The Beverly Hills Freeway was the name for a never-built freeway intended to link the Los Angeles districts of Westwood and Echo Park along the route of Santa Monica Boulevard. It was to have taken the designation of California State Highway 2, combining with the Glendale Freeway to provide a direct freeway link between the Foothill (I-210) and San Diego (I-405) freeways. This segment of CA-2 actually was originally intended to be the "Santa Monica Freeway," as it would have followed the alignment of, or completely replaced, Santa Monica Boulevard. Delays in its construction resulted in that name going to Interstate 10, which was originally known as the "Olympic Freeway." A typical rural freeway (Interstate 5 in the Central Valley of California, USA). ... The City of Los Angeles (from Spanish Los Ángeles , meaning the angels), also known as L.A., is the second-largest city in the United States in terms of population, as well as one of the worlds most important economic, cultural, and entertainment centers. ... High-rise buildings line Wilshire Boulevard through the Westwood area Another view of the Westwood skyline Westwood is a district in western Los Angeles, California. ... The lake in Echo Park. ... California State Highway 2 (Route 2) runs from the junction of Santa Monica Boulevard and Centinela Avenue at Santa Monica to Route 138 east of Wrightwood, with discontinuities at Routes 101 and 210. ... Because of its relatively short length, the Glendale Freeway is often less congested in comparison to other Los Angeles freeways. ... The Foothill Freeway is the name assigned to Interstate 210, a bypass interstate about 70 miles long located in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area. ... Interstate 210 (I-210) is an interstate highway spur route of Interstate 10 in Louisiana, United States and WAS a spur route of Interstate 10 in California, United States. ... Interstate 405 is the designation of three different tertiary interstate routes of Interstate 5. ... Interstate 405 is the designation of three different tertiary interstate routes of Interstate 5. ... Sign marking an entrance to the Santa Monica Freeway. ... Interstate 10 (abbreviated I-10) is the southernmost east-west, coast-to-coast interstate highway in the United States. ...

In the 1960s, the city of Beverly Hills had begun a transition from a quasi-exurban retreat for the entertainment industry to its current status as one of the world's premier shopping and culinary destinations. Building a freeway along Santa Monica Boulevard, the northwestern border of the city's emergent "Golden Triangle" shopping district, did not fit into city fathers' vision for Beverly Hills' development. Moreover, it was feared that a freeway would exacerbate the already evident divisions between the fabulously wealthy residents of the hilly areas north of Santa Monica Boulevard and the merely affluent ones to the south. A proposed cut-and-cover tunnel for the freeway failed to generate sufficient political support, and by the mid-1970s the project was essentially dead. Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located within the city of Los Angeles. ... The expression exurb (for extra-urban) was coined in the 1950s, by Auguste Comte Spectorsky in his book The Exurbanites, to describe the ring of prosperous rural communities beyond the suburbs that, due to availability via the new high-speed limited-access highways, were becoming dormitory communities for an urban... The entertainment industry consists of a large number of sub-industries devoted to entertainment. ... An underground pedestrian tunnel between buildings at MIT. Note the utility pipes running along the ceiling. ...

Caltrans' decision not to build the freeway was both harmful and beneficial to the areas along its proposed route. The massive Century City high-rise commercial development just west of the Beverly Hills city limits was built with freeway access in mind. For many Century City workers who live in Los Angeles' eastern suburbs, the quickest way home takes them through the residential district of Cheviot Hills, which has caused no small consternation among its well-heeled residents. For Beverly Hills, the decision helped preserve much of its emergent downtown, but at the cost of creating gridlock on Wilshire Boulevard. Caltrans logo The soaring ramps in the stack interchanges favored by Caltrans often provide stunning views. ... View of the Century City skyline from the Getty Center. ... Cheviot Hills is a small residential district on the West Side of Los Angeles, California. ... Wilshire Boulevard is the principal east-west surface street in Los Angeles, California. ...

External links

• Beverly Hills Courier editorial bemoaning the failure to build the freeway
• Beverly Hills Weekly editorial defending decision to not build the freeway