The south end of SR 185 is defined to be at State Route 92 in Hayward. However, the part in Hayward south of A Street was relinquished in 2010. Mission Boulevard from A Street south to SR 92 is part of the one-way "Hayward Loop", where traffic travels one-way northbound on Foothill Boulevard, and one-way southbound on A Street and Mission Boulevard. It is unclear whether this loop is also part of SR 185 or not. SR 185 heads northwest on Mission Boulevard and East 14th Street, crossing under Interstate 238, and meeting the east end of State Route 112 in downtown San Leandro. The north end of SR 185 lies just northwest of High Street in Oakland at 42nd Avenue, where the short State Route 77 heads southwest to Interstate 880. SR 77 was originally signed as SR 185 from SR 185's terminus to I-880; as of August 2008, Caltrans had erected SR 77 shields in place of SR 185 shields as reassurance markers and freeway entrance signage at SR 77's two onramps. SR 77 was originally a freeway; however, as of 2011, the interchange with I-880 had been converted to consist of intersections, as part of the I-880 High Street Seismic Retrofit Project, therefore SR 77 can no longer be considered a freeway. The 0.35 mi State Route 77 is part of a planned 13.8 mi route, which would have run from I-880 northeast past SR 185 to Interstate 580 near High Street. There, it would have turned northwest on I-580 toward Park Boulevard, splitting there to head northeast and north to State Route 24 near Lafayette. Only the part east of unbuilt State Route 93 west of Moraga is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System; this does not include the constructed part, which was built as a short freeway. SR 185 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.
History
SR 185 traverses a once-deadly stretch of what was then called East 14th Street in East Oakland. For many years it was a scene of prostitution, drug dealings, and murders, causing negative synonymity in Oakland. Thus in 1996 the city council changed the name to International Boulevard, including the portion maintained by the city between Lake Merritt and 42nd Avenue, and the portion under SR 185's designation. The bad reputation continued until California Highway Patrol stepped in to curtail the crime. Note that despite its status as a major arterial, the roadway's reputation generally does not apply in San Leandro: the route retains the name East 14th Street from the Oakland-San Leandro border toward its southern terminus. In 2012, the California legislature relinquished control of SR 185 in Downtown Hayward between SR 92/SR 238 and A Street to local control. In March 2013, this segment became part of a one way circulation known as the "Hayward Loop", designed to improve traffic flow between SR 92, SR 185 and SR 238.
