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State Route 123 or San Pablo Avenue is a major north-south thoroughfare along the flats of the urban East Bay in the U.S. state of California. Route 123 runs a relatively short 7.39 miles (11.9 km) between Interstate 580 in the south and Interstate 80 in the north. San Pablo Avenue itself, once a portion of US 40, continues well past these termini but without the Route 123 designation.
Route description
Route 123 is a four-lane boulevard with a median strip for its entire length. From south to north, it passes through the cities of Oakland, Emeryville, Berkeley, Albany, El Cerrito, and Richmond. It is sometimes used as an alternate route to the Eastshore Freeway (Interstate 80) when that freeway becomes very congested. Major intersections along this route include 40th Street, Ashby Avenue (State Route 13), University Avenue (which leads to UC Berkeley), Marin Avenue, Central Avenue and Cutting Boulevard.
Continuing on San Pablo Avenue past Route 123's southern terminus eventually leads to downtown Oakland and Oakland City Hall where San Pablo Avenue ends. Continuing on San Pablo Avenue past Route 123's northern terminus leads to the cities of San Pablo, Pinole, Hercules, Rodeo, and Crockett. In Hercules, San Pablo Avenue meets the terminus of State Route 4 near Interstate 80, and, after a discontinuity bridged by Parker Avenue in Rodeo, the road approaches the Carquinez Bridge and arrives in Crockett as Pomona Street.
An AC Transit Rapid (Express, Limited Stop) Bus Line (72R-San Pablo Rapid) runs along San Pablo Ave. from Downtown Oakland to Contra Costa College in San Pablo. The BART system runs its Richmond leg parallel to the route.
History
San Pablo Avenue is one of the oldest existing roads in the East Bay. It originated in the Spanish colonial era as the Camino de la Contra Costa ("road of the opposite shore", i.e. opposite from the Presidio of San Francisco and the settlement around the Mission in San Francisco) and was legally a "camino real", property of the Spanish crown, until Mexico won its independence in 1821. It ran from the Encinal ("oakland") landings of the Rancho San Antonio northward (actually northWESTward) along the bayshore, then eastward just inland of the Carquinez Strait. It was the principal thoroughfare for the scattered ranches throughout this part of the East Bay.
The name persisted into the American era when it was still called the "Contra Costa Road", and was used by a stage coach line between Martinez and Oakland, but when Contra Costa County was divided and Alameda County created out of that division, it was changed to the "San Pablo Road", a name which had already been informally an alternate usage since it ran between Oakland to the Rancho San Pablo on its southern segment. This segment subsequently became today's "San Pablo Avenue".
Prior to the construction of the Eastshore Freeway, San Pablo Avenue was the main north-south route through the northern East Bay, carrying the designation U.S. Highway 40. U.S. 40 was moved to the new freeway after it was built, which soon after took its current designation of Interstate 80. San Pablo Avenue was then designated as Business U.S. 40 until 1964.
During 2005-06, San Pablo Avenue was repaved and otherwise rehabilitated by Caltrans.
There is occasional public discussion about constructing a light rail line along San Pablo Avenue. In the early part of the 20th century, a streetcar line ran on San Pablo between Richmond and Oakland. Part of the Oakland segment of these tracks up to Grayson Street in Berkeley were used during World War II for the Shipyard Railway of the Key System which transported workers from the Key System's hub in Emeryville to the Kaiser Shipyards in Richmond.
Historical landmarks
- Alvarado Adobe (California Historical Landmark #512) - Located by San Pablo City Hall on the corner of San Pablo Avenue and Church Lane.
State law
Legal Definition of Route 123: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 423
External links
- Caltrans: Route 123 Highway Conditions
- California Highways: Route 123
- The Big Highways Page: California Route 123
- AARoads: California 123
- San Pablo Avenue Roadway Rehabilitation Project
California state highways | Streets in California | Alameda County, California | Berkeley, California | Emeryville, California | Oakland, California | Contra Costa County, California
"California State Route 123"