State Route 85 (California)

State Route 85 (California). State Route 85 (SR 85) is a north–south state highway in Santa Clara County, forming a vital freeway link through the western and southern portions of the San Jose metropolitan area. Known as the West Valley Freeway along its northern segment and the South Bay Freeway to the south, it connects major employment and residential centers in Silicon Valley. The route serves as a critical bypass for Interstate 280 and U.S. Route 101, facilitating commuter and commercial traffic between Cupertino, Saratoga, Campbell, and Los Gatos.

Route description

From its southern terminus at a directional interchange with U.S. Route 101 in San Jose, SR 85 heads northwest through the Santa Clara Valley. It passes near the Levi's Stadium and the related redevelopment of the former Great America theme park area. The freeway runs parallel to the Los Gatos Creek for a portion of its journey, skirting the Vasona Lake County Park and the Los Gatos Creek Trail. North of Campbell, it intersects the important State Route 17, a primary route over the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. Continuing north, SR 85 passes through Saratoga before reaching its northern terminus at a complex stack interchange with Interstate 280 in Cupertino, near the headquarters of Apple Inc.. The route is officially designated as the West Valley Freeway and South Bay Freeway by the California State Legislature.

History

The corridor that became SR 85 was originally planned in the 1960s as part of the extensive California Freeway and Expressway System. Construction of the freeway occurred in multiple segments over several decades, with the final link opening to traffic in 1994. The route's designation was part of a broader effort to alleviate congestion on the existing Interstate 280 and U.S. Route 101 as the Silicon Valley technology industry boomed. In 2000, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) converted the route's HOV lanes into the region's first High-Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, branded as the Express Lanes program, in partnership with the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority. The route has been the site of significant technological testing, including early deployments of the FasTrak electronic toll collection system.

Major intersections

The entire route is in Santa Clara County. {| class="wikitable" |- ! Location ! mi ! km ! Destinations ! Notes |- | San Jose | 0.00 | 0.00 | – Los Angeles, San Francisco | Southern terminus; interchange |- | San Jose | 2.49 | 4.01 | Stevens Creek Boulevard | Interchange |- | Campbell | 7.38 | 11.88 | – Santa Cruz, Los Gatos | Interchange |- | Saratoga | 11.56 | 18.60 | Saratoga Avenue | Interchange |- | Cupertino | 15.23 | 24.51 | Homestead Road | Interchange |- | Cupertino | 24.32 | 39.14 | – San Francisco, San Jose | Northern terminus; stack interchange |- | colspan="6" | 1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi |}

See also

* Interstate 280 (California) * State Route 87 (California) * State Route 237 (California) * Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority * Express Lanes (California)

References

Category:State highways in California Category:Transportation in Santa Clara County, California Category:Transportation in Silicon Valley