Interstate 505 (I-505) is a north–south

auxiliary Interstate Highway Auxiliary Interstate Highways (also called three-digit Interstate Highways) are a supplemental subset of the freeways within the Interstate Highway System of the United States. Auxiliary routes are generally classified as spur routes, which conn ...

in the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

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 is a

spur A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse or other animal to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids (commands) and to ba ...

auxiliary route of

I-5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Californi ...

that runs from near Dunnigan south to

I-80 Interstate 80 (I-80) is an east–west transcontinental freeway that crosses the United States from downtown San Francisco, California, to Teaneck, New Jersey, in the New York metropolitan area. The highway was designated in 1956 as one o ...

Vacaville Vacaville is a city located in Solano County in Northern California. Sitting approximately from Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is within the Sacramento Valley. As of the 2020 census, Vacaville had a population of 102,386, making it th ...

. I-505 is primarily a rural Interstate, but travels through Vacaville and the city of Winters. The highway is the primary route connecting the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

and the northern

, bypassing

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and its attendant city traffic. Thus, it is a major route for travelers heading directly from the San Francisco Bay Area to the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Thou ...

Power lines Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is d ...

connecting Path 15 to Path 66 follow the highway for a while, until one heads

northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

and the other

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each s ...

Route description

The southern terminus of I-505 is at I-80 next to the

Nut Tree Airport Nut Tree Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (3.7 km) northeast of the central business district of Vacaville, in Solano County, California, United States. The airport is near the junction of Interstate ...

in the

Nut Tree Nut Tree is a mixed-use development in Vacaville, California near the intersection of Interstate 80 and Interstate 505. The original Nut Tree History The original Nut Tree opened in 1921 on the Lincoln Highway (old U.S. Route 40). It was creat ...

area in

. From there, it travels north about through rural areas near the western edge of the

before reaching Winters. I-505 then skirts the eastern

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. Similarly, corporate li ...

of Winters, intersecting with State Route 128—the only exit in Winters. After leaving that city, the Interstate then proceeds north through rural areas again for about until it reaches its northern terminus with I-5 near Dunnigan. For its entire length, I-505 is a four-lane freeway (two lanes in each direction) with a maximum speed limit of , which is typical for rural Interstates in California. I-505 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 (comme ...

, 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 The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is a division of the United States Department of Transportation that specializes in highway transportation. The agency's major activities are grouped into two programs, the Federal-aid Highway Program ...

History

What is now I-505 was originally conceived as part of a loop Interstate with a directional suffix, I-5W. However, I-5W and most of the other Interstates around the country with directional suffixes were eventually renumbered or eliminated, except

I-35E Interstate 35E may refer to: *Interstate 35E (Texas), a long branch route serving Dallas, Texas *Interstate 35E (Minnesota), a long branch route serving St. Paul, Minnesota See also * Interstate 35W (disambiguation) Interstate 35W may refer to: * ...

and

I-35W Interstate 35W may refer to: *Interstate 35W (Texas), an Interstate highway serving Fort Worth, Texas, and its suburbs *Interstate 35W (Minnesota), a Interstate highway serving Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its suburbs **The I-35W Mississippi River ...

in Texas and Minnesota.

I-69 Interstate 69 (I-69) is an Interstate Highway in the United States currently consisting of 10 unconnected segments with an original continuous segment from Indianapolis, Indiana, northeast to the Canadian border in Port Huron, Michigan, at ...

segments

I-69W Interstate 69W (I-69W) is a relatively short north–south Interstate Highway running through South Texas in the United States. The freeway begins northeast of the middle of World Trade International Bridge in Laredo and ends at I-35. In ...

I-69C Interstate 69C (I-69C) is a north–south freeway running through South Texas. Once complete, the freeway (with connections to Mexican Federal Highway 97) will begin at I-2/ U.S. Highway 83 (US 83) in Pharr and head northward b ...

, and I-69E in southern Texas have since been designated as well. The former route of I-5W now corresponds to I-580 from I-5 south of Tracy 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 ...

from Oakland to Vacaville, and I-505 from Vacaville to I-5 near Dunnigan. The northernmost section of I-505, between SR 16 in Madison and I-5 near Dunnigan, opened in August 1977.

Exit list

References

External links

California @ AARoads.com - I-505Caltrans: Route 505 highway conditions
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