Unlike Washington, California does not sign the long east–west section of US 101 between Gaviota and its junction with SR 134 and SR 170 in North Hollywood as west and east. Instead, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) observes the overall direction of the highway and marks these portions as north and south. Local references to this portion of the freeway, including traffic reports, usually refer to the directions on this section as east for southbound lanes and west for northbound lanes. In the late 1990s, Caltrans began placing guide signs on local streets in the San Fernando Valley adjacent to US 101 which identified eastbound and westbound entrances to the freeway. Other than replacing older guide signs which previously referenced the official northbound and southbound designations of the freeway, Caltrans made no other changes to mainline or street signing, and as such, pull-through signs, overhead signs, and freeway entrance signs all still reference north and south instead of east and west.