In 1964, a 23-mile portion of the Long Beach Freeway, now called Interstate 710 (I-710), was constructed. Also, at that time, the California Highway Commission determined the routing for the final five (5) miles through the communities of El Sereno, South Pasadena, and Pasadena to complete the freeway-to-freeway concept, connecting Long Beach to Los Angeles and beyond. The original Master Plan aimed to connect the 710 to the 210/134 freeways in Pasadena and Los Angeles. The freeway never materialized in El Sereno and South Pasadena; however, SR-710 North was constructed in Pasadena in the early 1970s, resulting in the Northern Stub. The southern stretch of the 710 ended near the Alhambra border in El Sereno, resulting in the South 710 Stub.
According to the Pasadena Department of Transportation, the section of the 710 North was constructed over several years in the early 1970s, displacing at least 4,000 residents and destroying 1,500 homes. A majority of the homes were owned or rented by low-income and minority residents.
South Pasadena, which the construction would bisect, fought the extension for decades, with intense community opposition, judicial injunctions and preservation groups arguing it would destroy historic districts, old-growth trees and neighborhoods. The fight reached a climax in 1999, when a federal injunction effectively halted the project, freezing any new construction…