I constantly drive CA I-405 to get to Orange County from Bakersfield. Is I-5 a faster route?

I-5 is DEFINITELY better. Try it a week and see.

Know why they call it the 405? Because you go 4 o' 5 miles per hour, and it takes 4 o' 5 hours to get where you're going!

Yes, I agree that the 5 should be faster. It's tempting to swing onto the 405 as you come down, but resist. The 405 is notoriously crowded at all times.

When you get any indication that the 5 is congested, you even have other options, either taking the 170 to the 134 and rejoining 5 later, or taking the 210 to the 2 south and again rejoining the 5. Either of these might let you go around Burbank if there were problems in that area. (Might you have GPS with traffic indication on it? For a regular trip of that length, it might be worth it?)

As you know drive times can vary depending on the time of day, but you will usually find I-5 quicker mainly because you are traveling a shorter distance. The I-5 basically goes directly toward Orange County where-as the I-405 makes a loop around the south bay area. Using the I-405 also takes you through then I-405 / US101 interchange, one of the busiest interchanges in the country.

If you are going to compare I-5 and I-405, I think I-5 is just a little better - but hey that always depends on the time of your travel. But if you're coming in from Bakersfield in the morning, there is an alternative faster (but longer in distance) route - the I-210. This freeway starts in Sylmar area (right after Magic Mountain) and goes down by the foothills (San Fernando, Tujunga, Glendale, Pasadena, Monrovia, Irwindale, Azusa, San Dimas) avoiding the busier part of LA. You will encounter a little hurdle in the Pasadena area but you can get around it by getting on freeways 2S to the 134E going back to 210E. Then you take the 57S down to the Orange County area.

The 5 is the better bet.

Not only is the 405 more consistently congested, but there are several better options, from the 5, if you need to get off to go around congestion.

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I agree with the guys above, take the 5, I think it's actually a tad shorter but it's a gamble on either one as far as congestion...I recently took this route (non rush hour) and had no problem..