California to Number Exits on Freeways

For everyone who has been confused by the two Chapman Avenue exits on the Orange Freeway in Anaheim or thrown off course by the four Sierra Highway exits on the Antelope Valley Freeway: Change is on the way.

Beginning this month, California plans to start numbering the exits on its state and interstate freeways, like just about every other state in the union has for years.

Under the plan, which will cost up to $30 million, the exit numbers will ascend from zero starting at the Mexican border on all north-south freeways. Freeways that run east-west will start at zero at the Pacific Ocean.

The exit numbers will be added alongside street names on a total of 5,800 exit signs. The change will occur over three years as crews complete their routine replacement of freeway signs around the state.

The numbering system is expected to reduce confusion, particularly for out-of-towners and motorists who haven’t memorized freeway exits, many of which have similar names.

For example, the numbers would help distinguish the El Camino Real exit on the Golden State Freeway in San Clemente from the nearby Camino de Estrella and Camino Capistrano exits.

Law enforcement officials also hope the numbers will reduce accidents caused by motorists who veer across traffic because they suddenly realize they are about to miss their exit.

“It’s simple,” said California Highway Patrol Commissioner D.O. “Spike” Helmick, a supporter of the numbering system. “Someone tells you to take the I-5 to Exit 17. As you get closer . . . 14, 15 and 16 . . . you know your exit is coming up.”

The exit numbers also will help travelers place themselves in the California cosmos. On north-south routes, the exit number will correspond to the number of miles from the Mexican border, while on east-west routes the number will designate the approximate distance to the Pacific Ocean. (Thus, Exit 150 on the Golden State Freeway would be roughly 150 miles from the Mexican border.)

The Federal Highway Administration has required such a numbering system for all states since the late 1950s. But at that time, California had already built an extensive freeway system and thus was exempt from the federal guidelines.

Still, the federal government, local law enforcement and traffic-safety advocates have touted the benefits of numbered exits for years.

“I’ve been a real advocate for this for the five years I’ve been on the job,” said Matthew Schmitz, safety engineer for the Federal Highway Administration in California.

But some state officials have resisted the change, saying it would be costly and unnecessary.

When asked in 1991 by a Times reporter about adopting the federal system, a spokesman for the California Department of Transportation said: “If it isn’t broke, why tinker with it?”

Chuck O’Connell, who was Caltrans’ deputy district manager in Los Angeles from 1960 to 1995, said no one ever pushed that hard for numbers on exits. “It didn’t really come up on the radar screen as a high priority,” he said.

Caltrans spokesman Dennis Trujillo attributed the change to a directive from Gov. Gray Davis to Caltrans chief Jeff Morales to make the state’s highway system more efficient. “It is because the time has come and it makes sense to make the changes,” Trujillo said.

The nearly 6,000 new signs will be made of a new, highly reflective material that will be easier for drivers to see at night.

Caltrans in the past experimented with the exit numbering system in Southern California, but never extended it to all 4,138 miles of the state’s freeways.

In at least one case, the numbering system helped fuel the lore of one small liberal arts college.

Years ago, Caltrans added numbers to the exits on the San Bernardino Freeway around Claremont, including a No. 47 for an exit that leads to Pomona College. The number has since been adopted as the school’s lucky number because, by coincidence, 47 is also the number of students who graduated in the school’s first class and the school’s motto has 47 characters.

California already has a system that marks specific freeway segments based on a “post mile” maker. The small white signs resembling rowboat paddles designate the distance from each county line. Thus, the first sign on the northbound Santa Ana Freeway at the San Diego County line reads 0.0, while the last one before the freeway crosses into Los Angeles County reads 44.38.

When it converts to the numbered exit system, Caltrans will also have to make the switch on all state records.

Ray Mellen, a spokesman for the Auto Club of Southern California, said many of its members have asked why the Golden State has refused to accept the numbering system that has worked well in other states.

“Obviously, the exit-numbering system benefits those who have never been in the area,” he said. “It gives them an easier way in which to maneuver the freeway system.”

Larry Gage, a Buena Park businessman who has lived in Georgia, North Carolina and New Jersey, agrees.

“Here in Southern California,” Gage said, “the names on the exits only mean something to motorists with experience or familiarity.”