Interstate 580

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Interstate 580
I-580 - Altamont Pass, California

An array of wind turbines generate electricity within the vicinity of I-580 across Altamont Pass. - 06/28/2006

Interstate 580 overall connects U.S. 101 (Redwood Highway) in San Rafael with I-5 south of Tracy. The northern leg of the route crosses San Francisco Bay from San Quentin to Richmond on the tolled Richmond-San Rafael Bridge. A 3.7 mile overlap takes the route south alongside I-80 from Albany to Oakland, with the cardinal directions for the respective routes opposite from one another. Interstate 580 turns east onto the MacArthur Freeway from I-80 at the Bay Bridge on the Oakland side southeast to Hayward, then east through Pleasanton, Dublin toward Tracy and Modesto.

Interstate 580 California Guides

East

West

The I-580 designation was extended northwest to San Rafael via the Richmond San Rafael Bridge in 1983 when Caltrans asked FHWA and AASHTO to add new routes to the Interstate system in the Bay Area. The Richmond San Rafael Bridge spanning northern reaches of San Francisco Bay was previously California 17, and initially proposed as Interstate 180. The I-580 request was coupled with separate applications to designate California 17 from San Jose to Oakland as Interstate 880 and change the freeway portion of California 238 near Hayward to Interstate 238. These requests are approved, resulting in FAP routes 238, 580, and 880.

State Assembly Bill 2741 in 1984 made the changes to 17 and 580 in the state highway system. The following year, the resignage of the routes affected by AB 2741, including I-238 and I-880, was completed. The 580 extension was likely signed as Temporary Interstate 580 on the non-freeway segment, which dated back to the 1950s. In 1990, the freeway section of Interstate 580 was completed through Richmond and classified as FAI 580. The older freeway section remains FAP 580.

The section of I-580 between Oakland and Tracy generally follows old U.S. 50 (Lincoln Highway). Originally incorporated as part of Interstate 5W in 1964, I-580 is a fast route from northbound Interstate 5 in the Central Valley to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is also a heavily used commuter route, with several sections featuring eight or more lanes, including the section passing through the thinly populated Altamont Pass.

The following list provides the opening dates for the Interstate 580 freeway, courtesy of C.J. Moon:

Interstate 580 scenes
Signs for Interstate 580 at the diamond interchange (Exit 39) with Eden Canyon Road.
3 photos

Signs for Interstate 580 at the diamond interchange (Exit 39) with Eden Canyon Road.

12/27/01

Interstate 580 passes under several sets of major power transmission lines between Interstate 205 and Altamont Pass. These tall structures carry 500kV lines in a double circuit north toward Tracy.
2 photos

Interstate 580 passes under several sets of major power transmission lines between Interstate 205 and Altamont Pass. These tall structures carry 500kV lines in a double circuit north toward Tracy.

06/28/06

Patterson Pass Road east at Interstate 580 (Exit 67) southwest of Tracy in the Central Valley.

Patterson Pass Road east at Interstate 580 (Exit 67) southwest of Tracy in the Central Valley.

07/06/04

Photo Credits:

Connect with:

Interstate 5Interstate 5
Interstate 80Interstate 80
Interstate 205Interstate 205
Interstate 238Interstate 238
Interstate 680Interstate 680
Interstate 880Interstate 880
U.S. 101U.S. 101

Page Updated Saturday July 24, 2010.