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Interstate 680 (California)

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Interstate 680 marker

Interstate 680
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Route information
Defined by Streets and Highways Code § 620
Maintained by Caltrans
Length: 70.536 mi[1] (113.517 km)
History: State highway in 1933; Interstate in 1955
Major junctions
South end: I-280 / US 101 in San Jose
  SR 237 in Milpitas
SR 238 in Fremont
SR 84 in Sunol
I-580 in Dublin
SR 24 in Walnut Creek
SR 4 in Martinez
I-780 in Benicia
North end: I-80 / SR 12 in Fairfield
Highway system
← I-605 I-710 →
← SR 20 California 21.svg SR 22 →

Interstate 680 (I-680) is a north–south Interstate Highway in Northern California. It curves around the eastern cities of the San Francisco Bay Area from San Jose to Interstate 80 at Fairfield, bypassing cities along the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay such as Oakland and Richmond while serving others more inland such as Pleasanton and Concord.

Built in the 1920s and designated in 1955, I-680 begins at a junction with I-280 and US 101 (Bayshore Freeway), and heads northeast and north-northwest through the northeast part of San Jose. After passing SR 237 in Milpitas and SR 262 in Fremont, I-680 abruptly turns northeast (where a connection to a SR 238 freeway was planned) and enters the hills and valleys of the California Coast Ranges. The highway crosses over Mission Pass, also known as the Sunol Grade, and descends into the Sunol Valley, where it meets SR 84 near Sunol. From Sunol, I-680 again heads north-northwesterly through valleys, including the San Ramon Valley, along the Calaveras Fault. Junctions along this portion include I-580 in Dublin and SR 24 in Walnut Creek. Beyond the latter interchange, a three-way directional junction with the SR 24 freeway west to Oakland, I-680 heads north into Pleasant Hill, where SR 242 splits and I-680 again heads northwesterly. After the junction with SR 4 in Martinez, the highway crosses the Carquinez Strait on the Benicia-Martinez Bridge, immediately meeting the east end of I-780 on the Benicia end. The remainder of I-680, from Benicia to I-80 at Fairfield, lies between a hilly area to the west representing the southwestern tip of the Vaca Mountains, and a marshy area (along the Suisun Bay and Cordelia Slough) to the east.[2]

I-680 is part of the State Scenic Highway System from SR 238 in Fremont north to SR 24 in Walnut Creek,[3] and is eligible for said system from SR 238 south to the Alameda-Santa Clara County line.

Route description

Southbound at SR 4, with Mount Diablo on the left.

The portion of this route from the Route 280/US101 junction to the Santa Clara/Alameda County line is named the Joseph P. Sinclair Freeway, after the District Engineer for District 4 Division of Highways (now Caltrans) from 1952 to 1964 pursuant to Assembly Concurrent Resolution 104, chapter 168 in 1967.

Between Alcosta Boulevard and the intersection with I-580, I-680 is officially named the "Officer John Paul Monego Memorial Freeway". It was named after Dublin Police Officer John Paul Monego, who died on December 12, 1998, in the line of duty at the age of 33 years, while responding to a takeover robbery. Named by Senate Concurrent Resolution 60, enrolled August 18, 2000.[1]

From Route 24 to Route 4, the route is historically part of "El Camino Sierra" (The Road to the Mountains).[1]

The portion of this route from about the Livorna Road interchange in Walnut Creek/Alamo to the Alcosta Blvd. interchange in San Ramon appears to be named the "Donald D. Doyle Highway".[1][4] While serving in the California Assembly from 1953 to 1958, Donald D. Doyle co-authored the Short-Doyle Mental Health Act with California Senator Alan Short and authored legislation creating the ferry boat transportation system between Benicia and Martinez. The signs indicating this were erected in 1998.

Of the above names, only the name Sinclair Freeway for its designated portion usually appears on maps, and the other portions on maps are always unnamed, referred to as simply I-680.[5]

The route begins at U.S. Route 101, where it acts as a continuation of I-280 eastward.[6] From here, it begins its journey northward through San Jose, where it meets the Capitol Expressway, signed as County Route G21.[1] The next exit northbound is State Route 130, which is also known as Alum Rock Avenue. As it continues through Santa Clara County, it meets numerous local roads before interchanging with the Montague Expressway. Here, it exits San Jose and enters the city of Milpitas, California, where it meets State Route 237, often referred to as Calaveras Boulevard. After one more intersection, I-680 exits Santa Clara County and enters Alameda County.[1]

In Alameda County, the freeway begins in the city of Fremont, where it intersects State Route 262. Continuing through the city, it meets Mission Boulevard at State Route 238 before exiting the city. Amid Alameda County, it abruptly turns northeastward and enters a hilly area, where it crosses over Mission Pass, and descends into the Sunol Valley, where it joins State Route 84 for a short while. Afterwards, it enters Pleasanton and interchanges with Interstate 580. It enters Dublin for a short segment before exiting the county and entering Contra Costa County.[1][6]

Upon entering Contra Costa County, the route meets numerous local roads through the cities of San Ramon, Danville, and Alamo before entering Walnut Creek, where it meets State Route 24.[1] I-680 then enters Pleasant Hill for a short time and Concord, where it meets State Route 242. Upon exiting Concord, it meets State Route 4. It then enters Martinez, where it follows the Benicia-Martinez Bridge over the Carquinez Strait, on which the route crosses the county line and enters Benicia in Solano County.[1][5][6] In Benicia, I-680 interchanges with Interstate 780. It then exits the city and enters Fairfield, where it meets Interstate 80, where the route finds its north terminus.[6]

In the wake of the September 11 Attacks, a U.S. flag was painted on a large piece of concrete on a hill along the Sunol Grade. It stayed there for nine years before Caltrans painted it over, as the mural had been painted on without authorization.[7] Due to this action being taken shortly before July 4th, 2010, and also due to the mural's fame, this was met with controversy. The flag was replaced shortly later.

Express lanes

A 14-mile (23 km) southbound high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane along I-680 between SR 84 in Alameda County and SR 237 in Santa Clara County opened on September 20, 2010.[8] Solo drivers are required to pay a toll via a FasTrak transponder. Studies regarding the implementation of northbound HOT lanes on I-680 are currently underway.[9]

History

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Further information: Interstate 780 § History
Descending from Mission Pass northbound

By the 1920s, a road ran south from Martinez through Walnut Creek, Dublin, Danville, and Sunol to Mission San Jose, where it met State Highway Route 5 (Mission Boulevard, signed over the years as US 48, US 101E, SR 9, and now SR 238). It was not yet paved south of Dublin, where it crossed Mission Pass between the Sunol Valley and the San Francisco Bay basin.[5] The majority of this roadway was added to the state highway system in 1933 as portions of several routes: Route 108 from Mission San Jose to Sunol, Route 107 from Sunol to Walnut Creek, and Route 75 from Walnut Creek to Pleasant Hill.[10][11]

At Martinez, the Martinez-Benicia Ferry took automobiles across the Carquinez Strait to Benicia, where Route 7, one of the original state highways from the 1910 bond issue, led north and northeast past Fairfield towards Sacramento and Oregon.[12] The portion north from Benicia to Fairfield became part of Route 74 in 1935, when Route 7 was realigned to the more direct American Canyon route that is now I-80.[13] None of the aforementioned roads were given state sign route numbers in 1934, when that system was laid out,[14] but by 1937 they had been numbered State Route 21.[15] This route began at the intersection of Warm Springs Boulevard and Brown Road in Warm Springs, where Route 5 and Route 69 (SR 17) split, follewed Route 5 along Mission Boulevard to Mission San Jose (this part later became an overlap with SR 9), and then continued to US 40 (Route 7) at Cordelia. The routing was very close to the present I-680, following such roads as Pleasanton Sunol Road, San Ramon Valley Boulevard, Danville Boulevard, Main Street in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa Boulevard, and Pacheco Boulevard.[16]

The portion of SR 21 between Pleasant Hill and Martinez was finally added to the state highway system in 1949, as a branch of Route 75.[17] The ferry approach in Benicia became a spur of Route 74 in 1947,[18] and in 1953 it was transferred to Route 75. The same law, effective immediately as an urgency measure, authorized the Department of Public Works to acquire the ferry system, then operated by the city of Martinez, which was planning to shut it down.[19] Ownership was transferred just after midnight on October 6, 1953.[20]

File:San Francisco, California 1955 Yellow Book.jpg
1955 map of the planned Interstates in the San Francisco Bay Area. These early plans essentially called for an interstate loop route that would head south down the San Francisco Peninsula from San Francisco to San Jose, then head north through the eastern cities of the East Bay to Vallejo. This route now basically comprises present-day I-280, I-680, and I-780.

The Bureau of Public Roads approved urban routes of the Interstate Highway System on September 15, 1955, including a loop around the San Francisco Bay, soon numbered I-280 and I-680. The east half (I-680) began at the interchange of US 101 north of downtown San Jose and followed the Nimitz Freeway (SR 17/Route 69, now I-880) to the split at Warm Springs (the present location of SR 262), SR 21 to Benicia, and Route 74 (no sign route number) to I-80 in Vallejo.[21][22][23] The first piece of I-680 freeway built, other than the pre-existing Nimitz Freeway, was in the late 1950s, along the SR 24 overlap between North Main Street in Walnut Creek and Monument Boulevard in Pleasant Hill.[24][25] A southerly extension, bypassing downtown Walnut Creek to South Main Street, opened on March 22, 1960, connecting with the SR 24 freeway to Oakland.[26] In the next decade, the freeway was completed from Vallejo south to SR 238 at Mission San Jose, and the roadway north from Benicia to Fairfield, which became the only remaining piece of SR 21, was also upgraded to freeway standards.[27][28]

In the 1964 renumbering, the legislative designation was changed to Route 680. SR 17 was officially moved to former Route 5 between San Jose and Warm Springs, which had not had a signed designation since the Nimitz Freeway (then I-680) was constructed,[29] but this was instead marked as part of SR 238 (which replaced SR 9 north of Mission San Jose), and SR 17 remained signed along the Nimitz Freeway.[30] This was very short-lived, as the Bureau of Public Roads approved a shift in the south end of I-680 in October 1964.[22] The legislature changed the routes in 1965, swapping Routes 17 and 680 south of Warm Springs, and creating a new SR 262 on the short roadway at Warm Springs where they had overlapped to switch sides.[31][32] However, until I-680 was completed in the early-to-mid 1970s,[27] it remained signed along the Nimitz Freeway, and the old road between San Jose and Warm Springs continued to be marked as SR 238.[28] One more change was made to the routing of I-680: in July 1973, the remainder of SR 21, from Benicia to Fairfield, was added to the Interstate Highway System. This became the new alignment of I-680, and the old route to Vallejo became I-780. The corresponding changes were made by the state legislature in 1976.[33]

The interchange at the beginning of I-680 at I-280 and U.S. Route 101 was constructed years before its completion. The two bridges, with no on ramps or off ramps stood as a 110 foot tall monument to inefficiency for years in the 1970s. It became the butt of many local jokes. The highlight prank occurred in January 1976, when a 1960 Chevrolet Impala was placed on the highest bridge overnight, where it obviously would be impossible to drive. The following day, San Jose City Councilman Joe Colla was photographed standing next to the car, a photo which was circulated across many newspapers.[34] It has been suggested this stunt nudged the wheels of progress to find the funds to complete the freeway. In 2010, the interchange was named the Joe Colla Interchange.[35]

Exit list

Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured on the road as it was in 1964, based on the alignment that existed at the time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. R reflects a realignment in the route since then, M indicates a second realignment, L refers an overlap due to a correction or change, and T indicates postmiles classified as temporary (for a full list of prefixes, see the list of postmile definitions).[1] Segments that remain unconstructed or have been relinquished to local control may be omitted. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column.

County Location Postmile
[1][27][36]		 Exit
[37]		 Destinations Notes
Santa Clara
SCL M0.00-M9.94		 San Jose M0.00 - I-280 north – Downtown San Jose Continuation beyond US 101
M0.00 1B US 101 (Bayshore Freeway) – Los Angeles, San Francisco Southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 101 north exit 384, south exit 385B
M0.39 1A King Road Signed as exit 1C southbound
M1.19 1B Jackson Avenue Northbound exit and southbound entrance
M1.41 1C CR G21 (Capitol Expressway) Signed as exit 1D southbound
M1.74 2A SR 130 (Alum Rock Avenue) No southbound entrance
M2.38 2B McKee Road
M3.84 4 Berryessa Road
M4.80 5A Hostetter Road Southbound exit is via exit 5
M5.07 5B Capitol Avenue Signed as exit 5 southbound
San Jose–Milpitas line M6.17 6 CR G4 (Montague Expressway) / Landess Avenue
Milpitas   — I-680 South Express Lane South end of Express Lane; no northbound access
M7.65 8 SR 237 (Calaveras Boulevard) – Central Milpitas
M8.50 9 Jacklin Road
Alameda
ALA M0.00-R21.88		 Fremont M0.13 10 Scott Creek Road – Warm Springs District
M2.38 12 SR 262 (Mission Boulevard) to I-880 Former SR 21 north
M4.02 14 Auto Mall Parkway, Durham Road
M5.37 15 Washington Boulevard – Irvington District
R6.40 16 SR 238 (Mission Boulevard) Former SR 21 south
R7.48 18A Vargas Road Signed as exit 18 southbound
​ R8.31 18B Sheridan Road Southbound exit is via exit 20
​ R9.71 20 Andrade Road
​   — I-680 South Express Lane North end of Express Lane; no northbound access
​ R11.04 21A SR 84 west / Calaveras Road – Sunol, Dumbarton Bridge South end of SR 84 overlap; signed as exit 21 southbound; former SR 21 north
​ R11.85 21B SR 84 east – Livermore North end of SR 84 overlap; southbound exit is via a U-turn at exit 21
​ R12.44 22 Sunol Southbound exit and northbound entrance; former SR 21
Pleasanton R15.26 25 Sunol Boulevard, Castlewood Drive – Pleasanton
R16.75 26 Bernal Avenue – Pleasanton
R19.30 29 Stoneridge Drive
Pleasanton–Dublin line R20.06 30 I-580 – Dublin, Oakland, Livermore, Stockton Signed as exits 30A (east) and 30B (west); I-580 exit 44B
Dublin R20.39 30A Dublin Boulevard No northbound exit; former US 50
Contra Costa
CC R0.00-25.46		 San Ramon R0.01 31 Alcosta Boulevard – Dublin
R2.89 34 Bollinger Canyon Road
San Ramon–Danville line R4.18 36 Crow Canyon Road – San Ramon
Danville R6.76 38 Sycamore Valley Road
R7.55 39 Diablo Road – Danville
R8.18 40 El Cerro Boulevard
R8.75 41 El Pintado Road Northbound exit is via exit 40; Southbound exit and northbound entrance only
Alamo R10.37 42 Stone Valley Road Signed as exits 42A (east) and 42B (west)
R11.28 43 Livorna Road
Walnut Creek R12.61 44 Rudgear Road Southbound exit is via exit 45A
13.08 45A South Main Street – Walnut Creek No northbound entrance; former SR 21
13.93 45B Olympic Boulevard
14.38 46A SR 24 west – Lafayette, Oakland Signed as exit 46 southbound; SR 24 exits 15A-B
14.85 46B Ygnacio Valley Road Northbound exit and southbound entrance
15.61 47 North Main Street – Walnut Creek Former SR 21
16.40 48 Treat Boulevard, Geary Road Southbound former Oak Park Boulevard exit
Pleasant Hill R17.29 49A Contra Costa Boulevard – Pleasant Hill Northbound exit and southbound entrance; former SR 21
R17.70 49B Monument Boulevard, Gregory Lane Signed as exit 49 southbound; former SR 24 east
Concord–Pleasant Hill line R18.71 50 SR 242 – Concord, Pittsburg Northbound exit and southbound entrance; SR 242 south exit 1A
19.04 51 Willow Pass Road, Taylor Boulevard
19.86 52 Concord Avenue, Burnett Avenue – Pacheco, Concord
​ 21.19 53 SR 4 – Pittsburg, Antioch, Martinez, Hercules SR 4 exits 12B-C
​ 22.43 54 Pacheco Boulevard, Arthur Road Former SR 21
Martinez 24.26 56 Marina Vista Road, Waterfront Road – Martinez
Contra Costa – Solano county line Martinez - Benicia line   Benicia–Martinez Bridge over Carquinez Strait
Solano
SOL L0.00-R13.13		 Benicia 0.68 58A I-780 west – Benicia, Vallejo Signed as exit 58 southbound; former I-680 north; I-780 exits 7A-B
R1.00 58B Bayshore Road Northbound exit and southbound entrance
R1.46 60 Industrial Park Southbound exit and northbound entrance
R2.82 61 Lake Herman Road Former SR 21 south
​ R5.02 63 Parish Road
​ R7.32 65 Marshview Road
Fairfield R10.02 68 Gold Hill Road
12.63 70 Green Valley Road – Cordelia Northbound exit and southbound entrance
13.13 71 I-80 / SR 12 – Fairfield, Sacramento, Napa, San Francisco Northbound exit and southbound entrance; signed as exits 71A (east) and 71B (west); north end of I-680; I-80 exit 40
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed February 2008 via ACME Mapper
  3. ↑ California Department of Transportation, Route 680 - Scenic Highway, accessed February 2008
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rand McNally & Company, San Francisco and Vicinity, 1927
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "State Highway Route 75 near Walnut Creek to State Highway Route 5 near Stockton via Antioch." "State Highway Route 75 near Walnut Creek to Livermore-San Jose Mission Road near Scotts Corners." "State Highway Route 5 near Mission San Jose to State Highway Route 5 near Livermore."
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 75 is from: (a) Oakland to Route 5 near Stockton via Walnut Creek and Antioch..." "Route 107 is from: (a) Route 75 near Walnut Creek to Route 108 near Scotts Corners..." "Route 108 is from Route 5 near Mission San Jose to Route 5 near Livermore."
  12. ↑ Howe & Peters, Engineers' Report to California State Automobile Association Covering the Work of the California Highway Commission for the Period 1911-1920, pp. 11-16
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 74 is from a point on Route 8 near the Napa Y to Cordelia via Vallejo and Benicia."
  14. ↑ California Highways and Public Works, State Routes will be Numbered and Marked with Distinctive Bear Signs, August 1934
  15. ↑ Oakland Tribune, classified ads, August 15, 1937: "one acre on Highway 21, south of Walnut Creek"
  16. ↑ United States Geological Survey, 1942 San Jose, 1940 Livermore, 1942 Mount Diablo, 1941 Concord, 1940 Carquinez Strait (scale 1:62500)
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 75 is from:...(b) Route (a) above, north of Walnut Creek to Martinez..."
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 74 is from:...(b) (a) above near M and East Second Street to East Fifth and C Streets, in Benicia."
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 75 is from:...(b) Route (a) above, north of Walnut Creek to a connection with Route 74 in Benicia." [Note that this law accidentally deleted portion (c) of Route 75; an urgency measure passed at the 1954 1st extraordinary session (chapter 8) corrected this error.]
  20. ↑ San Mateo Times, State Set to Take Over Benicia Ferry, September 29, 1953
  21. ↑ Bureau of Public Roads, General Location of National System of Interstate Highways, 1955: San Francisco
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 California Department of Transportation, State Highway Routes: Selected Information, 1994 with 1995 revisions, pp. 342, 348
  23. ↑ H.M. Gousha Company, California, 1963
  24. ↑ Oakland Tribune, Lafayette Bypass to Slash Travel Time for Commuters, September 9, 1956: "With another freeway link now under construction northward from Walnut Creek to the Monument..."
  25. ↑ United States Geological Survey, Walnut Creek (scale 1:24000), 1959
  26. ↑ Oakland Tribune, Ceremony Salutes New Freeway Link, March 23, 1960
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 27.2 California Department of Transportation, Log of Bridges on State Highways, July 2007
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 H.M. Gousha Company, San Francisco, 1968
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 17 is from: (a) Route 1 near Santa Cruz to Route 101 near Story Road. (b) Route 101 near San Jose to Route 680 near Warm Springs. (c) Route 680 near Warm Springs to Route 580 in Oakland..." "Route 680 is from Route 280 in San Jose to Route 80 in Vallejo passing near Warm Springs, Mission San Jose, Scotts Corners and Sunol, and via Walnut Creek and Benicia."
  30. ↑ Oakland Tribune, Highway 9 Has a New Number, April 19, 1964
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 262 is from Route 17 to Route 680 near Warm Springs." "Route 680 is from Route 101 near San Jose to Route 80 in Vallejo passing near Warm Springs, Mission San Jose, Scotts Corners and Sunol, and via Walnut Creek and Benicia."
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 17 is from: (a) Route 1 near Santa Cruz to Route 80 in Oakland..."
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.: "Route 680 is from: (a) Route 101 near San Jose to Route 780 at Benicia passing near Warm Springs, Mission San Jose, Scotts Corners, and Sunol, and via Walnut Creek. (b) Route 780 at Benicia to Route 80 near Cordelia." "Route 780 is from Route 680 at Benicia to Route 80 in Vallejo."
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ California Department of Transportation, All Traffic Volumes on CSHS, 2005 and 2006
  37. ↑ California Department of Transportation, California Numbered Exit Uniform System, I-680 Northbound and I-680 Southbound, Retrieved on 2009-02-08.

External links

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