California State Route 85
West Valley Freeway | ||||
Route information | ||||
Maintained by Caltrans | ||||
Length | 24.2 mi[1] (38.9 km) | |||
Existed | July 1, 1964[2]–present | |||
History | SR 9 in 1934, SR 85 in 1964 | |||
Restrictions | No trucks over 4.5 tons from US 101 (South) to Stevens Creek Boulevard[3] | |||
Major junctions | ||||
South end | US 101 in San Jose | |||
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North end | US 101 / Shoreline Boulevard in Mountain View | |||
Location | ||||
Country | United States | |||
State | California | |||
Counties | Santa Clara | |||
Highway system | ||||
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State Route 85 (SR 85) is a
The highway is officially known as the West Valley Freeway along its entire length. A significant portion of the route is also signed as the Norman Y. Mineta Highway, after former San Jose Mayor, U.S. Congressman, Secretary of Commerce, and Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta.[4] Its northernmost segment between I-280 and US 101, paralleling the Stevens Creek, also is known as the Stevens Creek Freeway.
SR 85 was built in two phases: the first, comprising the northern half, runs 5.7 miles from Stevens Creek Boulevard near Interstate 280 to its northern terminus at US 101 in Mountain View, was built in the 1960s. The second half, running 18.5 miles from US 101 in southern San Jose to Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, remained unbuilt until the 1980s and was opened in segments between 1991 and 1994. Prior to the construction of the freeway, the route was signed along Mathilda Avenue and De Anza Boulevard from US 101 near SR 237 southwards until its junction with SR 9 in Saratoga, which then served as its southern terminus until it was decommissioned the same day the freeway opened.
Route description
SR 85 begins at an interchange with
SR 85 has several points of interest. The northern terminus is located near Moffett Field, with its huge Hangar 1. Google's main campus and Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus are located near the northern end of the freeway. Near the interchange with Interstate 280, SR 85 runs close to the headquarters of Apple Inc. and next to De Anza College as well as the same-named West Valley College, both community colleges in the area. Near interchange with SR 17, SR 85 runs next to the headquarters of Netflix in Los Gatos. VTA light rail runs in the median of SR 85 between the 85-87 interchange and its southern terminus as well as below it in Mountain View.
An infamous misconception for some commuters and businesses in San Jose, Campbell, and Los Gatos is that SR 85 (instead of I-280) serves as the northern terminus of SR 17 and the southern terminus of
This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System[6] and is part of the National Highway System,[7] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[8] In 2014, SR 85 had an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 58,000 at Bernal Road, and 129,500 at SR 87, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.[9]
Truck ban
The cities along the proposed route also pushed to prohibit trucks over 4.5 short tons (4.1 t; 4.0 long tons) from using SR 85 (similar to the I-580 truck ban in Oakland and SR 2 truck ban in Angeles National Forest).[3] Thus, SR 85 became one of the handfuls of California freeways that do not allow such tractor semis. The restriction is legally in effect from SR 85's southern terminus at U.S. Route 101 to Interstate 280 (exit 19B),[3] although current signage permits southbound trucks to travel further to Stevens Creek Boulevard (exit 18). This ban has been a prime factor in reducing the level of noise that the freeway would otherwise produce as most large trucks are unable to use the freeway.
HOV and Express lanes
HOV or carpool lanes run along the entire length of SR 85. They require at least two people in a car on weekdays from 5-9 am and 3-7 pm, or a car with an "Access OK" sticker.[10][needs update]
As of August 2022[update], the HOT lanes' hours of operation is weekdays between 5:00 am and 8:00 pm. 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. 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 either a FasTrak Flex or CAV (Clean Air Vehicle) transponder, with its switch set to indicate the number of the vehicle's occupants (1, 2, or 3 or more). Solo drivers may also use the FasTrak standard tag without the switch.[13] Drivers without any FasTrak tag will be assessed a toll violation regardless of whether they qualified for free.[14]
History
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2007) |
Preserving the right-of-way
Land was set aside for the entire freeway in the 1950s, with maps first showing the proposed freeway in 1957. At the time,
In the interim, parts of the unused open space were leased for use without permanent structures, including a large
Historic and Original Alignments
Location | Fremont–Santa Cruz |
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Existed | 1934–1963 north of SR 17 |
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State Route 9 originally extended from its current terminus to Mission San Jose along present-day SR 85, SR 237, I-680, SR 262, and SR 238. When the San Jose-Oakland US 101E designation was dropped in 1935,[16] Route 5 between Mission San Jose (where the new SR 21 turned northeast) and Hayward did not retain a signed designation. Later SR 9 was extended north along SR 17 (which had replaced SR 13) from Milpitas to Warm Springs, SR 21 to Mission San Jose, and the independent section of former US 101E - all part of Route 5 - to US 50 (also Route 5, which included a branch to Oakland) near Hayward. Except for a short realignment in the mid-1950s onto Route 69 (now I-880 and SR 262) between Milpitas and Warm Springs, this alignment remained until the 1964 renumbering when SR 9 would eventually be truncated to its existing terminus in Los Gatos.
From 1963 to 1965, SR 85 was a 10-mile highway that entirely on surface streets from US 101 near SR 237 to I-280 along Mathilda Ave and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road (a portion of which was later renamed De Anza Blvd) while the current freeway was being planned. The northern segment was rerouted in 1965 once the northern segment of the freeway opened. The southern segment was deleted in 1994 on the same day the remainder of the current freeway opened.
Funding and planning
The town of Los Gatos and city of Saratoga added to the complexity and cost of the planning and implementation; to avoid excessive noise, they insisted that the freeway be built below grade (at an eventual additional cost of US$60 million), that it have only three lanes in each direction: the leftmost lane being a
The project was the first in the state for which county residents voted to tax themselves to build a state highway. Because state funds were scarce and congestion on other freeways and on surrounding surface streets was tremendous, a slight majority of voters (56%) voted for the tax in 1984. At the time, there was considerable controversy over whether funds would be better spent on mass transit and whether a freeway through so many residential areas would destroy the quality of life. The total US$785 million cost of the freeway was mostly funded by the special tax on county residents, along with matching state and federal funds. The project proved successful enough that, since then, many other locales have used local taxes to build state projects. It was also so effective as a solution to traffic problems that, several years after it was built, a poll by the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group revealed that nearly 80% of voters claimed that they had voted for the tax.[17]
Construction of the freeway
The northern section, from Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino to US 101 at Mountain View, was completed and opened on 8 December 1965
The remaining ramps at the SR 85/87 interchange (from 85 south to 87 north and 87 south to 85 north) were completed in 2003. Before these ramps were constructed, travelers had to use Santa Teresa Boulevard (which 87 turned into at its southern terminus) to join 85 north; similarly, travelers on 85 south had to exit at Santa Teresa Boulevard in order to access 87. At the southern SR 85/101 interchange in South San Jose, carpool-to-carpool ramps and the south 101 to north 85 connector ramp were opened in 2004. The $125 million reconstruction of the northern Highway 85/101 interchange in Mountain View, with the original ramps (opened in 1965) replaced and new carpool-to-carpool and other ramps added, was completed in 2006. The projects completed in the 2000s had a total cost of about $237 million.
When the SR 17/85 interchange was built in the early 1990s, Caltrans built a tunnel that was to carry traffic from north 17 to north 85, similar to the tunnel that carries traffic from south 17 to south 85. But due to insufficient funds, the second tunnel was sealed at both ends by the dirt embankment, with a loop ramp provided instead.
Unfortunately, large sections of the freeway had to be repainted prior to opening, due to graffiti. The segment from Santa Teresa Boulevard to US 101 in South San Jose was further repaved in 2011 (Northbound) and 2018 (Southbound).
Like most California urban freeways at the time it was built, SR 85 originally used a mix of nonreflective and reflective raised pavement markers (i.e., Botts dots and Stimsonite reflectors) to mark lanes. After California phased out Botts' dots (leaving Stimsonite reflectors as the only kind of raised pavement marker) and transitioned to wider lane stripes, the freeway was repainted to the new standard in late 2019 (similar to I-15 in Cajon Pass).
Aftermath of the freeway
In October 1994, the completed freeway between
The overall commute for people from south San Jose through Campbell into Mountain View and other business areas of
As with any freeway, ambient noise in surrounding neighborhoods increased, from a steadily annoying whisper of sound day and night to a dull roar that muted backyard conversations. Property values, however, did not diminish; it is possible that the improved commute and access to the vast California freeway network improved the desirability of these neighborhoods. The noise level, however, has continued to be an issue with some residents, particularly in Saratoga. Caltrans has floated several options from repaving with asphalt, to grinding down the current concrete surface of the highway. An experimental length of the freeway from Cox Avenue to De Anza Boulevard was ground down in 2003. This smoothed out much of the top layer of the freeway removing most of the rain grooves that had been cut in the concrete when the highway was first built. The result did lower the ambient sound levels along that stretch of the freeway, and subsequently, the entire concrete surfaced section of the freeway from Almaden Expressway to Stevens Creek Boulevard was microgrooved in a follow-up project in 2005.
Other unique features and events
Besides the funding breakthrough, SR 85 set new standards in two additional areas:
SR 85 was the first freeway in
In January 2009, several metering lights in the southern portion of SR 85 were reactivated. These included the SR 87-to-SR 85 interchange, the Almaden Expressway on-ramps, and the Blossom Hill Road on-ramps.[21]
From 1994 to 1996, the speed limit on the freeway was 55 MPH. It was one of the first urban freeways to receive a 65 MPH speed limit in 1996.
The freeway was constructed with a 46-to-50-foot (14–15 m) wide center median. Initially, no barrier of any kind was installed in the median because, at the time, Caltrans regulations stated that any median wider than 45 feet (14 m) did not require a median barrier unless there was a history of head-on collisions. However, within the first year, one person died, and in a one-year period from 1996 to 1997, six more were killed in head-on collisions by cars crossing the median at high speeds (at the time the highway was seen as a race track to certain drivers). [citation needed] Public outcry convinced Caltrans to install the standard post-and-metal-beam barrier the entire length of the freeway and also to change their regulations so that median barriers are now required on all high-volume freeways with medians of less than 75 feet (23 m). Accidents and injuries dropped by roughly one-third in the first year after the barrier was installed.
In 1998, California Highway Patrol officer Scott Greenly was struck by a car and killed while issuing a ticket on the shoulder of Route 85; thereafter the portion between Quito Road and Prospect Road in the City of Saratoga was named the CHP Officer Scott M. Greenly Memorial Freeway. On September 15, 2008, the remainder of the freeway, north of Prospect Road as well as south of Quito Road, was named in honor of former San Jose mayor, congressman, and United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta.[22]
Exit list
The entire route is in Santa Clara County.
Location | mi [23][24][1] | km | Exit [23] | Destinations | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Los Angeles | Access to US 101 north via exit 1B; south end of SR 85; US 101 north exit 377A | ||||
♦ | Los Angeles | HOV access only; southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
0.18 | 0.29 | 1B | Bernal Road to San Francisco | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
0.79 | 1.27 | 1C | Great Oaks Boulevard | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
1.97 | 3.17 | 2 | Cottle Road | ||
3.93 | 6.32 | 4 | CR G10 ) | ||
5.22 | 8.40 | 5A | Downtown San Jose | Southbound exit and northbound entrance added in 2003. Signed as exit 5B southbound; SR 87 exits 1A-B | |
5B | Santa Teresa Boulevard | Signed as exit 5A southbound | |||
— | SR 85 Express Lanes (southern expansion) | South end of express lanes-under construction; scheduled to open in 2026[11] | |||
6.14 | 9.88 | 6 | CR G8 ) | ||
8.11 | 13.05 | 8 | Camden Avenue | ||
9.28 | 14.93 | 9 | Union Avenue | ||
Los Gatos | 10.23 | 16.46 | 10 | Bascom Avenue, Los Gatos Boulevard | Northbound entrance cannot access SR 17; southbound exit cannot be accessed from SR 17 |
10.50 | 16.90 | 11A | SR 17 – Santa Cruz, San Jose | Signed as exit 11 northbound; SR 17 exit 22 | |
11.00 | 17.70 | 11B | Winchester Boulevard | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
Saratoga | 13.68 | 22.02 | 14 | Saratoga Avenue | |
San Jose | 15.87 | 25.54 | 16 | De Anza Boulevard | Former SR 85 |
Cupertino | 17.67 | 28.44 | 18 | Stevens Creek Boulevard | Southbound trucks over 9,000 lbs. must exit, northbound entrance can access I-280; was South end of freeway from 1965-1994 |
18.45 | 29.69 | 19A | San Francisco | Signed as exit 19 northbound; I-280 exits 12A-B | |
18.86 | 30.35 | 19B | Homestead Road | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
Sunnyvale–Los Altos line | 19.86 | 31.96 | 20 | Fremont Avenue | |
Mountain View | 21.75 | 35.00 | 22A | SR 82 south (El Camino Real) – Sunnyvale | Signed as exit 22B southbound |
22B | SR 82 north (El Camino Real) – Mountain View | No southbound exit | |||
22.16 | 35.66 | 22C | SR 237 east to US 101 south (Bayshore Freeway) – Oakland, San Jose | Northbound exit and southbound entrance; SR 237 west exit 1B | |
22A | To SR 82 north (SR 237 west) – Mountain View | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |||
22.63 | 36.42 | 23 | Evelyn Avenue | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
— | SR 85 Express Lanes (southern expansion) | North end of express lanes-under construction; scheduled to open in 2026[11] | |||
— | SR 85 Express Lanes | South end of Express Lanes | |||
22.63 | 36.42 | 23 | CR G6 ) | Southbound exit and northbound entrance | |
23.44 | 37.72 | 24A | Moffett Boulevard | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |
23.87 | 38.42 | — | San Francisco | Express Lanes access only; northbound exit and southbound entrance; nouth end of SR 85 Express Lanes | |
24B | San Francisco | No access to US 101 south; north end of SR 85; US 101 south exit 398B | |||
24C | Shoreline Boulevard | Northbound exit and southbound entrance | |||
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |
Popular culture
In the 2021 Netflix film The Mitchells vs. the Machines, the route is revealed to be heavily patrolled by PAL Max robots.
See also
- California Roads portal
- San Francisco Bay Area portal
References
- ^ a b California Department of Transportation (July 2007). "Log of Bridges on State Highways". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation.
- ^ California Highways: State Route 85 [self-published source?]
- ^ a b c "Special Route Restriction History - Route 85". Caltrans. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
- ^ California Department of Transportation; California State Transportation Agency (January 2021). 2020 Named Freeways, Highways, Structures and Other Appurtenances in California (PDF). Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. pp. 52, 363. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 10, 2022.
- ^ Bay Area Metro Street Atlas (Map). Thomas Brothers. 2008.
- ^ "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
- ^ Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: San Jose, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
- ^ Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
- ^ California Department of Transportation (2014). "All Traffic Volumes on CSHS". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Retrieved July 20, 2016.
- ^ "South Bay Carpool Lanes". 511 Rideshare Carpool Lanes. 511 Rideshare. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
- ^ a b c Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. "State Route 85 and US 101 Express Lanes Project (Phase 4)". Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
- ^ "Cupertino City Council Authorizes Litigation Against Caltrans and VTA". May 13, 2015.
- ^ "101/SR-85 Santa Clara County Express Lanes". www.bayareafastrak.org. CalTrans. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
- ^ "Pay Tolls & Violations". www.bayareafastrak.org. CalTrans. Retrieved August 14, 2022.
If you use Bay Area Express Lanes, you must use a FasTrak toll tag, otherwise you will receive a violation notice including toll evasion penalties
- ^ "Historic Preservation". SCCGOV. 20 July 2015. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ^ Cooper, Casey. "US 101 Guide". GBCNET. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d SR-85 Transportation Corridor, Route 101 to Route 280, Santa Clara County: Environmental Impact Statement. 1987. pp. 17–18.
- ^ Richards, Gary (7 December 2015). "Roadshow: Tuesday marks 50th anniversary of Highway 85 to Mountain View". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 7 December 2015.
- ^ Richards, Gary (9 December 2015). "Roadshow: 'Turn on the lights before someone dies' at risky San Jose intersection". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 9 December 2015.
- ^ a b Scott, Tom (October 19, 2014). "Roadshow: Highway 85's opening 20 years ago was a magical day". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved 13 June 2016.
- ^ CalTrans press release (2008-12-22). "CALTRANS TO ACTIVATE RAMP METERS ON ROUTES 85 AND 87" (PDF). Retrieved 2009-01-26.
- ^ DeBolt, Daniel (September 12, 2008). "Mineta, Lieber at City Hall". Mountain View Voice. Retrieved 2008-09-15.
- ^ California Numbered Exit Uniform System. California Department of Transportation. September 4, 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2021.
- ^ California Department of Transportation. "State Truck Route List". Sacramento: California Department of Transportation. Archived from the original (XLS file) on June 30, 2015. Retrieved June 30, 2015.
External links
- Caltrans: State Route 85 highway conditions
- Caltrans Traffic Conditions Map
- California Highway Patrol Traffic Incidents
- Bay Area FasTrak – includes toll information on the SR 85 Express Lanes and the other Bay Area toll facilities
- Route 85 at CAhighways.org
- Eric Buchanan's State Route 85 Photos Index page
- California @ AARoads.com - State Route 85