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I hate the 5 worse than the 405, especially if you can take advantage of carpool. 5 does not have carpool in LA. 2 weeks ago, I went north through LA and I was in traffic at around 9-9:30PM in LA. So, I would personally think you should prepare for traffic. It was only bad in the one portion of the 405 that the carpool ends until the 101 split. Only way to truly miss traffic in LA would be leaving here @9PM and get to LA around 11PM (I think).

>> 2 weeks ago, I went north through LA and
>> I was in traffic at around 9-9:30PM in LA

Do you remember what day of the week was that ?
How heavy was the traffic at 9-9:30pm ?

Thanks.

It was a Friday night. I'd assume July 2nd would worse than your typical Friday since most people will get July 3rd off too. It was stop and go traffic.

Google has data for that traffic. btw, at that time, you'll have zero issues....more people coming down to SD than going up to LA on that day.

Here's the google prediction:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s...
then click "Live Traffic Change" then set to date and time.

PadreBrian, based on the Google prediction of Friday 9PM, if you take the 5, you'll hit a lot of yellow around Fullerton and some part is actually red.

If I leave SD at 7pm, do you think it's better if I switch to 405 at El Toro & take 405 until it merges back to highway 5 ? I wonder how bad is traffic around LAX.

If you can take advantage of the carpool lane, then I'd say yes. I always take the 405. Although it's longer, it ends up faster for me. The few times I decided to take the 5, I always end up in bad traffic. Traffic wasn't bad around LAX at 9+ since most flights will be gone by then.

I go with the 405 over the 5 every time - the 5 has a long stretch that is JUST TWO LANES in both directions at the southern end of LA county - If you want to check online before you go ( or on your PDA if you carry one), visit TANN (http://traffic.tann.net/tanntraffic_traf... )

Lastly, if Both the 5 and the 405 are hosed, there is another route you can use which MAY be faster depending on how bad the 5 and 405 are - 57 North, 210 West. Typically this is not worth the extra 30 miles, but I have seen crazier things as far as LA traffic go ....

Good luck with the drive ...

I have to agree with the consensus here. A week ago I left SD at noon on Saturday and it took three and a half hours to get to Hollywood going up the 5 and the 101. It was hellish.

The drive generally isn't too bad until right around Santa Fe Springs. South of there I-5 has been widened all the way down to the 405 split. But that widening comes to an abrupt halt and you're down to three, sometimes two lanes. It's often bad no matter which direction you're going. Also, being a holiday weekend, it's likely to be ugly.

405 bunches up around LAX, but the carpool lane helps a lot if you can use it. It also tends to bunch up going up into the valley, but still usually better than the 5. You can also use the toll road and skip a nice chunk of the 405 around South Coast Plaza.

I used to take the following route to go around LA, and while the mileage is certainly more, the savings on time from skipping traffic was worth it:

15N > 10W > 210W > 5N

Google Map of the route

Although I haven't driven that route in years, so it very well could now be just as trafficky as going straight through LA.

Then again, I wouldn't think you'd hit any traffic at 9pm unless you run into some construction or an accident.

Also, if you end up going the 405, take the roll road (73) from Laguna Niguel to Costa Mesa.. saves around 30-45 mins.

I'm with afx114. Avoid the 5 at all costs, in particular the stretch through downtown L.A.

afx has the ticket.

I've tried them all many times and while

15N > 10W > 210W > 5N

doesn't look logical, it's the winner.

The 210 route makes sense at times, but it's probably overkill in this situation. 405 should be relatively free-flowing in both directions at 9 pm.

Also, I fail to see why the toll road would help at all (unless there are no speed limits on the 73) - sections of 5 and 405 through Irvine are rarely badly congested. Things get really bad past Torrance.

If you're too worried about traffic, or if you want an option to leave earlier (leaving at 7 pm, you'll be lucky to get to bay area before 2 am) - consider avoiding LA altogether by taking 395 to 58. Some traffic lights, but virtually no traffic.

Thanks to everyone for helping out, especially to afx114 for suggesting the 210 West route.

I did a quick calculation using Google map:

15N > 10W > 210W > 5N --> 488 miles
5N > 405N > 5N ---------> 466 miles

I'll probably check the LA traffic around 6pm on that day. If things doesn't look good, I'll take the long route. Driving an extra 22 miles doesn't seem so bad.