Freeways that trick you

I don't like it when freeways trick me.

There's I-10 west into downtown LA, when it splits off to US-101 and I-5. Six lanes of I-10 turn into a single pathetic lane if you want to stay on it to keep going to Santa Monica. Most of the rest goes to US-101. Context over consistency, to serve the massive hordes going to Hollywood? Perhaps. But this is the mighty I-10 freeway, encompassing the width of the country and passing through Phoenix, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, and Jacksonville. It's not some little country road in the middle of nowhere. Someone should tell this freeway, "Hey, you're not done yet. You reached LA, but the real end is Santa Monica."

And then there's I-5 north to SR22 west in Santa Ana. When you're driving on I-5 and you choose the "Exit Only" lane to switch freeways, you should be rewarded for your dedication. But it is not like that at all. It really does mean "Exit Only" — and not to switch freeways. It takes you off the freeway and you have to switch into the other lane if you want to get on SR22 west to Long Beach. Well, you must be saying, it does say "Exit Only" so what were you expecting? Well, says I, it's clearly marked SR22 west to Long Beach, while it should really be marked as a regular exit, not a way to switch freeways.

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