STOP: INTERSTATE 5
LISTEN/DOWNLOAD [MP3]

SB CUE 152/Monterey/Los Banos - Jct. 1 mi.
NB CUE Hwy 152/33 South/Los Banos/San Jose

SITE
I-5
View LANDSAT Map

LOCATION
From the border of Canada to the border of Mexico

THREATS AND CONTAMINANTS
Diesel emissions, particulate matter

VOICE
Richard Walker, Professor of Geography, UC Berkeley


Interstate 5 is a high-speed controlled access highway running north/south along the West Coast, through California, Oregon, and Washington, between the Canadian and Mexican borders. Influenced by the military potential of the German autobahn, Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 proposed the National Defense Highway System, a project to create a national roadway infrastructure for military troop movement and for mass evacuation of cities in the event of nuclear attack. The I-5 opened during the 1960s.

The Interstate system superceded the US and state highway system and sometimes overlays the older roads. Through the San Joaquin Valley the I-5 runs parallel to the west of US 99, the older major north/south highway. While the 101 also runs north/south through California, I-5 is considered an "Intermodal Corridor of Economic Significance." A major NAFTA shipping route, I-5 moves freight between the ports of Oakland and Long Beach, and urban centers and distribution hubs along the west coast. "You can't look at California and the West Coast without focusing on Interstate 5," said former Caltrans Director Jeff Morales. "It is the backbone of the state. It is the backbone of the region."

The Bay Area was briefly connected to the I-5 by the I-5W, a western spur of the Interstate that completed the route between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The I-5W signage was replaced by I-580 and I-505 by the mid-1960s.


LISTEN TO INVISIBLE-5
Stops: North >> South

Bayview Hunters Point / SF
West Oakland
Livermore
Westley
Crows Landing
Kesterson National Wildlife Refuge
Interstate 5
California Aqueduct
Tule Fog
Fresno-Coalinga Rd.
Tulare Dry Lake
Kettleman City
Alpaugh
Earlimart
Buttonwillow
Kern Water Bank
Mega-Dairies
Elk Hills
Frazier Park
Pacoima
Burbank
Los Angeles River
Boyle Heights - East LA
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DOWNLOAD INVISIBLE-5

>> SOUTHBOUND
CD1 Bayview Hunters Point-SF to Kettleman City [67.2MB ZIP/MP3]
CD2 Alpaugh to Boyle Heights-East LA [66.3MB ZIP/MP3]

>> NORTHBOUND
CD1 Boyle Heights-East LA to Alpaugh [66.3MB ZIP/MP3]
CD2 Kettleman City to Bayview Hunters Point - SF [67.2MB ZIP/MP3]

Download either SOUTHBOUND or NORTHBOUND to get all the audio files.

Audio Download Help
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and all stop information from the website to accompany the audio on your drive.

MAPS + DIRECTIONS
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Hi-Res [50MB]

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