A magnitude 6.8 earthquake rocked the Los Angeles area on January 17, 1994. Centered on the Northridge community in the San Fernando Valley, the earthquake knocked out four freeways, caused the collapse of parking structures, damaged buildings, and ruptured numerous natural gas distribution lines. The interchange between the Golden State Freeway (I-5) and the Antelope Valley Freeway (SR-14) collapsed, severing California's main north-south artery and isolating the rapidly growing suburbs north of the San Gabriel Mountains. The Simi Valley Freeway (SR-118) failed in two places, affecting suburbs to the northwest of Los Angeles. The Santa Monica Freeway (I-10), which normally carries over 300,000 vehicles per day and is the main route between downtown and Los Angeles International Airport, also collapsed. The transportation system in Los Angeles demonstrated enormous resiliency following the earthquake. Most nonhighway transportation facilities were operational within two days, and alternatives were implemented within a week for the key broken links in the highway system. Alternatives included rerouting of traffic over parallel streets, institution of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on parts of the reroutes, and rapid expansion of commuter railroad service.


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