route 6 was also assigned to the portion between
SR 1 and Avenue 26 in 1937, and, at about the same time,
US 66 was moved from
Eagle Rock Boulevard to Figueroa Street, overlapping SR 11 between
Sunset Boulevard (
US 101) and
Colorado Street (
SR 134). The state completed the
Arroyo Seco Parkway which had been added to the state highway system in 1935 as Route 205, in early 1941, providing a faster route between SR 11 at Avenue 26 and Pasadena. US 66 was moved to the new route, while SR 11 remained on Figueroa Street and Linda Vista Avenue, the former also becoming a new
US Route 66 Alternate. Construction of a freeway to San Pedro was much slower, despite having been in the earliest plans for an integrated system. Initially, the
Harbor Parkway was to split at the merge with the
Venice Parkway northeast of the
University of Southern California, with the
East By-Pass and
West By-Pass straddling the
Los Angeles Central Business District and rejoining at the split between the Arroyo Seco Parkway and Riverside Parkway south of
Dodger Stadium. The West By-Pass was soon incorporated into the Harbor Parkway, and the first short piece, by then renamed the Harbor Freeway, opened on July 30, 1952, from the
Four Level Interchange south to 3rd Street. (The Arroyo Seco Parkway was completed to the Four Level Interchange on September 22, 1953, and renamed the Pasadena Freeway on November 16, 1954. and
Washington Boulevard on May 14, 1954. On March 27, 1956, the highway was extended to 42nd Street, and on April 24, 1957, it reached temporary ramps at 88th Place. Further extensions were made to
Century Boulevard on July 31, 1958, 124th Street on September 24, 1958,
Alondra Boulevard (which the county widened to carry the load) on May 2, 1960, 190th Street on July 15, 1960,
Torrance Boulevard on August 28, 1962, and finally
Pacific Coast Highway (
SR 1) on September 26, 1962. There it connected with a section that had been open since June 19, 1956, from Pacific Coast Highway south to Channel Street. Along with the
Vincent Thomas Bridge to
Terminal Island, the final piece in San Pedro opened on July 9, 1970, completing the Harbor Freeway to its present length. In December 1978, the Harbor Freeway was approved as an
Interstate Highway by the
FHWA. In 1981, the SR 11 designation was renumbered as I-110 on the Harbor Freeway, and SR 110 on the
Pasadena Freeway. The I-110 designation had been previously applied to
what is now a spur of I-10 from 1958 to 1968.
Richard Ankrom signage In 2001, Richard Ankrom, a local artist who got lost trying to get onto
I-5 North from northbound SR 110 because there was no clear official signage labeling access to I-5 North, solved his frustration by covertly modifying one of the overhead signs on the freeway just before the
Four Level Interchange (). Using
official government sign specifications, Ankrom fabricated two sign pieces, one being an I-5 marker shield and the other with the word "NORTH", and affixed them to the left side of the sign. He performed his modifications in broad daylight, disguised as a
Caltrans worker. In that district, Caltrans has three sign crews, each thinking one of the other two crews did the installation. After nine months, at Ankrom's request, the
Los Angeles Downtown News broke the story. Prior to Ankrom's work, the only signage directing motorists to the I-5 North off-ramp came at a quarter-mile (0.4 km) before the exit, thus forcing many to merge across multiple lanes in a very short distance. The signs were inspected by Caltrans to ensure they would not fall off onto the road below. Ankrom was never charged, despite statements from officials that his actions were illegal. Ankrom referred to his sign project as "Guerilla Public Service". In 2009, Caltrans replaced all signage along this segment with newer, more reflective versions. These new signs include Ankrom's original improvements. ==Preservation==