Driving Home a Point: They Love Century Freeway

Lon Burns can think of no better commute than zipping along the Century Freeway, Los Angeles’ newest thoroughfare, behind the wheel of his red ’50 Chevy flatbed.

Unlike most Angelenos, Burns can claim that his commute has improved.

Burns started driving the Century after it opened last fall. He cut about 15 minutes from what was sometimes a one-hour commute from his Manhattan Beach home to his Downtown Los Angeles office, where he heads the Southern California Assn. for Philanthropy.

“I am a true fan of the Century Freeway. If the Harbor Freeway would only move as quickly. . . ,” Burns sighed.

He’s not the only one.

In the weeks after the Northridge earthquake, traffic on the Century rose 17%, reaching 200,000 cars a day at its peak. With closure of the Santa Monica Freeway, the city’s major east-west artery, commuters swarmed to what had been one of the city’s best-kept secrets.

The quake was “a big shot in the arm as far as increasing ridership usage,” said Chuck O’Connell, the local Caltrans deputy district director of operations.

The newly reopened Santa Monica now accommodates about 94% of its normal volume. But hundreds stayed with their newfound love, the Century, where 9% more vehicles travel than before the quake.

It’s a small shift with a big impact.

“Once I hit the Century, I feel basically I’m home. To me, it’s almost like pulling into my driveway; the hard part is over,” said Burns, 50. “I love riding the Century Freeway in my Chevy.”

When the Santa Monica Freeway reopened last month, it gradually won back most of its regulars. Officials readjusted traffic signals on surface streets so they no longer favored east-west flow of vehicles. Alternate routes, such as Jefferson Boulevard, which handled 48,000 cars daily after the quake, were reduced to carrying close to their normal load of 21,000.

But some motorists, once introduced to the Century (formally known as the Glenn M. Anderson Freeway or Interstate 105) are not about to switch back to the Santa Monica.

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The Century is Jorge Carreon’s freeway of choice. Although a post-quake newcomer to the Century, Carreon, who lives in Long Beach, is a devotee.

“I won’t get on the Santa Monica Freeway; I’ve never known it--in the entire time I’ve been driving--to be uncrowded,” said Carreon, 26, a native Californian and a publicist at Samuel Goldwyn Co. “There’s no way in hell I’d attempt that during rush hour; I refuse to fight traffic anymore.”

Carreon used to make audiotapes of opera and sing along when he got stuck in traffic, belting out verses. No more. Instead, he chooses the slightly longer route to his Century City office, taking the Long Beach Freeway to the Century, then going north on Sepulveda Boulevard and Overland Avenue to reach Pico Boulevard.

It doesn’t bother Carreon that not all the Century Freeway interchange ramps have opened. It just diminishes the number of drivers, ensuring that the Century is not for everyone. (The remaining interchanges are expected to open by June. These include: the northbound San Diego Freeway to the eastbound Century; the southbound San Diego to the westbound Century; the eastbound Century to the northbound San Diego, and the eastbound Century to the southbound San Diego.)

Carreon is a freeway aficionado, with an opinion about virtually every thoroughfare. The San Diego, for instance, “is hell on Earth.” The Harbor Freeway, he says, is crowded and “really nasty.”

The Century? “This one is cool. Stark. Postmodern, Jetson kind of design,” he said. “When you get to those big bridges by Hawthorne, it’s like a Disneyland ride. You get the most glorious view of the city from the diamond lane ramp. It’s a ramp to heaven.”

And with his discovery of the Century, Carreon has made his peace as a commuter.

“The freeways are my friend; I’ve learned to accept their existence,” he said. “I notice that people who weren’t raised here can’t deal with it. Those poor saps.

It’s because of them we’re having the congestion problem now.”

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Flight attendant Lissa Thompson of Newport Beach cannot afford to be hopelessly mired in traffic and late to work. Although she is required to reach Los Angeles International Airport an hour before her flight, she usually leaves herself a two-hour margin. Before the Century Freeway opened, she once got stuck in a SigAlert; she reached her plane five minutes before it pulled out.

But now, Thompson is far more confident about her commute to LAX. She also notices a different kind of commuter sharing the roadway with her.

“These people are not the real sophisticated hellbent drivers that you see on the 405,” said Thompson, 39. “They are more middle class, driving older, more beat-up cars. It’s refreshing.”

But she, like the others, expressed some concern that as word leaks out about the Century Freeway, it might begin to lose its charm and become bogged down with newcomers.

Just as any resident with a favorite, quiet, neighborhood eatery dreads a rave restaurant review, commuters begin to feel protective of their routes, Lon Burns explains.

“I certainly hope people who could drive the Century will not ,” Burns said. “Leave it the way it is! We don’t need any more drivers on it.”