Interstate 880 (California)

Interstate 880 (I-880) is a north–south auxiliary Interstate Highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It runs from I-280 and State Route 17 (SR 17) in San Jose to I-80 and I-580 in Oakland, running parallel to the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay. For most of its route, I-880 is officially known as the Nimitz Freeway, after World War II fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who retired to the Bay Area. The northernmost five miles (8.0 km) is also commonly referred to as the Cypress Freeway, after the former alignment of the freeway and its subsequent replacement.

Route description

The entirety of I-880 is defined in section 625, subdivision (a) of the California Streets and Highways Code as Route 880, and that the highway is from "Route 280 to Route 80 in Oakland".

In addition, section 325 subdivision (b), last amended by the California State Legislature in 2001, permits the state to relinquish control of the former right-of-way of Route 880 located along the now-demolished Cypress Street Viaduct between 8th and 32nd streets to the City of Oakland. The entirety of I-880 is considered a "non-chargeable" Interstate Highway (built without federal Interstate completion funds per 23 U.S.C. § 103(c)(4)(A)) according to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)'s route logs.

The southern terminus of I-880 is at its interchange with I-280 and SR 17 in San Jose. From there, it heads roughly northeast past San Jose International Airport to US Route 101 (US 101). The Nimitz Freeway then turns northwest, running parallel to the southeastern shore of San Francisco Bay, connecting the cities of Milpitas, Fremont, Newark, Union City, Hayward, and San Leandro before reaching Oakland.