California State Route 85
State Route 85, known as the West Valley Freeway along its entire length, is a state highway which connects the cities of Mountain View and southern San Jose in the U.S. State of California. The route provides an alternate to U.S. Route 101, bypassing downtown San Jose and instead passing through the foothill cities of Los Gatos, Saratoga, and Cupertino, roughly paralleling the Santa Cruz Mountains up to its interchange with I-280. The highway intersects with major highways such as I-280, SR 17, and SR 87.
SR 85 was built in two phases: the first, comprising the northern half, runs 5.7 miles from Stevens Creek Boulevard near Interstate 280 to its northern terminus at US 101 in Mountain View, was built in the 1960s. The second half, running 18.5 miles from US 101 in southern San Jose to Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino, remained unbuilt until the 1980s and was opened in segments between 1991 and 1994. Prior to the construction of the freeway, the route was signed along Mathilda Avenue and De Anza Boulevard from US 101 near SR 237 southwards until its junction with SR 9 in Saratoga, which then served as its southern terminus until it was decommissioned the same day the freeway opened.
Route description
SR 85 begins at an interchange with US 101 and heads due west through San Jose. Near the Westfield Oakridge Mall in San Jose, SR 85 has an interchange with the southern terminus of the SR 87 freeway, which provides easy access to the San Jose International Airport. SR 85 continues west into Los Gatos, where it intersects the SR 17 freeway. SR 85 briefly enters Campbell and reenters San Jose before crossing into Saratoga. It turns northwest and briefly reenters San Jose before entering Cupertino and passing right next to De Anza College. SR 85 then interchanges with I-280 before briefly entering Sunnyvale and Los Altos and then entering Mountain View, where it first intersects SR 237 before terminating at US 101 near the Ames Research Center. HOV lanes run along the entire length of SR 85, requiring at least two people in a car on weekdays from 5-9 AM and 3-7 PM, or a car with an "Access OK" sticker.Despite mainly passing through suburban Silicon Valley cities, SR 85 does have several points of interest. The northern terminus is located near Moffett Field, with its huge Hangar 1. Google's main campus and Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus are located near the northern end of the freeway. Near the interchange with Interstate 280, SR 85 runs close to the headquarters of Apple Inc. and next to De Anza College as well as the same-named West Valley College, both community colleges in the area. Near interchange with SR 17, SR 85 runs next to the headquarters of Netflix in Los Gatos. VTA light rail runs in the median of SR 85 between the 85-87 interchange and its southern terminus.
An infamous misconception for some commuters and businesses in San Jose, Campbell, and Los Gatos is that SR 85 serves as the northern terminus of SR 17 and the southern terminus of I-880. Although not planned, it is possible to truncate SR 17 further to SR 85 due to the segment meeting interstate standards as well as I-880 still terminating at its parent interstate, I-80, in Oakland.
This route is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and 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. The freeway, along its entire length, is named the West Valley Freeway. A significant portion of the route is also signed as the Norman Y. Mineta Highway, after the former Mayor of San Jose, Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Transportation. In 2014, SR 85 had an annual average daily traffic of 58,000 at Bernal Road, and 129,500 at SR 87, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway. SR 85 has carpool lanes for its entire length.
Truck ban
The cities along the proposed route also pushed to prohibit trucks over from using SR 85. Thus, SR 85 became one of the handfuls of California freeways that do not allow such tractor semis. The restriction is legally in effect from SR 85's southern terminus at U.S. Route 101 to Interstate 280, although current signage permits southbound trucks to travel further to Stevens Creek Boulevard. This ban has been a prime factor in reducing the level of noise that the freeway would otherwise produce as most large trucks are unable to use the freeway.History
Preserving the right-of-way
Land was set aside for the entire freeway in the 1950s, with maps first showing the proposed freeway in 1957. At the time, Santa Clara County still largely a rural area, consisting of orchards, and so the right-of-way touched very few existing structures. During Governor Jerry Brown's tenure in the 1970s, the building of highways was de-emphasized in favor of mass transit, and some building was allowed on the right-of-way with the expectation that the freeway would never be built. Local government officials, however, fought to preserve the right-of-way and succeeded in doing so. As a result, when congestion on other freeways—I-280, US 101, and SR 17—intersecting this path became overwhelming, it was still possible for this freeway to be built with little demolition required.In the interim, parts of the unused open space were leased for use without permanent structures, including a large tree nursery, a driving range, and among other things, overflow parking for De Anza College.
Historic and Original Alignments
State Route 9 originally extended from its current terminus to Mission San Jose along present-day SR 85, SR 237, I-680, SR 262, and SR 238. When the San Jose-Oakland US 101E designation was dropped in the mid-1930s, Route 5 between Mission San Jose and Hayward did not retain a signed designation. Later SR 9 was extended north along SR 17 from Milpitas to Warm Springs, SR 21 to Mission San Jose, and the independent section of former US 101E - all part of Route 5 - to US 50 near Hayward. Except for a short realignment in the mid-1950s onto Route 69 between Milpitas and Warm Springs, this alignment remained until the 1964 renumbering when SR 9 would eventually be truncated to its existing terminus in Los Gatos.From 1963 to 1965, SR 85 was a 10-mile highway that entirely on surface streets from US 101 near SR 237 to I-280 along Mathilda Ave and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road while the current freeway was being planned. The northern segment was rerouted in 1965 once the northern segment of the freeway opened. The southern segment was deleted in 1994 on the same day the remainder of the current freeway opened.
Funding and planning
The town of Los Gatos and city of Saratoga added to the complexity and cost of the planning and implementation; to avoid excessive noise, they insisted that the freeway be built below grade, that it have only three lanes in each direction: the leftmost lane being a HOV lane, and two lanes carrying standard traffic. In addition, to prevent what they felt would be excessive additional traffic on their surface streets, they lobbied heavily to prevent having any freeway entrances or exits in their cities. Full interchanges were originally planned at Winchester Boulevard, Quito Road, Saratoga Avenue, and Prospect Road; the final compromise placed only a half interchange at Winchester and completely did away with the Quito and Prospect interchanges. As a result, backups at entrances to the freeway near these cities are tremendous during morning rush hour, and Los Gatos and Campbell residents who want to take 85 southward must go two or three miles out of their way to find a ramp onto the freeway.The project was the first in the state for which county residents voted to tax themselves to build a state highway. Because state funds were scarce and congestion on other freeways and on surrounding surface streets was tremendous, a slight majority of voters voted for the tax in 1984. At the time, there was considerable controversy over whether funds would be better spent on mass transit and whether a freeway through so many residential areas would destroy the quality of life. The total US$785 million cost of the freeway was mostly funded by the special tax on county residents, along with matching state and federal funds. The project proved successful enough that, since then, many other locales have used local taxes to build state projects. It was also so effective as a solution to traffic problems that, several years after it was built, a poll by the Silicon Valley Manufacturing Group revealed that nearly 80% of voters claimed that they had voted for the tax.
Construction of the freeway
The northern section, from Stevens Creek Boulevard in Cupertino to US 101 at Mountain View, was completed and opened on 8 December 1965 as four lanes. The northern section's carpool lanes were completed in 1990 and 1998. In the southern section, partial fill for the interchanges at Blossom Hill Road and SR 87 was placed in 1986. Construction of the first structures broke ground on April 20, 1988. During the Loma Prieta Earthquake in 1989, these segments, along with the other segments under construction, were spared major damage despite being approximately 10 miles north of the epicenter. SR 85 opened between Santa Teresa Boulevard and Cottle Road in 1991 with only 2 lanes in each direction, along with the light rail line in the median of SR 85. The extensions to Almaden Expressway and Great Oaks Boulevard were completed in 1992. With the completion of the southern leg of SR 87 in 1993, the 85/87 interchange opened to traffic that year. The HOV lanes were painted on this segment in April 1994. The remaining segments, from US 101 to Great Oaks and from Almaden Expressway to I-280, opened in August 1994 and October 1994 respectively. The projects completed in the 1990s had a total cost of about $785 million.The remaining ramps at the SR 85/87 interchange were completed in 2003. At the southern SR 85/101 interchange in South San Jose, carpool-to-carpool ramps and the south 101 to north 85 connector ramp were opened in 2004. The $125 million reconstruction of the northern Highway 85/101 interchange in Mountain View, with the original ramps replaced and new carpool-to-carpool and other ramps added, was completed in 2006. The projects completed in the 2000s had a total cost of about $237 million. There is still one missing connector in the SR 85 system left to the future—the flyover ramp from 85 south to 101 north at the southern interchange. Minor modifications were made at the Cottle Road Interchange in 2014.
When the SR 17/85 interchange was built in the early 1990s, Caltrans built a tunnel that was to carry traffic from north 17 to north 85, similar to the tunnel that carries traffic from south 17 to south 85. But due to insufficient funds, the second tunnel was sealed at both ends by the dirt embankment, with a loop ramp provided instead.
Unfortunately, large sections of the freeway had to be repainted prior to opening, due to graffiti. The segment from Santa Teresa Boulevard to US 101 in South San Jose was further repaved in 2011 and 2018.
Like most California urban freeways at the time it was built, SR 85 originally used a mix of nonreflective and reflective raised pavement markers to mark lanes. After California phased out Botts dots and transitioned to wider lane stripes, the freeway was repainted to the new standard in late 2019.
Aftermath of the freeway
In October 1994, the completed freeway between Almaden Expressway and I-280 opened with a single day on which only pedestrians and bicyclists were allowed to travel its length. The evening before opening day several cities along the route, including Saratoga and Campbell, held street fair events on the freeway featuring fine food, wine, and games. Limo service was offered linking the different cities' fairs, giving locals their first glimpse of the new freeway. The next morning 85 was officially opened to traffic. The city of Campbell had planted a large display of pansies spelling out the city's name on the sloped side of the freeway bed; this caused a traffic jam as motorists slowed to read the message. The flowers were removed after the first day. The route has had a speed limit of 65 MPH since 1996.The overall commute for people from south San Jose through Campbell into Mountain View and other business areas of Silicon Valley improved by roughly half an hour over previous longer routes on already crowded freeways or over miles of surface streets. Major surface streets that had once been unnavigable during many hours of the day suddenly became—and remained—usable. For example, eastern Blossom Hill Road had a typical load of 23,000 cars a day before 85 opened; as of 2004, a typical day's load was a mere 11,000 cars.
As with any freeway, ambient noise in surrounding neighborhoods increased, from a steadily annoying whisper of sound day and night to a dull roar that muted backyard conversations. Property values, however, did not diminish; it is possible that the improved commute and access to the vast California freeway network improved the desirability of these neighborhoods. The noise level, however, has continued to be an issue with some residents, particularly in Saratoga. Caltrans has floated several options from repaving with asphalt, to grinding down the current concrete surface of the highway. An experimental length of the freeway from Cox Avenue to De Anza Boulevard was ground down in 2003. This smoothed out much of the top layer of the freeway removing most of the rain grooves that had been cut in the concrete when the highway was first built. The result did lower the ambient sound levels along that stretch of the freeway, and subsequently, the entire concrete surfaced section of the freeway from Almaden Expressway to Stevens Creek Boulevard was microgrooved in a follow-up project in 2005.
Other unique features and events
Besides the funding breakthrough, SR 85 set new standards in two additional areas: metering lights and median safety barriers.SR 85 was the first freeway in California to open with metering lights at every onramp, including interchanges with SR 17 and US 101. When the freeway opened on October 19, 1994, the lights caused tremendous backups at the onramps during commute hours, raising an outcry from commuters furious at having to wait as much as 20 to 30 minutes in the worst cases before entering the freeway. The county required Caltrans to turn off the metering lights, which they did on November 17, 1994. This almost immediately slowed the commute over the full 24 mile stretch by 33 minutes; Caltrans eventually turned the lights back on in 1995, which sped up the overall commute considerably.
In January 2009, several metering lights in the southern portion of SR 85 were reactivated. These included the SR 87-to-SR 85 interchange, the Almaden Expressway on-ramps, and the Blossom Hill Road on-ramps.
The freeway was constructed with a 46-to-50-foot wide center median. Initially, no barrier of any kind was installed in the median because, at the time, Caltrans regulations stated that any median wider than 45 feet did not require a median barrier unless there was a history of head-on collisions. However, within the first year, one person died, and in a one-year period from 1996 to 1997, six more were killed in head-on collisions by cars crossing the median at high speeds. Public outcry convinced Caltrans to install the standard post-and-metal-beam barrier the entire length of the freeway and also to change their regulations so that median barriers are now required on all high-volume freeways with medians of less than 75 feet. Accidents and injuries dropped by roughly one-third in the first year after the barrier was installed.
In 1998, California Highway Patrol officer Scott Greenly was struck by a car and killed while issuing a ticket on the shoulder of Route 85; thereafter the portion between Quito Road and Prospect Road in the City of Saratoga was named the CHP Officer Scott M. Greenly Memorial Freeway. On September 15, 2008, the remainder of the freeway, north of Prospect Road as well as south of Quito Road, was named in honor of former San Jose mayor, congressman, and United States Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta.