State Route 103 (SR 103) is a state highway in the U.S. state of California that forms part of the Terminal Island Freeway in Long Beach and Los Angeles. SR 103 runs from Interstate 710 (I-710) and State Route 47 (SR 47) at the former Long Beach Naval Shipyard on Terminal Island, and over the Commodore Schuyler F. Heim Bridge, to State Route 1 (Pacific Coast Highway) in Long Beach. Between I-710 and a point in Los Angeles north of the bridge, SR 103 runs concurrently with SR 47.

The Terminal Island Freeway was initially financed by the U.S. Navy to provide a connection to the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. North of SR 1 to its end at Willow Street, control of the freeway was relinquished to the City of Long Beach. For a time, this segment had the unusual unsigned designation of State Route 103U, with the U signifying "un-relinquished", because the state legislature had removed this segment from the state highway system in 1983 but the City of Long Beach did not agree to take it over until 2000. The portion is still signed as part of SR 103 instead of SR 103U.

SR 103 does not directly connect to any other freeways. It was originally planned to continue north to I-710's interchange with Interstate 405. The Terminal Island Freeway is heavily used by trucks carrying cargo to and from the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach. Because of its isolation from residential and business areas, and the industrial-looking neighborhood it runs through, the freeway is frequently used to film freeway scenes for major motion pictures. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and The Fast and the Furious were three movies that used it for location purposes.

Route description Route 103 is defined in section 403 of the California Streets and Highways Code, and that the highway is "from Route 47 in Los Angeles to Route 1". Despite the legal definition, SR 103 begins as a signed concurrency with SR 47 at Interstate 710 in Long Beach. At this interchange, SR 47 heads west along the Seaside Freeway towards San Pedro, I-710 goes east along the Seaside Freeway to Downtown Long Beach, the SR 47/SR 103 concurrency heads north onto the Terminal Island Freeway, and an entrance gate to the Port of Long Beach is immediately south. However, there are no direct connections between the two freeways, and drivers from the Seaside Freeway must instead exit onto frontage roads that have at-grade intersections with the Terminal Island Freeway's southern end.

The Terminal Island Freeway then follows the Schuyler Heim Bridge over the Cerritos Channel, entering the city of Los Angeles midway through the bridge. SR 103 then leaves SR 47 and reenters Long Beach, where it meets SR 1. The SR 103 state highway designation officially ends at SR 1, but the freeway, now controlled by the City of Long Beach from this point on, continues north and ends at an intersection with Willow Street.

SR 103 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System, and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.

History

Because the Long Beach Naval Shipyard was located on Terminal Island, the U.S. Navy initially paid for the construction of the Terminal Island Freeway from the island to Willow Street, as well as the Schuyler Heim Lift Bridge.Los Angeles Times, Harbor Bridge Project Reinstated by Navy, December 18, 1945, p. A1 Construction began in early 1946,Los Angeles Times, Terminal Island Bridge Under Way, January 28, 1946, p. 3 and the completed link was dedicated on January 10, 1948,Los Angeles Times, High Lift Bridge Dedicated at Terminal Island, January 11, 1948, p. 14 replacing the older Henry Ford Bridge.

Prior to 1969, Route 103 was what is now State Route 15 and Interstate 15 from Interstate 5 to State Route 163 in San Diego. (I-15 was U.S. Route 395, which used SR 163, until 1969.)

The entire Terminal Island Freeway was once part of State Route 47, and was to continue north to Interstate 10 near downtown Los Angeles. SR 47 was redefined in 1983 to split from the freeway north of the Schuyler Heim Bridge, and the part from SR 47 to Willow Street became SR 103. The part north of SR 1 was later removed from the legal definition, existing for a time as State Route 103U - U for unrelinquished - before it was traded on August 25, 2000, with the city of Long Beach for Interstate 710 from SR 1 south to Ocean Boulevard. The city has since explored plans to remove this portion of the freeway.

Exit list

See also

References

External links

AARoads - State Route 47/103 California Highways: SR 103