Interstate 5 Freeway

Residents along Eastside Avenue in north Santa Ana expected traffic noise when they moved into their homes on the edge of the Santa Ana Freeway. But the musky, mildew-like smell that hangs over the neighborhood is giving them a case of roadside rage. The stench--and winter street flooding--comes from an open storm drain built two years ago as part of the mammoth freeway widening project, and residents wonder how much longer they will have to endure the putrid smell.

Drivers to and from Disneyland will have more options; a seven-point intersection at onramps, and flyovers. The traffic oddity is part of a series of ramps and lands that will open Thursday along the Santa Ana Freeway in the Disneyland area. The improvements are part of a $1.1-billion project to relieve congestion on the Santa Ana freeway. UPCOMING FOR I-5 * Early October: North I-5 onramp from Lincoln Avenue; south I-5 offramp to Magnolia Avenue.

Repair crews will close the Beach Boulevard off-ramp from the northbound Santa Ana Freeway in Buena Park today for six months as workers widen the roadway, replace old pavement and install a new storm drain system, Caltrans officials said. The work is part of the 4-year-old, $1.1 billion I-5 North Improvement Project. During the six months of work at the off-ramp, motorists are advised to exit at Manchester Boulevard and continue north to Beach Boulevard.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC) "Next Exit": Highways signs will point way to Dana Point.

If anyone was skeptical that truckers are the lifeblood of Castaic, that doubt has gone the way of cheap diesel fuel and mirrored sunglasses. After the collapse of a freeway overpass during the Northridge earthquake, the major north-south route of Interstate 5 was closed to trucks for two weeks, crippling this town of 13,000 about 40 miles north of Los Angeles. Usually bustling restaurants closed or cut back staff to a handful of employees. The local bar depended on locals for a change.

The day before U.S. authorities were to start cracking down on illegal immigrants who run across the border by dodging freeway traffic, Mexican federal officials began a crackdown of their own Wednesday, curtailing the harrowing practice dramatically and prompting the U.S. Border Patrol to drop its enforcement plans.

A suspected illegal immigrant was in critical condition Tuesday after being struck while attempting to run across Interstate 5 near the Border Patrol checkpoint, just five days after three illegal immigrants were killed in similar fashion in one of the deadliest nights at the station.