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However, such grandiose plans for Interstate 480 never came to pass. The map above shows the many alternatives considered in 1966. A freeway revolt that started in the late 1950s/early 1960s caused most freeway construction within the city to grind to a halt, and the northern end of Interstate 280 was shifted toward the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge. Interstate 480 was downgraded to California 480 because the Embarcadero Freeway was truncated at the Sansome Street/Battery Street couplet near Broadway in 1965. However, the majority of the freeway was never built due to opposition from the San Francisco City Council and many residents of the "City by the Bay."
One of several double-decked freeways in the San Francisco Bay Area (others included parts of U.S. 101/Central Freeway and the old Interstate 880/Cypress Viaduct that collapsed in 1989; today, only Interstate 280 remains double decked for a short stretch northeast of U.S. 101), the upper deck carried southbound California 480, and the lower deck carried northbound traffic. Featured in a segment of the acclaimed 1983 movie Koyaanisqatsi, the Embarcadero Freeway was seen as an enigma, exemplifying the concept of "world gone mad." The segment featured a complete tour of the northbound freeway from the Bay Bridge north to Broadway at a high film speed. You can experience the ride along northbound California 480 in a series of video captures at Embarcadero Freeway (Mark Furqueron).
The California 480 freeway obstructed views of the bay from the city, and its two levels dominated the skyline of the city as seen from the bay and Yerba Buena Island. People complained about the look of the structure as it changed the look of the freeway. Although it served a key function in moving traffic through downtown, it came at a price of cutting off the city from its bay, and it also left the waterfront largely ignored. The San Francisco city council worked to get the freeway condemned, with an action in 1985 helping to move in that direction. The freeway did not close until 1989, when the Loma Prieta Earthquake made the structure unsafe for use.
Although some think that the Embarcadero Freeway collapsed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, in actuality California 480 suffered relatively minor damage. However, the cost to repair and retrofit the structure would be enormous. In addition, the 1985 vote of the city council had indicated that the stub freeway should be removed to restore and redevelop the waterfront. So, within two years, California 480 was removed. The state took action in 1991 by tearing down the freeway and beginning the process to remove the structure. As a result of redevelopment efforts along the former freeway corridor, a tree-lined boulevard, light rail, and walkway reside today where the freeway used to be, offering a much more pleasant bayside view.
Until 2005, the Fremont Street/Folsom Street exit from westbound Interstate 80 was the only surviving section of the Interstate 480 (California 480) freeway; the former ramp connecting eastbound Interstate 80 to northbound Interstate 480 is blocked from use. A reconstruction project that will replace the western approach to the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge will eventually result in replacement of all ramps, including the few structures left of the Embarcadero Freeway. In fact, Interstate 480 itself basically consisted of a series of ramps, including ramps to First Street/Fremont Street, Mission Street/Main Street, and Battery Street/Broadway along northbound. Onramps joined southbound Interstate 480 from Sansome Street/Broadway and Mission Street/Beale Street.
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Page Updated September 2, 2007.
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