California State Route 185

State Route 185 (SR 185) is a state highway in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. It runs along sections of Mission Boulevard in Hayward, East 14th Street in San Leandro and International Boulevard in Oakland.

Route description

The south end of SR 185 is a five-way intersection in downtown Hayward, with E Street heading northeast, State Route 92 heading southwest, and State Route 238 heading southeast and north. SR 185 heads northwest on Mission Boulevard and East 14th Street, crossing under Interstate 238, and meeting the east end of State Route 112 (signed as State Route 61) 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 freeway 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.

The 0.45 mi (0.72 km)^[3] State Route 77 is part of a planned 13.8mi (22.2 km) 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.^[4] 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 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 synonomity 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 (SR 185 falls under CHP jurisdiction) 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.

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.

References