Interstate 880

Interstate 880

Interstate 880 is a 47 mile regional bypass interstate highway in the Bay Area metropolitan area of Northern California. For most of that distance, it runs parallel to the southeastern shore of San Francisco Bay, where it is called the Nimitz Freeway, after World War II admiral Chester Nimitz, who retired to the Bay Area.

Its northern terminus is in Oakland where it meets Interstate 80, at the eastern approach of the Bay Bridge. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 280 in San Jose. In between, it passes through San Leandro, San Lorenzo, Hayward, Union City, Newark, Fremont and Milpitas.

A large section in Oakland, known as the Cyprus Structure, collapsed during the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, causing the greatest loss of life of said earthquake. Rebuilding that section of the freeway was delayed for over a decade, due to environmental impact concerns, the feeling that the freeway divided the neighborhood, and design considerations.

South of Interstate 280 in San Jose, Interstate 880 loses its interstate designation and becomes California Highway 17. Until it was given interstate status in January 1986, however, the present-day Interstate 880 was designated as California Highway 17 along its entire route, from Santa Cruz to Oakland.