Cypress Freeway
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|---|---|
| Cypress Freeway, Nimitz Freeway | |
| Route information | |
| Maintained by Caltrans | |
| Length: | 1.78 mi (2.86 km) |
| History: | 1957–1984 as  SR 17, 1984–89 as  I-880
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| Major junctions | |
| North end: |
  I-80 / I-580 in Oakland
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| South end: | Market Street at 7th Street in Oakland |
| Location | |
| Counties: | Alameda |
| Highway system | |
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The Cypress Street Viaduct, often referred to as the Cypress Structure, was a 1.6 mile long, raised two-tier, multi-lane (four lanes per deck) freeway constructed of reinforced concrete that was originally part of the Nimitz Freeway (State Route 17, and later, Interstate 880) in Oakland, California.
It replaced an earlier single-deck viaduct constructed in the 1930s as one of the approaches to the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. It was located along Cypress Street between 7th Street and Interstate 80 in the West Oakland neighborhood.
It officially opened to traffic on June 11, 1957 and was in use until the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, when much of the upper tier collapsed onto the lower tier, killing 42 people.
The is located in Oakland, at 14th Street and Mandela Parkway.
The double-decked viaduct was initially designed in 1949 by the City of Oakland as a way to ease traffic on local streets leading to the Bay Bridge, such as Cypress Street (which was California State Route 17 at the time). Built during the “white roads through black bedrooms” era, the route was partially chosen to displace perceived slums in West Oakland.
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Wikipedia