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Interstate 680 (I-680) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in
Northern California Northern California (colloquially known as NorCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. Spanning the state's northernmost 48 counties, its main population centers incl ...
. It curves around the eastern cities of the San Francisco Bay Area from San Jose to I-80 at Fairfield, bypassing cities along the eastern shore of
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
such as
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
and
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...
while serving others more inland such as
Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...
and Concord. Built in the 1920s and designated in 1955, I-680 begins at a junction with I-280 and US Route 101 (US 101/
Bayshore Freeway The Bayshore Freeway is a part of U.S. Route 101 (US 101) in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It runs along the west shore of the San Francisco Bay, connecting San Jose with San Francisco. Within the city of San Fran ...
) and heads northeast and north-northwest through the northeast part of San Jose. After passing State Route 237 (SR 237) in Milpitas and SR 262 in Fremont, I-680 abruptly turns northeast (where a connection to a SR 238 freeway was planned) and enters the hills and valleys of the California Coast Ranges. The highway crosses over Mission Pass, also known as the Sunol Grade, and descends into the Sunol Valley, where it meets SR 84 near Sunol. From Sunol, I-680 again heads north-northwesterly through valleys, including the
San Ramon Valley The San Ramon Valley is a valley and region in Contra Costa County and Alameda County, in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in northern California. Geography The valley is between the Oakland Hills on the west, and the Diablo Rang ...
, along the Calaveras Fault. Junctions along this portion include I-580 in Dublin and SR 24 in Walnut Creek. Beyond the latter interchange, a three-way directional junction with the SR 24 freeway west to
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
, I-680 heads north into Pleasant Hill, where SR 242 splits and I-680 again heads northwesterly. After the junction with SR 4 in Martinez, the highway crosses the Carquinez Strait on the Benicia–Martinez Bridge, immediately meeting the east end of I-780 on the
Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...
end. The remainder of I-680, from Benicia to I-80 at Fairfield, lies between a hilly area to the west representing the southwestern tip of the Vaca Mountains, and a marshy area (along the
Suisun Bay Suisun Bay ( ; Wintun for "where the west wind blows") is a shallow tidal estuary (a northeastern extension of the San Francisco Bay) in Northern California. It lies at the confluence of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin River, forming the ent ...
and
Cordelia Slough Cordelia Slough is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 10, 2011 tidal watercourse which discharges to the Suisun Slough, which in turn empties into Grizzly Bay in Sol ...
) to the east. Google Maps street maps and USGS topographic maps, accessed February 2008 vi
ACME Mapper
/ref>


Route description

The route begins at US 101 at the
Joe Colla Interchange The Joe Colla Interchange is a highway interchange in San Jose, California, United States, connecting Interstate 280 (I-280), I-680, and U.S. Route 101 (US 101). It is named after Joe Colla, a former councilman of San Jose, who also ...
, where it acts as a continuation of I-280 eastward. From here, it begins its journey northward through San Jose, where it meets the
Capitol Expressway There are 21 routes assigned to the "G" zone of the California Route Marker Program, which designates county routes in California. The "G" zone includes county highways in Monterey, San Benito, San Luis Obispo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz cou ...
, signed as County Route G21 (CR G21), about northeast of I-680's southern terminus. The next exit northbound is SR 130, which is also known as Alum Rock Avenue, unsigned at the intersection. As it continues through Santa Clara County, it meets numerous local roads before interchanging with the Montague Expressway ( CR G4). Here, it exits San Jose and enters the city of Milpitas, where it meets SR 237, often referred to as Calaveras Boulevard. After one more intersection, I-680 exits Santa Clara County and enters Alameda County. In Alameda County, the freeway begins in the city of Fremont, where it intersects SR 262, which was unsigned until 2000. Continuing through the city, it meets Mission Boulevard at SR 238 before exiting the city. Prior to 2002, two
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s existed here, remains of an abandoned freeway project replacing Mission Boulevard. Amid Alameda County, it abruptly turns northeastward and enters a hilly area, where it crosses over Mission Pass, and descends into the Sunol Valley, where it runs concurrently with SR 84 for a short while. Afterward, it enters
Pleasanton Pleasanton may refer to: Places * Pleasanton, California * Pleasanton, Iowa * Pleasanton, Kansas * Pleasanton, Nebraska * Pleasanton, New Mexico * Pleasanton, Ohio * Pleasanton, Texas * Pleasanton Township, Michigan Other * Pleasanton High School ...
and intersects with I-580, currently California's longest auxiliary Interstate providing access to
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
and the Central Valley. It enters Dublin for a short segment before exiting the county and entering
Contra Costa County ) of the San Francisco Bay , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1 = State , subdivision_name1 = California , subdivision_type2 ...
. Upon entering Contra Costa County, the route meets numerous local roads through the cities of San Ramon, Danville, and
Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...
before entering Walnut Creek, where it meets SR 24. I-680 then enters Pleasant Hill for a short time and Concord, where it meets SR 242. Upon exiting Concord, it meets SR 4. It then enters Martinez, where it follows the Benicia–Martinez Bridge over the Carquinez Strait, on which the route crosses the county line and enters
Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...
in Solano County. On the Benicia–Martinez Bridge, I-680 northbound is tolled, while I-680 southbound is free. In Benicia, I-680 interchanges with I-780. It then exits the city and, after passing through rural areas, routing parallel to the San Joaquin Delta, it enters Fairfield, where it meets I-80, which is the route's northern terminus. In the wake of the September 11 attacks, a
US flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...
was painted on a large piece of concrete on a hill along the
Sunol Grade Mission Pass, also known as the Sunol Grade and formerly as Stockton Pass, is a gap in the hills of the Mount Hamilton Range in Alameda County, California. It lies to the northeast of Mission San José, in Fremont, and leads from there into the S ...
. It stayed there for nine years before the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) painted it over, as the mural had been painted on without authorization. Due to this action being taken shortly before July 4, 2010, and also due to the mural's fame, this was met with controversy. The flag was replaced shortly later. Of the above names, only the name ''Sinclair Freeway'' for its designated portion usually appears on maps, and the other portions on maps are always unnamed, referred to as simply ''I-680''. I-680 is part of the
California Freeway and Expressway System The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It encompasses both State highways and federal highways in California. It is defined by Article 2 (commenci ...
and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). I-680 is eligible to be included in the State Scenic Highway System from the Santa Clara–Alameda county line to SR 24 in Walnut Creek but is only a scenic route from Mission Boulevard to the Contra Costa county line and from the Alameda county line to SR 24; this means that those portions are substantial sections of highway passing through a "memorable landscape" with no "visual intrusions", where the potential designation has gained popular favor with the community.


Tolls


Express lanes

There are two sections of High-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes along I-680. The southbound HOT lane along I-680 between SR 84 in Alameda County and through the
Sunol Grade Mission Pass, also known as the Sunol Grade and formerly as Stockton Pass, is a gap in the hills of the Mount Hamilton Range in Alameda County, California. It lies to the northeast of Mission San José, in Fremont, and leads from there into the S ...
to SR 237 in Santa Clara County opened on September 20, 2010. The northbound HOT lane along the same stretch opened in October 2020 but initially as high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes; tolling was halted on this segment of I-680 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and will be resumed in fall 2022. HOT lanes then opened in October 2017 in both directions on the portion from slightly south of Alcosta Boulevard near the Alameda– Contra Costa line to Rudgear Road in Walnut Creek. On August 20, 2021, the southbound HOT lanes were extended north from Rudgear Road to Marina Vista Boulevard in Martinez. , 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. Carpools, motorcycles, and clean air vehicles with two or more people are not charged. For clean-air vehicles with a solo driver, 50 percent of the posted toll is charged. All tolls are collected using an open road tolling system, and therefore there are no toll booths to receive cash. Each vehicle 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 (one, two, three, or more). Solo drivers may also use the FasTrak standard tag without the switch. Drivers without any FasTrak tag will be assessed a toll violation regardless of whether they qualified for free.


Benicia–Martinez Bridge

Tolls are collected only for northbound traffic on the Benicia–Martinez Bridge. An open road tolling system is also used on the bridge, and they can be paid by either a FasTrak transponder or license plate tolling. The high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane leading to the bridge requires a car with three or more people.


History


Historic routing

By the 1920s, a road ran south from Martinez through Walnut Creek, Dublin, Danville, and Sunol to Mission San Jose, where it met Legislative Route 5 ( Mission Boulevard, signed over the years as US 48, US 101E, SR 9, and now SR 238). It was not yet
paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway alo ...
south of Dublin, where it crossed Mission Pass between the Sunol Valley and the
San Francisco Bay basin San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
. Rand McNally & Company
San Francisco and Vicinity
1927
The majority of this roadway was added to the state highway system in 1933 as portions of several routes: Route 108 from Mission San Jose to Sunol, Route 107 from Sunol to Walnut Creek, and Route 75 from Walnut Creek to Pleasant Hill. At Martinez, the Martinez–Benicia Ferry took automobiles across the Carquinez Strait to
Benicia Benicia ( , ) is a waterside city in Solano County, California, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. It served as the capital of California for nearly thirteen months from 1853 to 1854. The population was 26,997 at the ...
, where Route 7, one of the original state highways from the 1910
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, led north and northeast past Fairfield toward Sacramento and Oregon.Howe & Peters
Engineers' Report to California State Automobile Association Covering the Work of the California Highway Commission for the Period 1911-1920
pp. 11-16
The portion north from Benicia to Fairfield became part of Route 74 in 1935, when Route 7 was realigned to the more direct American Canyon route that is now I-80. None of the aforementioned roads were given state sign route numbers in 1934, when that system was laid out, but, by 1937, they had been numbered SR 21. This route began at the intersection of Warm Springs Boulevard and Brown Road in Warm Springs, where Route 5 and Route 69 ( SR 17) split, followed Route 5 along Mission Boulevard to Mission San Jose (this part later became a
concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...
with SR 9), and then continued to US 40 (Route 7) at Cordelia. The routing was very close to the present I-680, following such roads as Pleasanton Sunol Road, San Ramon Valley Boulevard, Danville Boulevard, Main Street in Walnut Creek, Contra Costa Boulevard, and Pacheco Boulevard. The portion of SR 21 between Pleasant Hill and Martinez was finally added to the state highway system in 1949, as a branch of Route 75. The ferry approach in Benicia became a spur of Route 74 in 1947, and, in 1953, it was transferred to Route 75. The same law, effective immediately as an urgency measure, authorized the Department of Public Works to acquire the ferry system, then operated by the city of Martinez, which was planning to shut it down. Ownership was transferred just after midnight on October 6, 1953.


History as an Interstate

The Bureau of Public Roads approved urban routes of the Interstate Highway System on September 15, 1955, including a loop around the
San Francisco Bay San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the big cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland. San Francisco Bay drains water from a ...
, soon numbered I-280 and I-680. The east half (I-680) began at the interchange of US 101 north of Downtown San Jose and followed the
Nimitz Freeway Nimitz may refer to: People * Chester W. Nimitz (1885–1966), fleet admiral of the United States Navy * Chester Nimitz Jr. (1915–2002), an American officer and submarine commander * Jack Nimitz (1930–2009), American musician Named for Fl ...
(SR 17/Route 69, now
I-880 Interstate 880 may refer to: *Interstate 880 (California), an auxiliary Interstate Highway that travels from San Jose to Oakland, California ** Interstate 880 (California 1964–1981), a former auxiliary Interstate Highway in Sacramento, Calif ...
) to the split at Warm Springs (the present location of SR 262), SR 21 to Benicia, and Route 74 (no sign route number) to I-80 in Vallejo. California Department of Transportation
State Highway Routes: Selected Information
1994 with 1995 revisions, pp. 342, 348
The first piece of I-680 freeway built, other than the preexisting Nimitz Freeway, was in the late 1950s, along the SR 24 overlap between North Main Street in Walnut Creek and Monument Boulevard in Pleasant Hill. A southerly extension, bypassing downtown Walnut Creek to South Main Street, opened on March 22, 1960, connecting with the SR 24 freeway to
Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...
. In the next decade, the freeway was completed from Vallejo south to SR 238 at Mission San Jose, and the roadway north from Benicia to Fairfield, which became the only remaining piece of SR 21, was also upgraded to freeway standards.
H.M. Gousha Company The H.M. Gousha Company was one of the "Big Three" major producers of road maps and atlases in the United States during the 25 years following World War II, making maps for free distribution by oil companies and auto clubs. Following the end of t ...
, San Francisco, 1968
In the 1964 state highway renumbering, the legislative designation was changed to Route 680. SR 17 was officially moved to former Route 5 between San Jose and Warm Springs, which had not had a signed designation since the Nimitz Freeway (then I-680) was constructed,: "Route 17 is from: (a) Route 1 near Santa Cruz to Route 101 near Story Road. (b) Route 101 near San Jose to Route 680 near Warm Springs. (c) Route 680 near Warm Springs to Route 580 in Oakland..." "Route 680 is from Route 280 in San Jose to Route 80 in Vallejo passing near Warm Springs, Mission San Jose, Scotts Corners and Sunol, and via Walnut Creek and Benicia." but this was instead marked as part of SR 238 (which replaced SR 9 north of Mission San Jose), and SR 17 remained signed along the Nimitz Freeway. This was very short-lived, as the Bureau of Public Roads approved a shift in the south end of I-680 in October 1964. The legislature changed the routes in 1965, swapping Route 17 and Route 680 south of Warm Springs and creating a new SR 262 on the short roadway at Warm Springs where they had overlapped to switch sides. However, until I-680 was completed in the early-to-mid 1970s, it remained signed along the Nimitz Freeway, and the old road between San Jose and Warm Springs continued to be marked as SR 238. One more change was made to the routing of I-680: in July 1973, the remainder of SR 21, from Benicia to Fairfield, was added to the Interstate Highway System. This became the new alignment of I-680, and the old route to Vallejo became I-780. The corresponding changes were made by the state legislature in 1976.: "Route 680 is from: (a) Route 101 near San Jose to Route 780 at Benicia passing near Warm Springs, Mission San Jose, Scotts Corners, and Sunol, and via Walnut Creek. (b) Route 780 at Benicia to Route 80 near Cordelia." "Route 780 is from Route 680 at Benicia to Route 80 in Vallejo."


Exit list


See also

* *


References


External links


Bay Area FasTrak
– includes toll information on the I-680 Express Lanes, the Benicia–Martinez Bridge, and the other Bay Area toll facilities
Caltrans: Route 680 highway conditions
{{Good article 80-6
680 __NOTOC__ Year 680 ( DCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 680 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...
80-6 California 6 California Interstate 80-6 Interstate 80-6 Interstate 80-6 Interstate 80-6
680 __NOTOC__ Year 680 ( DCLXXX) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 680 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era ...