What to Know
- A stretch of the 134 Freeway will be named President Barack H. Obama Highway
- The section passes through Eagle Rock, Glendale and Pasadena
- Obama attended Occidental College in Eagle Rock from from 1979 to 1981.
State lawmakers in California have approved a plan to name a stretch of freeway in the Los Angeles area for former President Barack Obama.
A stretch of the 134 Freeway passing through the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles and the cities of Glendale and Pasadena will be known as the President Barack H. Obama Highway after the Legislature signed off on a resolution Tuesday. Obama attended Occidental College in Eagle Rock from from 1979 to 1981 before transferring to Columbia University.
The measure doesn't require the governor's signature.
Democratic state Senator Anthony Portantino, who authored the resolution, says Obama used that part of the freeway to travel to his classes at Occidental College in L.A. Obama attended Occidental for two years before transferring to Columbia University in New York.
"I am so proud to have authored this proposal to forever appreciate and commemorate President Obama's tremendous legacy, statesmanship and direct connection to Southern California," state Sen. Anthony Portantino said in a statement on his website.
Congressman Jimmy Gomez, recently sworn in to succeed Portantino, is the co-author.
U.S. & World
The approval came on the same day President Donald Trump announced a phase-out of one of Obama's key immigration programs.
Earlier this year, the LA City Council unanimously approved a motion to rename a portion of Rodeo Road to Obama Boulevard. As a senator, Obama held his first Los Angeles presidential campaign rally at Rancho Cienega Park on Rodeo Road. Located southwest of downtown Los Angeles and running parallel to the 10 Freeway, Rodeo Road is unrelated to Beverly Hills' famous Rodeo Drive luxury shopping district.
The name change will be displayed along a section of the major corridor between Arlington Avenue and Jefferson Boulevard. The segment passes Rancho Cienega Park and through the Crenshaw district west toward the Culver City area.
A section of the 118 Freeway in the San Fernando area is named after former President Ronald Reagan.
NBC4's Jonathan Lloyd contributed to this report.
