Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox road Interstate 880 (I-880) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It runs from I-280 and State Route 17 (SR 17) in San Jose to I-80 and I-580 in Oakland, running parallel to the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. For most of its route, I-880 is officially known as the Nimitz Freeway, after World War II fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who retired to the Bay Area. The northernmost Template:Convert is also commonly referred to as the Cypress Freeway, after the former alignment of the freeway and its subsequent replacement.
Route descriptionEdit
The southern terminus of I-880 is at its interchange with I-280 and SR 17 in San Jose. From there, it heads roughly northeast past San Jose International Airport to US Route 101 (US 101). The Nimitz Freeway then turns northwest, running parallel to the southeastern shore of San Francisco Bay, connecting the cities of Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, and San Leandro before reaching Oakland. In Oakland, I-880 passes by Oakland International Airport, Oakland Coliseum, the Port of Oakland, and Downtown Oakland. The northern terminus of I-880 is in Oakland at the junction with I-80 and I-580 (known as the MacArthur Maze), near the eastern approach of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.
I-880 between I-238 in San Leandro and the MacArthur Maze is used as the main truck route; trucks over Template:Convert are prohibited through Oakland on I-580.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
I-880 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System<ref name="cafes">Template:CAFESystem</ref> and is part of the National Highway System,<ref name=fhwa-nhs>Template:FHWA NHS map</ref> a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).<ref name=NHS-FHWA>Template:FHWA NHS</ref> Officially, the Nimitz Freeway designation is Route 880 from Route 101 to Route 80, as named by Senate Concurrent Resolution 23, Chapter 84 in 1958.<ref>Template:CA Named Freeways</ref>
Since the late 1990s, an infamous misconception for certain commuters and businesses in San Jose is that I-880 extends from I-280 to SR 85 in Los Gatos (which would extend the length to Template:Convert).
Express lanesEdit
High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes along I-880 between the Milpitas–Fremont line at Dixon Landing Road and Lewelling Boulevard in San Lorenzo opened in October 2020. The southbound express lanes extend north to Hegenberger Road in Oakland and south to SR 237 in Milpitas.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Template:As of, the HOT lanes' hours of operation is weekdays between 5:00 am and 8:00 pm; they are otherwise free and open to all vehicles at other times. Solo drivers are tolled using a congestion pricing system based on the real-time levels of traffic. Two-person carpools and clean air vehicles with a solo driver are charged 50 percent of the posted toll. Carpools with three or more people and motorcycles are not charged.<ref name="880 Express Lanes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> All tolls are collected using an open road tolling system, and therefore there are no toll booths to receive cash. Each vehicle using the HOT lanes is required to carry a FasTrak Flex transponder with its switch set to indicate the number of the vehicle's occupants (1, 2, or 3+). Those with clean air vehicles need to apply for a special FasTrak CAV tag. Solo drivers may also use the FasTrak standard tag without the switch.<ref name="880 Express Lanes"/> Drivers without any FasTrak tag will be assessed a toll violation regardless of whether they qualified for free.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
HistoryEdit
The state legislature added the proposed San Jose–Richmond East Shore Highway to the state highway system in 1933, and it became an extension of the previously short (San Rafael to the bay) Legislative Route (LRN) 69,<ref>Template:Cite CAstat: "San Jose to Richmond (East Shore Highway)."</ref><ref>Template:Cite CAstat: "Route 69 is from: (a) Route 1 near San Rafael to Point San Quentin. (b) San Jose to Richmond (East Shore Highway)."</ref> and part of Sign Route 13 (soon changed to 17) in 1934.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> From San Jose, this route temporarily followed existing LRN 5 (present Oakland Road, Main Street, Milpitas Boulevard, and Warm Springs Boulevard) to SR 21 at Warm Springs and then continued along existing county roads and city streets,<ref name=blow>Template:Cite book</ref> now known as Fremont Boulevard, Alvarado Boulevard, Hesperian Boulevard, Lewelling Boulevard, Washington Avenue, 14th Street, 44th Avenue, 12th Street, 14th Avenue, 8th Street, and 7th Street, into Downtown Oakland. It then turned north at Cypress Street (now Mandela Parkway), passing through the MacArthur Maze and following a newly constructed alignment (signed as US 40) to El Cerrito.<ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref>
The first short piece of the new Eastshore Freeway opened to traffic on July 22, 1949, connecting Oak Street downtown with 23rd Avenue.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> It was extended to 98th Avenue on June 1, 1950,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> Lewelling Boulevard on June 13, 1952,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> and Jackson Street (SR 92) on June 5, 1953.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> At the San Jose end, the overlap with Route 5 between Bayshore Highway (US 101) and Warm Springs was bypassed on July 2, 1954.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> Within Oakland, the double-decker Cypress Street Viaduct opened on June 11, 1957, connecting the freeway with the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge.<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> The Oakland segment was extended south to Fremont Boulevard at Beard Road on November 14, 1957,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> and the gap was filled on November 24, 1958,<ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Full citation needed</ref> soon after the state legislature named the highway after Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz.<ref>Template:Cite CAstat</ref> (The short spur to Route 5 at Warm Springs (now SR 262) remained in the state highway system as a branch of Route 69.<ref>Template:Cite CAstat "Route 69 is from: (a) San Jose to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge Toll Plaza including a connection to Route 5 near Warm Springs."</ref>) As these sections opened, Sign Route 17 (and LRN 69) was moved from its old surface routing, which mostly became local streets. Other than Route 5 south of Warm Springs, the portion from San Leandro into Oakland was also kept as part of Route 105 (now SR 185).<ref>Template:Cite CAstat "Route 105 is from:...(c) Hayward, via Fourteenth Street in San Leandro, to Seventh and Cypress Streets in Oakland."</ref>
Historic alignmentsEdit
SR 17Edit
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Template:Infobox road small Template:Infobox road small Template:Infobox road small Prior to 1984, the route known as I-880 used to be part of SR 17, which was US 48<ref name="End of US highway 48"/> from current I-238 to US 101 from 1926 to 1931, then US 101E from 1929 to the mid-1930s. SR 17 used to run from Santa Cruz all the way through San Jose, Oakland, and then continued north via the Eastshore Freeway (I-80) through Richmond to the Richmond–San Rafael Bridge and San Rafael.
In 1984, the segment of SR 17 from I-280 in San Jose to the MacArthur Maze in Oakland was renumbered as I-880, and the portion of SR 17 from the MacArthur Maze to San Rafael was renumbered as part of I-580.
Nimitz FreewayEdit
In 1947, construction commenced on a freeway to replace the street routing of SR 17 through the East Bay. The new freeway was named the "Eastshore Freeway", and, with the subsequent addition of a freeway to replace the Eastshore Highway north of the MacArthur Maze in the mid 1950s, it ran, appropriately, almost the entire length of the east shore of San Francisco Bay.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref><ref>Template:Cite map</ref> In 1958, following a joint resolution of the California State Legislature, the portion south of the MacArthur Maze was renamed the Nimitz Freeway in honor of WWII Admiral Nimitz, while the portion to the north retained the name Eastshore Freeway.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> The formal dedication, with the participation of Admiral Nimitz, took place on August 12, 1958.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Historic US 50 Bus.Edit
The northern portion of I-880 was designated US 50 Business (US 50 Bus.) for a time between the I-80 interchange and Downtown Oakland.
Original routing in SacramentoEdit
Template:See also Template:Infobox road small From 1971 to 1983, I-880 was the original route designation for the Beltline Freeway, the northern bypass freeway for the Sacramento area. This freeway begins in West Sacramento as a fork from the original I-80, continues northeast over the Sacramento River to its interchange with I-5, continues east through the communities of North Sacramento and Del Paso Heights, and ends at an interchange with the Roseville Freeway (I-80). The now-designated Capital City Freeway was then the original I-80 routing, continuing southwest directly into Downtown Sacramento. I-80 was then rerouted along the Beltline Freeway in 1983, while the Capital City Freeway became I-80 Bus.
Modern historyEdit
Cypress Viaduct and the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquakeEdit
A large double-decker section in Oakland, known as the Cypress Street Viaduct, collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, causing 42 deaths; initial estimates were significantly higher, but, because many commuters on both sides of the bay had left early or stayed late to watch Game 3 of the San Francisco–Oakland World Series, the freeway was far less crowded than normal at the time of the quake.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Due to environmental impact concerns, and the desire by the West Oakland community to reconnect the neighborhood with the rest of the city, among other reasons, a new route was selected along an industrial area and railroad yard around the outskirts of the neighborhood.<ref name="cnu">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Although only about Template:Convert in length, the replacement freeway cost over $1.2 billion (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn), and did not open until 1997 for several reasons: it crossed over and under the elevated Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) line to San Francisco; it squeezed between a postoffice, the West Oakland station, the Port of Oakland, a railyard, and an East Bay Municipal Utility District sewage treatment plant; it occupied an entirely new right-of-way, which required the acquisition of large amounts of valuable industrial real estate near the Port of Oakland; and it had to be earthquake resistant.<ref name=replacement>Template:Cite journal</ref> Furthermore, a new interchange was constructed south of Grand Avenue, where ramps connect to I-80 west via a viaduct crossing the rail tracks and Grand Avenue, avoiding the MacArthur Maze completely;<ref name=replacement/> these ramps carry the hidden state designation of Route 880S (for "supplemental").<ref name="Route 880S">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A new flyover exit ramp to I-80 east was also constructed to cross over the existing MacArthur Maze structure.<ref name=replacement/>
The former path of the Cypress Street Viaduct was then renamed Mandela Parkway, and the median where the freeway stood became a landscaped linear park.<ref name="cnu"/>
Flood plainsEdit
Several aspects of the I-880 facility have been constructed in designated floodplains such as the 1990 and 2004 interchange improvements at Dixon Landing Road. In that case, the FHWA was required to make a finding that there was no feasible alternative to the new ramp system as designed. In that same study, the FHWA produced an analysis to support the fact that adequate wetlands mitigation had been designed into the improvement project.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Sound barriersEdit
Due to high sound levels generated from this highway and the relatively dense urban development in the highway corridor, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) has conducted numerous studies to retrofit the right-of-way with noise barriers. This activity has occurred in Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, Newark, and Fremont. During the 1989 widening of I-880 in parts of Newark and Fremont, scientific studies were conducted to determine the need for sound walls and to design optimum heights to achieve Federal noise standards.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
No interchange with SR 87/Guadalupe FreewayEdit
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Between Coleman Avenue and 1st Street in San Jose, SR 87 (Guadalupe Freeway) crosses above I-880 without an interchange, making it the only point in California where two freeways cross without a connection.<ref name="SJMercury">Template:Cite news</ref> Because of its proximity to the runways at San Jose International Airport, Caltrans cannot construct elevated ramps without them interfering with flight paths. Tunneling underneath to build underground ramps would also make a significant environmental impact to the nearby Guadalupe River.<ref name="SJMercury"/>
Gasoline tanker accident in 2007Edit
On April 29, 2007, a gasoline tanker overturned and caught fire on the connector between westbound I-80 and southbound I-880 on the MacArthur Maze interchange. The fire caused major damage to both this connector and one directly above (eastbound I-80 onto eastbound I-580). The overpass was replaced and reopened 27 days later. The governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, declared it as a state of emergency and all public transportation was free on the first commute day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2012–2015 I-880/I-280 interchange improvementEdit
Improvements to the I-280/I-880 and Stevens Creek Boulevard interchanges finished early 2015. Changes included breaking up the handful of ramps that both interchanges shared so they would be independent from one another. Construction began in late 2012 and the ramp from I-280 north to I-880 north opened in April 2015.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
I-880 Corridor Improvement ProjectEdit
The I-880 Corridor Improvement Project, one of the last seismic retrofit projects of a major transportation corridor in California, consisted of eight separate projects located in a Template:Convert segment of the freeway between Oakland and Hayward.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite newsTemplate:Dead link</ref>
The overall goal of the project was to improve the seismic safety of the corridor. After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, Caltrans initiated Phase 1 of its seismic retrofit program. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Caltrans initiated Phase 2 of its seismic retrofit program, which included projects along the I-880 corridor.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Other goals include reducing traffic congestion and improving road quality.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The individual projects included in the I-880 Corridor Improvement Project were retrofitting or replacing the 5th Avenue, 23rd Avenue, 29th Avenue, Fruitvale Avenue, and High Street bridges in Oakland; improvements to both the I-238 and SR 92 interchanges (the latter, a four-year project, completed in October 2011);<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and an overall rehabilitation/repaving project along the entire segment. Construction began in 2006, although certain projects were completed in 2020. The total cost of the project is $462.7 million (equivalent to $Template:Formatprice in Template:Inflation/yearTemplate:Inflation/fn), provided by federal, state, and regional funds.
Exit listEdit
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See alsoEdit
ReferencesEdit
External linksEdit
Template:Sister project Template:Attached KML Template:CASR external links
- Bay Area FasTrak – includes toll information on the I-880 Express Lanes and the other Bay Area toll facilities
- AARoads - I-880 Guide Template:Webarchive
- The October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta, California, Earthquake—Selected Photographs - U.S. Geological Survey
- Cypress Street Viaduct includes map of old MacArthur Maze with old U.S. Route 40/U.S. Route 50 designations
- Cypress Viaduct Reconstruction from Federal Highway Administration
- California Highways: I-880