Monday, October 19, 2009

California, Mohave / Mojave Desert Ride, I-15, Los Angeles Freeway System


October 24, 2009

In my opinion, one of the best rides anywhere is driving into and across the Mojave / Mohave Desert during the night – it’s a pretty good ride during the day too, especially if you can go off-road to the dry lake beds. It is a truly magical place as are many places in California and the rest of the nation as well. These experiences can not be had at 30,000 feet in a plane in the air. The Los Angeles Freeway System is probably one of the best in the world, as much of the development in the Los Angeles Basin followed the development of the freeways. However, as with many other roads in the United States, the Los Angeles Freeway System often can not handle the amount of traffic it typically serves during peak travel times in the day/week. Given the excessively large volume of traffic to which most California freeways are exposed, I would give the California freeways a grade of 'B-' for their condition - if it were not for the obvious excuse of excessive volume on these roadways, the grade for the conditions of these roads would be considerably less.
AVT