Eastshore Freeway

Infobox road
marker_

state=CA
highway_name=Eastshore Freeway
maint=Caltrans


length_mi=
length_round=
length_ref=
established=
direction_a=South
terminus_a=Jct|state=CA|I|880 near Oakland
junction=
direction_b=North
terminus_b=Jct|state=CA|I|80 at Carquinez Bridge near Vallejo
system=San Francisco Bay Area freewaysThe Eastshore Freeway is a segment of Interstates 80 and 580 along the northeast shoreline of San Francisco Bay in northern California. It begins at the Carquinez Bridge and ends at the MacArthur Maze interchange just east of the eastern end of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge. Interstate 580 joins the Eastshore Freeway at an interchange in Albany. The section of the Eastshore Freeway between the MacArthur Maze and the 580 split in Albany is interesting in that I-80 and I-580 share the road but are going in opposite directions -- the northbound direction is signed as I-80 east and I-580 west; while conversely the southbound direction is signed as I-80 west and I-580 east.

The Eastshore Freeway was created in the mid 1950s (construction commenced in 1954) by re-engineering the Eastshore Highway, a thoroughfare constructed in the 1930s (1937-39) as one of the approaches to the Bay Bridge and designated as part of U.S. Route 40. The Eastshore Highway began in El Cerrito at an intersection with San Pablo Avenue at Hill Street between Potrero Avenue and Cutting Blvd., adjacent to the location today of the El Cerrito Del Norte station of BART. It was not a freeway in that access was at intersections with adjoining streets rather than by ramps. The Eastshore Highway ran from El Cerrito to the Bay Bridge along the same routing as today's freeway, although it was much narrower. A causeway was constructed for this purpose by filling in part of the mudflats along the bayshore. In the stretch from University to Ashby Avenues in Berkeley, this resulted in the creation of an artificial lagoon which was developed by the WPA in the late 1930s as "Aquatic Park".

The frontage road along the east side of today's Eastshore Freeway between Buchanan Street in Albany and Hearst Avenue in Berkeley retains the name "Eastshore Highway". The terminal segment of the old Eastshore Highway in El Cerrito between Potrero and San Pablo Avenues is today named "Eastshore Blvd.".

Originally, the name "Eastshore Freeway" applied first to what is today known as the "Nimitz Freeway" (I-880) upon its construction in 1947. This freeway was dedicated in 1958 to Admiral Nimitz, and so for a few years in the 1950s prior, the Eastshore Freeway actually stretched the entire length of the east shore of San Francisco Bay. (Oddly, Caltrans still shows this in its current highway name book referenced below - see p.16, p.28 of PDF) Until the late 1960s, the Eastshore Freeway was also designated as part of State Highway 17 together with the Nimitz.

The Eastshore Freeway was officially re-named the "Kent D. Pursel Memorial Freeway" in 1968, but it is hardly recognized as such by the public. The maps of the California State Automobile Association (CSAA), for instance, still show the name "Eastshore Freeway".

The interchange where I-580 joins I-80 is still known locally as the "Hoffman Split", an allusion to the time before the I-580 freeway replaced Hoffman Blvd. as the highway leading to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The same interchange today also serves the Buchanan Street exit in Albany.

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. Where a direction (westbound/eastbound) is given below, it refers exclusively to the direction of I-80 (not I-580 which goes in the opposite direction); e.g. "eastbound" refers to northbound direction on the freeway."

References

*cite book|url=http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/tsip/hseb/products/Named_Freeways.pdf|title=2007 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California|publisher=Caltrans|accessdate=2007-03-28