THE LAST FREEWAY

Ever since what's now known as the Pasadena Freeway was completed in 1940, Los Angeles has been synonymous with the freeway—first with the ease and speed of transport it represented in the 1950s and 1960s and more recently with the traffic congestion and air pollution that tax the patience and lungs of drivers. As the area's last major freeway project nears completion next year, Caltrans is hoping to bring the era to an end with a flourish and create a model for the new era of efficient intermodal transportation. Now in its ninth year of construction and scheduled to open in late 1993, the $2.2 billion 17.3 mi Interstate 105 Glenn Anderson (Century) Freeway-Transitway is the first freeway project to be designed to incorporate high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and a light-rail line, transit stations and park-and-ride lots. The project also features innovative job training and replacement housing programs.