State Route 13 (California)
Encyclopedia
State Route 13 is a state highway in California
. It is a short loop in Alameda County
currently built from Interstate 580
in Oakland
to Interstate 80/Interstate 580 in Berkeley
.
It consists of three contiguous segments: the Warren Freeway from I-580 to State Route 24
in Oakland; Tunnel Road, a narrow two-lane road to Claremont Avenue in Berkeley; and Ashby Avenue, a main east–west street through south Berkeley to I-80/I-580.
. SR 13 is known as the Warren Freeway from Route 24 to Route 580, as named by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 96, Chapter 166 in 1957.
The route currently begins at Interstate 580
near Mills College
in East Oakland
and continues north as the Warren Freeway, named after former California Governor and U.S. Supreme Court
Chief Justice
Earl Warren
. The four-lane freeway takes a largely straight path as it runs through a scenic valley, part of which spans between Piedmont
and Oakland's Montclair Village
. This valley is a rift valley
created by the Hayward Fault Zone
, and the entire freeway lies within the earthquake fault zone
of the Hayward Fault. In the event of a major earthquake on the fault, this section of SR 13 may sustain heavy damage. Numerous overpasses have recently undergone extensive seismic retrofit
ting.
The city of Piedmont perches on the west-facing hills, which give an imposing shadow over the highway at sunset. The tall trees on the highway's side make the highway appear narrower, and until late 2004, a dense group of trees also lined most of the highway's median. For most of the day, the freeway experiences only modest traffic, which makes it a speedy bypass around downtown Oakland. Much of the traffic on this highway comes from SR 24's commute hour congestion backing up onto SR 13 northbound via the exchange between the highways. On a clear day, the Oakland segment of the freeway offers some spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay Area
.
After going through an interchange with State Route 24 (completed August 1999) near the entrance to the Caldecott Tunnel
, however, SR 13 takes drastic changes in its quality and capacity. The freeway ends at an uphill junction and the route is defaulted onto Tunnel Road, a much more narrow two-lane road that bends to the west and winds downhill. Upon reaching the foot of the hill, Tunnel Road becomes Ashby Avenue, a markedly urban (and very busy) two-lane street with an east–west routing. Entering Berkeley
, UC Berkeley
is north on Telegraph Avenue
, while a BART
station is located at Adeline Street. Past San Pablo Avenue (SR 123), Route 13 (as Ashby Avenue) runs through a more modest neighborhood before reaching its current end at Interstate 80/Interstate 580.
in those days was Mountain Blvd.
State Route 13 was formed out of the 1964 state highway renumbering
. Before its designation, it was known as several different legislative route numbers, including 258 from Interstate 580 to present-day SR 61, and 227 from Warren Boulevard to U.S. Route 50. This latter segment was not finished in 1963 and only existed from SR 24 to Joaquin Miller Road. However, the finished portion along Warren Boulevard was commissioned as part of the state highway system in 1947.
The portion of SR 13 between SR 24 and I-80 was known as Sign Route 24; however, it was legislatively designated as Route 206 since 1935. The portion between I-80 and SR 61 was also part of Legislative Route 206 and was commissioned into the state highway system in 1959.
Route 13 was to have been a freeway bypass of Oakland and Berkeley and would have extended south from its present end to the Nimitz Freeway (Route 880). (State law describes an even longer Route 13, which would start further south at Route 61
and end at an unconstructed part of Route 61 west of Emeryville
. The latter end would require an interchange over water. However, local resistance to further freeway construction in Oakland prevented the extension. Similar resistance in Berkeley has kept Route 13 from being built as a freeway north of Route 24, hence its role as a surface street.
In August 2004, Caltrans
began replacing the median's original metal guardrails
with a new wall along the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) stretch of SR
13 between SR 24 and I-580. This allowed road crews to drive street-sweeping vehicles along the shoulders throughout the week, rather than sending people to pick up trash by hand. However, residents frequenting SR 13 have said that the median appears to be filled with fewer trees and bushes than prior to Caltrans construction. These trees once densely lining the median have long supplemented the lush vegetation on both sides of the highway to beautify this scenic route.
The entire route is in Alameda County
.
{| class=wikitable
|-
!Location
!Postmile
!Exit
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=11|Oakland
|rowspan=3 |4.26
|1A
|
|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|26
|Seminary Avenue
|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|1B
|
|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|5.01-
5.39
|1C
|Carson Street, Redwood Road
|Signed as exit 1 northbound
|-
|6.47
|2
|Joaquin Miller Road, Lincoln Avenue
|
|-
|7.40
|3
|Park Boulevard
|
|-
|8.30
|4
|Moraga Avenue, Thornhill Drive
|
|-
|9.07
|5A
|Broadway Terrace
|Signed as exit 5 southbound
|- style="background:#fdd;"
|R9.62
|5B
|
|No southbound exit
|- style="background:#fdd;"
|R9.62
|5C
|
|Northbound left exit and southbound entrance
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|North end of freeway
|-
|rowspan=4|Berkeley
|11.61
|
|Telegraph Avenue
|
|-
|12.24
|
|Adeline Street
|
|-
|13.18
|
|
|
|-
|13.93
|
|
|Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. It is a short loop in Alameda County
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
currently built from Interstate 580
Interstate 580 (California)
Interstate 580 is an 80-mile east–west Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 runs from San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 near Tracy in the Central Valley...
in Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
to Interstate 80/Interstate 580 in Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
.
It consists of three contiguous segments: the Warren Freeway from I-580 to State Route 24
California State Route 24
State Route 24 in the U.S. state of California is a heavily-traveled east–west freeway in the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay Area of northern California that runs from the Interstate 580/Interstate 980 interchange in Oakland to the Interstate 680 junction in Walnut Creek...
in Oakland; Tunnel Road, a narrow two-lane road to Claremont Avenue in Berkeley; and Ashby Avenue, a main east–west street through south Berkeley to I-80/I-580.
Route description
SR 13 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway SystemCalifornia Freeway and Expressway System
The California Freeway and Expressway System is a system of existing or planned freeways and expressways in the U.S. state of California. It is defined by the Streets and Highways Code.-List of roads in the system:*State Route 1 *State Route 2...
. SR 13 is known as the Warren Freeway from Route 24 to Route 580, as named by Assembly Concurrent Resolution 96, Chapter 166 in 1957.
The route currently begins at Interstate 580
Interstate 580 (California)
Interstate 580 is an 80-mile east–west Interstate Highway in Northern California. The heavily traveled spur route of Interstate 80 runs from San Rafael in the San Francisco Bay Area to Interstate 5 near Tracy in the Central Valley...
near Mills College
Mills College
Mills College is an independent liberal arts women's college founded in 1852 that offers bachelor's degrees to women and graduate degrees and certificates to women and men. Located in Oakland, California, Mills was the first women's college west of the Rockies. The institution was initially founded...
in East Oakland
East Oakland, Oakland, California
East Oakland is the southeastern portion of Oakland, California, and takes up the largest portion of the city's land area. It stretches between Lake Merritt in the northwest and San Leandro in the southeast...
and continues north as the Warren Freeway, named after former California Governor and U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
Chief Justice
Chief Justice of the United States
The Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
Earl Warren
Earl Warren
Earl Warren was the 14th Chief Justice of the United States.He is known for the sweeping decisions of the Warren Court, which ended school segregation and transformed many areas of American law, especially regarding the rights of the accused, ending public-school-sponsored prayer, and requiring...
. The four-lane freeway takes a largely straight path as it runs through a scenic valley, part of which spans between Piedmont
Piedmont, California
Piedmont is a small, affluent city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Oakland. The population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s...
and Oakland's Montclair Village
Montclair, Oakland, California
Montclair is a neighborhood of Oakland, California. Montclair is located in the hills east of Piedmont in a valley formed by the Hayward Fault...
. This valley is a rift valley
Rift valley
A rift valley is a linear-shaped lowland between highlands or mountain ranges created by the action of a geologic rift or fault. This action is manifest as crustal extension, a spreading apart of the surface which is subsequently further deepened by the forces of erosion...
created by the Hayward Fault Zone
Hayward Fault Zone
The Hayward Fault Zone is a geologic fault zone capable of generating significantly destructive earthquakes. This strike-slip fault is about long, situated mainly along the western base of the hills on the east side of San Francisco Bay...
, and the entire freeway lies within the earthquake fault zone
Alquist Priolo Special Studies Zone Act
The Alquist-Priolo Earthquake Fault Zoning Act was signed into California law on December 22, 1972 to mitigate the hazard of surface faulting to structures for human occupancy.The act in its current form has three main provisions:...
of the Hayward Fault. In the event of a major earthquake on the fault, this section of SR 13 may sustain heavy damage. Numerous overpasses have recently undergone extensive seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofit
Seismic retrofitting is the modification of existing structures to make them more resistant to seismic activity, ground motion, or soil failure due to earthquakes. With better understanding of seismic demand on structures and with our recent experiences with large earthquakes near urban centers,...
ting.
The city of Piedmont perches on the west-facing hills, which give an imposing shadow over the highway at sunset. The tall trees on the highway's side make the highway appear narrower, and until late 2004, a dense group of trees also lined most of the highway's median. For most of the day, the freeway experiences only modest traffic, which makes it a speedy bypass around downtown Oakland. Much of the traffic on this highway comes from SR 24's commute hour congestion backing up onto SR 13 northbound via the exchange between the highways. On a clear day, the Oakland segment of the freeway offers some spectacular views of the San Francisco Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
.
After going through an interchange with State Route 24 (completed August 1999) near the entrance to the Caldecott Tunnel
Caldecott Tunnel
The Caldecott Tunnel is a three bore highway tunnel between Oakland, California and Contra Costa County, California. The east-west tunnel is signed as a part of State Route 24, which is also known as the William Byron Rumford...
, however, SR 13 takes drastic changes in its quality and capacity. The freeway ends at an uphill junction and the route is defaulted onto Tunnel Road, a much more narrow two-lane road that bends to the west and winds downhill. Upon reaching the foot of the hill, Tunnel Road becomes Ashby Avenue, a markedly urban (and very busy) two-lane street with an east–west routing. Entering Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
, UC Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
is north on Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue
Telegraph Avenue is a street that begins, at its southernmost point, in the midst of the historic downtown district of Oakland, California, USA, and ends, at its northernmost point, at the southern edge of the University of California campus in Berkeley, California...
, while a BART
Bay Area Rapid Transit
Bay Area Rapid Transit is a rapid transit system serving the San Francisco Bay Area. The heavy-rail public transit and subway system connects San Francisco with cities in the East Bay and suburbs in northern San Mateo County. BART operates five lines on of track with 44 stations in four counties...
station is located at Adeline Street. Past San Pablo Avenue (SR 123), Route 13 (as Ashby Avenue) runs through a more modest neighborhood before reaching its current end at Interstate 80/Interstate 580.
History
SR 13 was created to accommodate the construction of the Grove-Shafter Freeway, now designated State Route 24. Before the construction of the Grove-Shafter, Ashby Avenue was State Route 24, while the balance of the route of today's Warren Freeway was not a designated state highway. The main thoroughfare through the Montclair DistrictMontclair, Oakland, California
Montclair is a neighborhood of Oakland, California. Montclair is located in the hills east of Piedmont in a valley formed by the Hayward Fault...
in those days was Mountain Blvd.
State Route 13 was formed out of the 1964 state highway renumbering
1964 state highway renumbering (California)
In 1963 and 1964, the California Division of Highways implemented a major renumbering of its state highways. The majority of sign routes — those marked for the public — kept their numbers; the main changes were to the legislative routes, which had their numbers changed to match the sign routes...
. Before its designation, it was known as several different legislative route numbers, including 258 from Interstate 580 to present-day SR 61, and 227 from Warren Boulevard to U.S. Route 50. This latter segment was not finished in 1963 and only existed from SR 24 to Joaquin Miller Road. However, the finished portion along Warren Boulevard was commissioned as part of the state highway system in 1947.
The portion of SR 13 between SR 24 and I-80 was known as Sign Route 24; however, it was legislatively designated as Route 206 since 1935. The portion between I-80 and SR 61 was also part of Legislative Route 206 and was commissioned into the state highway system in 1959.
Route 13 was to have been a freeway bypass of Oakland and Berkeley and would have extended south from its present end to the Nimitz Freeway (Route 880). (State law describes an even longer Route 13, which would start further south at Route 61
California State Route 61
State Route 61 is a California, United States, highway which runs through Alameda and along the Oakland International Airport. The western terminus is with State Route 260 at Webster Street in Alameda, and it runs along east Central Avenue and Encinal Avenue until reaching Broadway...
and end at an unconstructed part of Route 61 west of Emeryville
Emeryville, California
Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and...
. The latter end would require an interchange over water. However, local resistance to further freeway construction in Oakland prevented the extension. Similar resistance in Berkeley has kept Route 13 from being built as a freeway north of Route 24, hence its role as a surface street.
In August 2004, Caltrans
California Department of Transportation
The California Department of Transportation is a government department in the U.S. state of California. Its mission is to improve mobility across the state. It manages the state highway system and is actively involved with public transportation systems throughout the state...
began replacing the median's original metal guardrails
Guard rail
Guard rail or guardrail, sometimes referred to as guide rail or railing, is a system designed to keep people or vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limits areas...
with a new wall along the 3.5 miles (5.6 km) stretch of SR
13 between SR 24 and I-580. This allowed road crews to drive street-sweeping vehicles along the shoulders throughout the week, rather than sending people to pick up trash by hand. However, residents frequenting SR 13 have said that the median appears to be filled with fewer trees and bushes than prior to Caltrans construction. These trees once densely lining the median have long supplemented the lush vegetation on both sides of the highway to beautify this scenic route.
Major intersections
- Note: Except where prefixed with a letter, postmiles were measured in 1964, based on the alignment as it existed at that time, and do not necessarily reflect current mileage.
The entire route is in Alameda County
Alameda County, California
Alameda County is a county in the U.S. state of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,510,271, making it the 7th most populous county in the state...
.
{| class=wikitable
|-
!Location
!Postmile
!Exit
!Destinations
!Notes
|-
|rowspan=11|Oakland
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
|rowspan=3 |4.26
|1A
|
|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|26
|Seminary Avenue
|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|1B
|
|Southbound exit and northbound entrance
|-
|5.01-
5.39
|1C
|Carson Street, Redwood Road
|Signed as exit 1 northbound
|-
|6.47
|2
|Joaquin Miller Road, Lincoln Avenue
|
|-
|7.40
|3
|Park Boulevard
|
|-
|8.30
|4
|Moraga Avenue, Thornhill Drive
|
|-
|9.07
|5A
|Broadway Terrace
|Signed as exit 5 southbound
|- style="background:#fdd;"
|R9.62
|5B
|
|No southbound exit
|- style="background:#fdd;"
|R9.62
|5C
|
|Northbound left exit and southbound entrance
|-
| colspan="4" style="text-align:center;"|North end of freeway
|-
|rowspan=4|Berkeley
Berkeley, California
Berkeley is a city on the east shore of the San Francisco Bay in Northern California, United States. Its neighbors to the south are the cities of Oakland and Emeryville. To the north is the city of Albany and the unincorporated community of Kensington...
|11.61
|
|Telegraph Avenue
|
|-
|12.24
|
|Adeline Street
|
|-
|13.18
|
|
|
|-
|13.93
|
|
|Interchange; northbound exit and southbound entrance