Interstate 580

Interstate 580 Auxiliary route of the Interstate Highway System
Eastshore Freeway, MacArthur Freeway, Brown Freeway Defined by S&HC § 618, maintained by Caltrans
Length:	75.550 mi[1] (121.586 km) I-580 is broken into pieces, and the length does not reflect the I-80 overlap that would be required to make the route continuous.
Formed:	August 7, 1947[2] July 1, 1964 by Caltrans[3]
West end:	US 101 in San Rafael
Major junctions:	I-80 in Oakland I-980 in Oakland I-238 in Castro Valley I-680 in Dublin I-205 near Livermore
East end:	I-5 near Tracy
State highways in California (list - pre-1964) < I-505 I-605 > History - Unconstructed - Deleted - Freeway - Scenic

Interstate 580 (I-580) is an 80-mile (129 km) north-south Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 connects the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 in the state's Central Valley, providing access from San Francisco to the southern San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.

A portion of I-580 is called the MacArthur Freeway, after General Douglas MacArthur. Other portions are named the John T. Knox Freeway (after a former California State Assemblyman and Speaker Pro Tempore who currently practices law at Nossaman LLP), the Eastshore Freeway (after its location on San Francisco Bay), the Arthur H. Breed Jr. Freeway (after a former California State Assemblyman and Senator), and the William Elton "Brownie" Brown Freeway (after a Tracy resident instrumental in determining the route of Interstate 5 through the San Joaquin Valley).^[3]

This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System^[4] and is eligible for the State Scenic Highway System.^[5]

Route description

I-580 emerging in the Central Valley near Tracy, CA

Eastbound I-580 at Grant Line Road about one mile away from the I-580/I-205 split.

I-580 at Palomares Road at the west end of Dublin Canyon

I-580 at the Altamont Pass Wind Farm

Westbound I-580 at Altamont Pass between Livermore and Tracy.

I-580 as it passes through Castro Valley

The western terminus of I-580 is north of San Francisco in San Rafael, at a junction with U.S. Route 101. The eastern terminus is with I-5 southeast of Tracy. Leaving San Rafael, I-580 runs next to the San Quentin State Prison before crossing San Francisco Bay over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The road then passes through Richmond.

In Albany, I-580 joins I-80 and then turns east at the interchange known as the MacArthur Maze. From here, it is known as the MacArthur Freeway which runs through Oakland and San Leandro to Castro Valley. About halfway to Castro Valley from the Maze, is an interchange with the Warren Freeway (State Route 13). Between this interchange and Castro Valley, I-580 runs near or along the trace of the Hayward Fault, a major branch of the San Andreas Fault.

In Castro Valley, I-580 turns eastward toward Dublin Canyon before descending into Dublin and Pleasanton. After passing through Livermore, the freeway enters the Altamont Pass. The road emerges in the Central Valley near Tracy, where, after Interstate 205 splits near the Altamont Speedway, it turns southeastward and terminates by merging with Interstate 5 near Patterson.

I-580 provides Interstate Highway access between San Francisco and Los Angeles since Interstate 5 runs east of the Bay Area.

Truck ban through Oakland

Trucks over 4.5 tons are prohibited through Oakland between Grand Avenue and the San Leandro border. Specifically, eastbound trucks cannot travel beyond the Grand Avenue/Lakeshore Avenue exit, and those going westbound must take the MacArthur Boulevard/Foothill Boulevard exit.^[6][7] They are instead instructed to take Interstate 238 and Interstate 880 as an alternative route through Oakland, causing incredible traffic on Interstate 880 thru Oakland during rush hour.^[6]

The truck prohibition has been in effect since the freeway was built in 1963 as part of U.S. 50. Both the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) imposed the restriction, partly because the City of Oakland already had a truck ban through the area prior to the freeway's construction. Since then, the restriction was grandfathered in when the freeway was both renumbered and added to the Interstate Highway System.

For decades, the trucking industry lobbied to have the ban removed, but was unsuccessful due to local opposition. In 2000, the California State Legislature passed Assembly Bill 500, adding the I-580 truck restriction into the California Vehicle Code.^[8] However, the California Highway Patrol has frequently allowed trucks through temporarily when major accidents occur on I-880 or I-238.

History

Interstate 180

Interstate 180 was a temporary designation used in 1978 for the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, now part of Interstate 580. At the time the bridge had been identified as part of State Route 17 but was marked for inclusion in the Interstate Highway System.

Briefly the bridge used the number 180, despite the Fresno-area State Route 180's use of the number. The California Streets and Highways Code has a policy against using one route number for multiple noncontiguous highways. Unless the existing Route 180 is renumbered, which is unlikely due to its familiarity as the road to Kings Canyon National Park, there will not be an Interstate 180 in California.

I-5 to Castro Valley

For the most part, the I-580 freeway in this segment was constructed over or alongside the right-of-way of U.S. Route 50, previously part of the old Lincoln Highway, during the course of the late 1960s and early 1970s. The segment which begins at the split with I-205 was constructed during the same period of time over a new right-of-way to a junction with I-5, running through some low hills on the east side of the San Joaquin Valley near the city of Patterson.

In the 1990s, the freeway segment from Castro Valley through Pleasanton was enlarged and otherwise re-engineered in conjunction with the construction of the Dublin/Pleasanton Line of the Bay Area Rapid Transit. The BART tracks were placed in a new median between the westbound and eastbound lanes of I-580 as was the new Dublin/Pleasantion Station. The interchange with I-238 and the Hayward exit ramps was also re-engineered at this time.

The MacArthur Freeway: Castro Valley to Oakland

The I-580 freeway in this segment was constructed in the 1950s adjacent to the city streets which were part of U.S. Route 50 between Castro Valley and the large interchange along the eastern approach to the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge in Oakland now called the "MacArthur Maze". The freeway was named in honor of World War II General Douglas MacArthur. Some years prior to the construction of this freeway, the various city streets of Oakland (principally 38th Street, Hopkins Street, and part of Foothill Blvd.) had been named for the General as "MacArthur Boulevard" which, for the most part, still parallels the MacArthur Freeway.

Oakland to San Rafael

The segment of I-580 running from the MacArthur Maze to San Rafael is the most recent to be signed as I-580, beginning in 1984. Before 1984, this segment was part of State Route 17.

From the Maze to the interchange locally known as the Hoffman Split in Albany, just north of the Gilman Street interchange, I-580 follows the Eastshore Freeway, a wrong-way concurrency with I-80 for its entirety: northward on the Eastshore is signed I-80 East and I-580 West; headed southward, one finds signs indicating I-80 West and I-580 East.

At the Hoffman Split, I-580 leaves the Eastshore Freeway in a northwesterly direction through the cities of El Cerrito and Richmond. It then crosses San Francisco Bay over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The freeway in this section, officially named the John T. Knox Freeway, was constructed from 1987 to 1991. It replaced a number of city streets which comprised the earlier highway leading to the San Rafael Bridge, principally, Hoffman and Cutting Boulevards.

After crossing the bridge, I-580 runs west to San Rafael, ending at an interchange with U.S. Route 101. This freeway segment supplanted an earlier boulevard constructed as part of State Route 17.

Future

The segment of I-580 from I-680 to I-205 is undergoing significant improvements. Among the projects along this segment is the construction of high-occupancy vehicle lanes in each direction, a westbound auxiliary lane between Fallon Road and Tassajara Road, the reconstruction of several interchanges, the construction of additional truck climbing lanes for the eastward ascent to the Altamont Pass, and plans to preserve the right-of-way to accommodate a future transit corridor in the median of the freeway.^[9]

Exit list

Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage. The numbers reset at county lines; the start and end postmiles in each county are given in the county column. Although Interstate 580 is a west-east highway, postmiles are assigned south to north.

County	Location	Postmile [1][7][10] [Note 1]	#[11]	Destinations	Notes
Marin MRN 4.78-0.00	San Rafael	4.78	1A	US 101 north – San Rafael, Santa Rosa	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		4.50	1B	Francisco Bouleard to US 101 south	Signed as exit 1 eastbound
		3.09	2A	Sir Francis Drake Boulevard	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		2.48	2B	Francisco Boulevard – San Quentin	Signed as exit 2 eastbound
		Richmond – San Rafael Bridge over San Francisco Bay
Contra Costa CC 7.79-0.00	Richmond
		6.01	7A	Western Drive – Point Molate	No eastbound exit
		R5.43	7B	Richmond Parkway to I-80 east – Port Richmond, Sacramento	Signed as exit 7 eastbound
		R4.64	8	Canal Boulevard, Garrard Boulevard
		R3.60	9	Cutting Boulevard, Harbour Way	Signed as exits 9A (Cutting Boulevard, Harbour Way south) and 9B (Harbour Way north) westbound
		R2.89	10A	Marina Bay Parkway, South 23rd Street
		R2.09	10B	Regatta Boulevard
		1.21	11	Bayview Avenue
		0.24	12	Central Avenue
Alameda ALA 48.04-0.00	Albany		13	Buchanan Street – Albany	Signed as exit 13A westbound
		47.35 R7.3080		I-80 east (Eastshore Freeway) – Vallejo, Sacramento	West end of I-80 overlap; westbound exit and eastbound entrance
	Berkeley	6.6280	12	Gilman Street
		5.8280	11	University Avenue – Berkeley
		4.5880	10	SR 13 south (Ashby Avenue) / Shellmound Street
	Emeryville	3.7980	9	Powell Street – Emeryville
	Oakland	2.8080 46.46	19A	I-80 west (Bay Bridge) – San Francisco	East end of I-80 overlap; no exit number eastbound
		46.46		I-880 south (Nimitz Freeway) / West Grand Avenue – Alameda, San Jose	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		46.01	19A	MacArthur Boulevard	Eastbound left exit and westbound entrance
		46.01	19B	SR 123 north (San Pablo Avenue) , West Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		45.15	19C	SR 24 east (Grove-Shafter Freeway) – Berkeley, Walnut Creek	Signed as exit 19B eastbound
		45.15	19D	I-980 west (Grove-Shafter Freeway) to I-880 – Downtown Oakland	Signed as exit 19C eastbound
		44.51	20	Webster Street, Broadway-Auto Row	Eastbound exit only
		44.28	21A	Harrison Street, Oakland Avenue, MacArthur Boulevard
		43.75	21B	Grand Avenue
		43.48	22A	Lake Shore Avenue	Eastbound exit is via exit 21B
		42.67-R42.18	22B	Park Boulevard, 14th Avenue	Signed as exit 22 eastbound
		R41.43	23	Fruitvale Avenue, Coolidge Avenue	Signed as exit 24 westbound
		R40.65	24	35th Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R40.08	25A	High Street	Westbound exit is via exit 25
		R39.91	25B	MacArthur Boulevard	Signed as exit 25 westbound
		R39.24	26A	SR 13 north (Warren Freeway) – Berkeley	Eastbound exit is via exit 26
		R38.92	26B	Seminary Avenue	Signed as exit 26 eastbound
		R38.31	27A	Edwards Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R37.80	27B	Keller Avenue, Mountain Boulevard	Signed as exit 27 westbound
		R36.34	29A	Golf Links Road, 98th Avenue	Signed as exit 29 westbound
	Oakland, San Leandro	R35.71	29B	106th Avenue, Foothill Boulevard	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R35.11	30	MacArthur Boulevard, Foothill Boulevard	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance;
		R34.48	31A	Dutton Avenue, Estudillo Avenue – Downtown San Leandro	Signed as exit 31 westbound
	San Leandro	R33.94	31B	Grand Avenue – Downtown San Leandro	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R33.43	32A	Benedict Drive	Westbound exit only
		R32.84-R32.72	32B	150th Avenue, Fairmont Drive	Signed as exit 32 eastbound
		R31.71	33	164th Avenue, Miramar Avenue, Carolyn Street
	Castro Valley	R30.81	34	I-238 north to I-880	Left exit westbound
		R30.81	34	SR 238 south – Hayward	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		30.35	35	Strobridge Avenue
		R29.37	36A	Redwood Road – Castro Valley	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		R28.75	36B	Center Street, Crow Canyon Road – Castro Valley	Signed as exit 37 westbound
		R26.23	39	Eden Canyon Road, Palomares Road
	Pleasanton, Dublin	R21.43	44A	San Ramon Road, Foothill Road – Dublin
		20.73	44B	I-680 – Sacramento, San Jose
		19.86	45	Hopyard Road, Dougherty Road
		18.82	46	Hacienda Drive, Dublin Boulevard
		17.95	47	Santa Rita Road, Tassajara Road
	Dublin	16.70	48	El Charro Road, Fallon Road
	Livermore	14.98	50	SR 84 (Airway Boulevard) / Collier Canyon Road
		13.22	52A	Portola Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance
		12.53	52B	North Livermore Avenue – Downtown Livermore	Signed as exit 52 westbound
		10.69	54	First Street, Springtown Boulevard	Former SR 84
		9.68	55	Vasco Road – Brentwood
		R8.27	57	North Greenville Road, Altamont Pass Road, Laughlin Road
		R5.98	59	North Flynn Road
		R1.48	63	Grant Line Road – Byron
		0.42	65	I-205 east – Tracy, Stockton	Eastbound left exit and westbound entrance
San Joaquin SJ 15.31-0.00		13.54	67	Mountain House Parkway, Patterson Pass Road
	Tracy	8.15	72	Corral Hollow Road
		4.34	76	SR 132 east – Modesto	Westbound exit is via exit 76
		4.02	76	Chrisman Road – Tracy	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance
		0.00	78	I-5 south – Fresno, Los Angeles	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Interstate 580 (California)

v • d • e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 80 California: 180 (former) • 280 • 380 • 480 (former) • 580 • 680 • 780 • 880 • 880 (former) • 980 — Nevada: 580 (unsigned) — Wyoming: 180 — Nebraska: 180 • 280 (former) • 480 • 580 (former) • 680 — Iowa: 280 • 380 • 480 • 680 — Illinois: 180 • 280 — Ohio: 280 • 480 • 680 — Pennsylvania: 180 • 180 (former) • 280 (former) • 380 • 480 (former) • 680 (former) — New Jersey: 280 • 680 (former)