Interstate 580 West - Contra Costa County


Interstate 580/John Knox Freeway west
The next exit along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west is Exit 12, Central Avenue. At the gore point, Interstate 580 leaves Alameda County/City of Albany and enters Contra Costa County/city of Richmond. Incorporated on August 7, 1905, Richmond is home to 99,216 people as of the 2000 Census. Photo taken 05/08/05.
The next three exits along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west are Exit 11, Bayview Avenue/51st Street; Exit 10B, Regatta Boulevard; and Exit 10A, Marina Bay Parkway and South 23rd Street. A mileage sign is posted on the overpass for Central Avenue. Photo taken 11/26/04.
Use Exit 11 to Bayview Avenue, Meade Street, and 51st Street. Along this stretch, Interstate 580 closely follows the Union Pacific Railroad. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 11, Bayview Avenue/51st Street. A locomotive lumbers along the parallel Union Pacific Railroad. Photo taken 11/26/04.
Passing under the Bayview Avenue overpass (which is at a higher than normal height due to the proximity of the railroad), the next exit along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west is Exit 10B, Regatta Boulevard. Photo taken 05/08/05.
The right lane becomes exit only for Exit 10B, Regatta Boulevard. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 10B, Regatta Boulevard. The left three lanes continue west toward Richmond Marina, Point Richmond, and the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. Photo taken 05/08/05.
The next four exits along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west are Exit 10A, Marina Bay Parkway and South 23rd Street; Exit 9B, Harbour Way north; Exit 9A, Harbour Way south; and Exit 8, Canal Boulevard/Garrard Boulevard. Photo taken 05/08/05.
The right lane along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west becomes exit only for Exit 10A, Marina Bay Parkway and South 23rd Street. Use this exit to the Richmond Marina, boat ramp, and Vincent Park. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 10A, Marina Bay Parkway and South 23rd Street. The next interchange connects to Harbour Way via Exit 9B to northbound and Exit 9A to southbound via a connection on Cutting Boulevard. Photo taken 05/08/05.
The next four exits along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west are Exit 9B, Harbour Way north; Exit 9A, Cutting Boulevard to Harbour Way south; Exit 8, Canal Boulevard/Garrard Boulevard; and Exit 7B, California 93/Richmond Parkway. Photo taken 05/08/05.
The right lane becomes exit only for Exit 9B, Harbour Way north. Use Harbour Way north to downtown Richmond -- the city center is located east of Harbour Way on MacDonald Avenue, and a post office and train station are located nearby. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 9B, Harbour Way north to downtown Richmond. The second exit is Exit 9A, Cutting Boulevard to Harbour Way south. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Immediately thereafter, westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 9A, Cutting Boulevard to Harbour Way south. Trucks are restricted on Cutting Boulevard. Photo taken 11/26/04.
The next three exits along Interstate 580/Knox Freeway west are Exit 8, Canal Boulevard/Garrard Boulevard; Exit 7B, California 93/Richmond Parkway; and Exit 7A, Western Drive to Point Molate. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Use Richmond Parkway (future California 93) north to Interstate 80 east to Vallejo at Exit 7B. Richmond Parkway is a relatively new highway (opened to traffic in 1996) that follows the proposed California 93 alignment from Interstate 580 north through western Richmond, unincorporated North Richmond, and the Hilltop Mall area of the city of Richmond before connecting with Interstate 80 at Exit 20. The highway is four to six lanes, divided, with 16 traffic signals and 6 grade-separated interchanges along its route. Truck traffic is very common along Richmond Parkway due to its connections with the Interstate Highway System at both ends, but that has resulted in increased truck and rail pollution along the parkway route.1 Photo taken 05/08/05.
The on-ramp from Cutting Boulevard becomes an exit only lane for Exit 8, Canal Boulevard/Garrard Boulevard. Photo taken 11/26/04.
Westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 8, Canal Boulevard/Garrard Boulevard. To the south of the freeway is a road tunnel that connects to the old ferry terminal via Garrard Boulevard. Known as the Point Richmond Tunnel, the Municipal Tunnel, or the Ferry Point Tunnel, it was built in 1899 as a rail tunnel and passes under Miller-Knox Regional Park. Tunnel bonds from the 1920s brought construction of the vehicular tunnel along Garrard Boulevard (which changes to Dornan Drive at the south end of the tunnel). At the end of the tunnel is the Golden State Railroad Museum, the U.S.S. Red Oak Victory, Keller Beach, Ferry Point (and old ferry launching point), fishing pier, old brickyards, and plenty of shoreline. An adjacent railroad passes alongside the tunnel, and the railroad features an operational, upside-down "wigwag" grade crossing signals. This used to be the western terminus of the Santa Fe Railroad before taking a ferry the rest of the way to San Francisco. Photo taken 05/08/05.
Immediately thereafter, westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 7B, California 93/Richmond Parkway. The Richmond Parkway connects Garrard Boulevard with Hilltop Mall, almost entirely bypassing the city of San Pablo and remaining mostly in the city of Richmond (with a brief stint in unincorporated North Richmond). To the south, Photo taken 05/08/05.
This reassurance shield for Interstate 580 west is posted after the Richmond Parkway (California 93) interchange. Photo taken 05/25/06.
The next exit along westbound Interstate 580 is Exit 7A, Western Drive and Point Molate. All lanes will stop ahead to pay toll to cross over the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. The toll has increased to $5 as of 2013. It was $3 as depicted in the 2005 picture. Due to construction of a new approach to the toll booths, signs in this area have changed somewhat since 2006, but construction remained incomplete as of July 2013. Photos taken 05/08/05 and 05/25/06.
Carpools with three or more passengers are allowed to cross the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge for free; use the left lane during the commuting hours for this privilege. During non-commute hours, all vehicles must pay the toll. Photo taken 05/25/06.
Westbound Interstate 580/Knox Freeway reaches Exit 7A, Western Drive and Point Molate; all through traffic should prepare to pay the toll for the bridge. Photo taken 05/25/06.
The toll plaza is located after Exit 7A. There are no exits until the San Quentin off-ramp (Exit 2B), some five miles west of here. Before Interstate 580 was routed through here in the 1980s, this bridge was part of California 17. Photos taken 05/25/06.
Interstate 580/Richmond-San Rafael Bridge west
To cross the bridge, all westbound lanes consolidate to two lanes. A large shoulder on the right side allows for vehicle breakdowns and other problems. Ascending onto the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the westbound lanes use the top level. Eastbound lanes use the bottom level of the bridge. Photos taken 07/02/13 and 05/25/06.
Interstate 580 crosses over San Pablo Bay/San Francisco Bay via the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge (John F. McCarthy Memorial Bridge), a double-deck, four-lane freeway bridge. Each deck carries a single direction; each deck has two lanes plus one emergency lane on each deck. Opening on September 1, 1956, the bridge features two cantilever steel truss segments at its two high points. The bridge spans 5.5 miles, with 4.04 miles over open water. The bridge was originally signed as part of California 17 but became part of an extended Interstate 580 in 1984. (California 17 was truncated to San Jose, with its major north-south segment along the Nimitz Freeway transferred to Interstate 880 and the Richmond/San Rafael section transferred to an extended Interstate 580, which was shown on some maps as Interstate 180 briefly. This action gave Marin County its first direct connection to the Interstate Highway System.) Photos taken 07/02/13, 05/25/06, and 05/08/05.
Traversing the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the westbound lanes take the upper deck. To the north is San Pablo Bay, the northern branch of San Francisco Bay. The emergency lane is located to the right, offering a shoulder that is not found on the much more heavily traveled Interstate 80 Bay Bridge. Note the curves, rises, and valleys along the freeway as it crosses the open water. Since this is such a long route over the bay, the modifications allow for a bit of diversity in the driving experience. A major seismic retrofit project was completed on September 22, 2005. For more on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, see Caltrans District 4 - Toll Bridge Directory. Photos taken 07/02/13, 05/25/06, and 05/08/05.
Around the middle of the bay and after passing through the first of two cantilever truss segments, Interstate 580 leaves Contra Costa County and enters Marin County. Towering Mount Tamalpais dominates the view looking west toward Marin County. Look for San Quentin, a California state prison, on the edge of the bay as the bridge approaches the vicinity of San Rafael. Photos taken 07/02/13, 05/25/06, and 05/08/05.

Sources:

  1. Diesel fallout cited as hazard along busy route: Residents near parkway face health dangers, report says by Erin Hallissy, San Francisco Chronicle, Monday, July 18, 2005

Continue west on I-580 to San Rafael  Return to the Interstate 580 Guide  Return to the California Gateway

Page Updated July 21, 2013.

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