If you live anywhere between Santa Monica and the high desert, you already know the 60 is a special kind of nightmare. Driving it isn’t just a commute. It’s a test of your soul. Most people call it the "Pomona Freeway," but locals usually just call it a parking lot. It’s one of those rare stretches of asphalt where you can be moving at 80 miles per hour one second and then staring at a stranger’s bumper for the next twenty minutes because someone tapped their brakes near the 605 interchange.
The reality of traffic on 60 fwy is that it’s not just "lots of cars." It’s a complex, grinding ecosystem of logistics, old infrastructure, and some of the most aggressive lane-changing in Southern California. We’re talking about a massive artery that connects the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the rest of the United States. When you’re sitting there in Diamond Bar, you aren't just stuck behind a Toyota Camry. You’re stuck behind a mountain of global commerce packed into thousands of diesel-chugging semi-trucks.
The Diesel Factor: Why the 60 Fwy is Different from the 10 or 210
Most people think all SoCal freeways are created equal. They aren’t. The 60 is a heavy-duty corridor. Because it’s a primary route for truckers avoiding the more restrictive or crowded 10 freeway, the vehicle mix is completely skewed. This matters because trucks don’t move like cars. They have huge blind spots, they take a quarter-mile to stop, and they create "turbulent" air that makes nervous drivers tap their brakes. That braking ripple effect? That’s why you’re stopped.
Research from the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) has consistently shown that the Inland Empire (IE) is the warehouse capital of the world. Basically, if you bought it on Amazon, it probably spent some time on the 60. This "logistics sprawl" means the traffic on 60 fwy doesn't follow the normal 9-to-5 rules anymore. You’ll find a massive surge at 2:00 PM because that’s when the shift changes happen at the distribution centers in Ontario and Jurupa Valley. It’s relentless. Honestly, it’s exhausting.
The Bottleneck Hall of Fame
There are specific spots where the 60 just dies. If you’re heading Eastbound, the "Badlands" between Moreno Valley and Beaumont used to be the primary culprit. For years, it was a two-lane death trap with steep grades. Caltrans recently added truck-climbing lanes there, which helped, but now the bottleneck has just shifted. Now, the real pain is the 57/60 confluence.
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This is arguably one of the worst freeway designs in the country. For about two miles, two of the busiest freeways in California merge into one giant mess. You have people trying to get from the 57 North to the 60 East, while people on the 60 East are trying to get to the 57 South. It’s a giant "X" of chaos. This isn't just an opinion; the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) has frequently ranked this interchange in its top 10 most congested freight bottlenecks in the nation. It’s a structural failure that thousands of people pay for in lost time every single morning.
The "Inland Empire Shift" and Why the Morning Commute is Earlier
You used to be safe if you left your house by 6:30 AM. Not anymore.
Because housing prices in Los Angeles and Orange County have gone through the roof, people are moving further out to places like Banning, Beaumont, and even the Coachella Valley. They’re still working in LA, though. This has created a phenomenon where the morning rush for traffic on 60 fwy starts at 4:15 AM. By 5:00 AM, the stretch through Riverside is already starting to yellow and orange on Google Maps.
- The Chino Gap: This is where the suburban sprawl meets the industrial zone.
- The 605 Interchange: A classic "weaving" nightmare where cars enter and exit too fast.
- The East LA Interchange: Where the 60, 5, 10, and 101 all scream for mercy.
The 60 freeway also suffers from what engineers call "sun glare" more than other routes. Because it runs almost perfectly East-West, the morning commute heading West means you are driving directly into a blinding sun. People slow down because they can’t see. It sounds simple, but that five-mile-per-hour drop in average speed across four lanes can result in a ten-mile backup within thirty minutes. It’s physics, and it’s brutal.
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Real Data vs. Commuter Perception
Let’s look at some actual numbers. According to Caltrans Performance Measurement System (PeMS) data, the 60 freeway frequently sees average speeds drop below 20 mph during peak hours across a 30-mile stretch. Think about that. You could literally ride a bicycle faster than a 400-horsepower SUV for a significant portion of your day.
The "Hidden" traffic on 60 fwy usually comes from accidents. Because of the high volume of trucks, when an accident happens on the 60, it’s rarely just a "fender bender." It’s often a jackknifed rig or a spilled load. When a truck loses its load in the Montebello hills, the freeway doesn't just slow down—it closes. And because the 60 is tucked between the 10 and the 91, there aren't many great ways to bail. If you hop off into the local streets of Hacienda Heights or Whittier, you’re just going to get stuck at traffic lights with ten thousand other people who had the same "bright" idea.
Is the HOV Lane a Lie?
A lot of people ask if the Carpool (HOV) lane actually saves time. On the 60, it’s hit or miss. During the heaviest congestion, the HOV lane often moves only 5-10 mph faster than the general-purpose lanes. Why? Because people use the HOV lane as a passing lane, and when they realize they can't get back into the main flow of traffic, they slam on their brakes, stalling the whole line. Plus, the 60 doesn't have a continuous "buffer" in many spots, meaning people are darting in and out of the carpool lane illegally, which causes "micro-braking" events.
Surviving the 60: Actionable Strategies for 2026
You can't fix the freeway, but you can fix how you deal with it. Knowing the patterns of traffic on 60 fwy is half the battle. If you're still relying on just "leaving early," you're going to lose.
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- The 15-Minute Rule: If you see a "Red" stretch on your GPS that is more than 3 miles long, it is almost always faster to wait at a coffee shop for 20 minutes than to sit in it. The 60 has a "pulse" nature; it clears in waves.
- Monitor the "Transbay" Effect: Watch the weather in the Cajon Pass and the Banning Pass. If there are high winds (Santa Anas), trucks on the 60 slow down significantly to avoid tipping. This causes massive drag on the entire freeway flow all the way back to Ontario.
- Alternative Tech: Stop using just one map app. Waze is great for "police spotted" and debris, but Google Maps has better historical predictive data for the 60's specific Monday-vs-Friday patterns. Friday afternoons on the 60 Westbound (heading toward LA) are actually better than Thursdays because many people work from home or leave early.
- The "Middle Lane" Strategy: On the 60, the far-right lane is a death trap of merging trucks, and the far-left lane is full of "brake-checkers." The second lane from the left is statistically the most consistent for maintaining a steady (albeit slow) speed.
Infrastructure Projects to Watch
There is some hope, but it’s a long way off. The 60/57 Interchange Improvement Project is a multi-phase beast designed to reduce those weaving conflicts I mentioned earlier. They’re adding bypass tracks and new on-ramps. It's a billion-dollar headache that will make traffic worse during construction but might—just might—give us a few minutes of our lives back by the end of the decade.
Also, keep an eye on the Brightline West high-speed rail developments. While the train will mostly run along the 15, any reduction in "Inland Empire to Vegas" or "IE to LA" car trips helps relieve the pressure on the 60.
Moving Forward with Your Commute
If you’re stuck in traffic on 60 fwy right now (hopefully you’re the passenger), understand that this road is the victim of its own success. It’s the backbone of the SoCal economy. To beat it, you have to stop thinking like a commuter and start thinking like a dispatcher.
Check the "Caltrans QuickMap" app before you put your key in the ignition. It shows you the real-time location of freeway Service Patrol trucks and actual camera feeds. If you see a sea of red brake lights at the 71 interchange, just take the surface streets through Phillips Ranch or stay home for another hour. Your mental health is worth more than a 12 mph crawl through the San Gabriel Valley.
Keep your tires inflated—blowouts on the 60 are a leading cause of the "random" 2:00 PM jams—and always have a backup podcast ready. The 60 doesn't care about your schedule, so you have to be the one who adapts.