MacArthur Maze
Encyclopedia
The MacArthur Maze refers to the large freeway interchange
Interchange (road)
In the field of road transport, an interchange is a road junction that typically uses grade separation, and one or more ramps, to permit traffic on at least one highway to pass through the junction without directly crossing any other traffic stream. It differs from a standard intersection, at which...

 located near the eastern end of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge 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...

, California
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...

 and is the largest freeway interchange in the world. Principally it can be seen as splitting Bay Bridge traffic into three freeways, the Eastshore, MacArthur and Nimitz, although other movements are important.

Description

Because of its central location in 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...

 and the funneling of traffic across the few bridges spanning the bay, the Maze is a major hub for both east–west and north–south traffic in the Bay Area.

The Maze is a major corridor for commuters living in the East Bay
East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area)
The East Bay is a commonly used, informal term for the lands on the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay, in the San Francisco Bay Area, in California, United States...

 and working in San Francisco. The Maze is next to both the Port of Oakland
Port of Oakland
The Port of Oakland was the first major port on the Pacific Coast of the United States to build terminals for container ships. It is now the fifth busiest container port in the United States, behind Long Beach, Los Angeles, Newark, and Savannah...

, which is the fourth busiest container port in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, and to downtown Oakland. Two major interstate freeways from beyond the Bay Area, I-80 and I-5 (via either I-80 or I-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...

) connect to the Maze.

Freeways connecting in the Maze

  • The Bay Bridge - Interstate 80 from the Maze heads west across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco.
  • The Eastshore Freeway - The Interstate 80/Interstate 580 concurrency from the Maze heads north through 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...

     and western Contra Costa County
    Contra Costa County, California
    Contra Costa County is a primarily suburban county in the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 1,049,025...

    . Just north of the Berkeley-Albany border, approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) north of the Maze, the concurrency splits, with Interstate 80 heading north, then northeast towards Sacramento
    Sacramento, California
    Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...

     and Interstate 580 heading northwest towards the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
    Richmond-San Rafael Bridge
    The Richmond – San Rafael Bridge is the northernmost of the east–west crossings of the San Francisco Bay in California, USA, connecting Richmond on the east to San Rafael on the west end...

     and eventually to Marin County
    Marin County, California
    Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...

    , where it joins U.S. 101.
  • The MacArthur Freeway - 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...

     from the Maze heads southeast through Oakland. About a mile southeast is an interchange with State Route 24/Interstate 980, a major corridor for commuters living in Contra Costa County. I-580 continues southeast along the foot of the hills (and nearly atop the trace of the Hayward Fault) to Castro Valley
    Castro Valley, California
    Castro Valley is a census-designated place in Alameda County, California, United States. As of the 2000 census, it is the fifth most populous unincorporated area in California, and the twenty-third in the United States...

    , where the route turns east and becomes the Castro Valley Freeway (continuing through the Livermore Valley, over Altamont Pass
    Altamont Pass
    Altamont Pass, formerly Livermore Pass, is a mountain pass in the Diablo Range between Livermore in the Livermore Valley and Tracy in the San Joaquin Valley in Northern California...

     and eventually ending up near Tracy
    Tracy, California
    Tracy is the second most populated city in San Joaquin County, California, United States and an exurb of the San Francisco Bay Area. The population was 82,922 at the 2010 census.-History:...

     where it joins with Interstate 5).
  • The Nimitz Freeway - Interstate 880 from the Maze heads south and southeast through Oakland along the Oakland Estuary
    Oakland Estuary
    The Oakland Estuary is the body of water separating the cities of Oakland and Alameda, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. On its western end it connects to San Francisco Bay, while its eastern end connects to San Leandro Bay.-Crossings:...

    , past the Oakland International Airport
    Oakland International Airport
    Oakland International Airport , also known as Metropolitan Oakland International Airport, is a public airport located south of the central business district of Oakland, a city in Alameda County, California, United States...

    , and McAfee Coliseum
    McAfee Coliseum
    O.co Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium, located in Oakland, California, in the Coliseum Industrial area...

    , then through southern 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...

     and eventually to San Jose
    San Jose, California
    San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...

    , where it turns into Highway 17 and heads to Santa Cruz
    Santa Cruz, California
    Santa Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...

     where it ends.

History

Construction

The Maze started as part of the construction of the Bay Bridge in the 1930s. It was technically named the "Distribution Structure", but owing to its size and complexity, was given the name "Maze" by the media and public. The first maze was simple: westbound traffic from 38th St (later MacArthur Blvd) merged with northbound traffic from Cypress St and crossed above the Southern Pacific tracks, then split into ramps north to the Eastshore Highway (US 40) and west to the Bay Bridge. A parallel set of ramps handled eastward/southward traffic. Aerial view looking SE Traffic flows thus had only a few hundred feet to weave through each other until circa 1955, when the Maze was enlarged to prepare for the four freeways that converged there a few years later. Another round of extensive re-engineering followed the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...

, including the addition of diamond lane
High-occupancy vehicle lane
In transportation engineering and transportation planning, a high-occupancy vehicle lane is a lane reserved for vehicles with a driver and one or more passengers...

 ramps and a huge girder flyover connecting the relocated northbound Nimitz with the northbound Eastshore Freeway (which is technically I-80 eastbound and I-580 westbound). The original 1936 ramps were removed during this 1990s construction.

The extended nickname "MacArthur" Maze originated sometime after the construction of the MacArthur Freeway in the late 1950s (named after General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

.)

Film footage of the early Maze can be seen in the 1941 movie Shadow of the Thin Man
Shadow of the Thin Man
Shadow of the Thin Man is the fourth of the six The Thin Man films. It was released in 1941 and was directed by W. S. Van Dyke. It stars William Powell and Myrna Loy as Nick and Nora Charles. Also, in this film their son Nick Jr. is old enough to figure in the comic subplot...

, as Nick and Nora Charles drive off the Bay Bridge on their way to Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields
Golden Gate Fields is an American horse racing track straddling both Albany, California and Berkeley, California along the shoreline of San Francisco Bay adjacent to the Eastshore Freeway in the San Francisco Bay Area...

 in Albany
Albany, California
Albany is a city in Alameda County, California, United States. The population was 18,539 at the 2010 census.-History:In 1908, a group of local women protested the dumping of Berkeley garbage in their community...

.

Effects of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake

During the October 17, 1989, Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...

, which measured 7.1 Mw
Moment magnitude scale
The moment magnitude scale is used by seismologists to measure the size of earthquakes in terms of the energy released. The magnitude is based on the seismic moment of the earthquake, which is equal to the rigidity of the Earth multiplied by the average amount of slip on the fault and the size of...

, the double-decked Cypress Street Viaduct
Cypress Street Viaduct
The Cypress Street Viaduct, often referred to as the Cypress Structure, was a 1.6 mile long, raised two-tier, multi-lane freeway constructed of reinforced concrete that was originally part of the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland, California.It replaced an earlier single-deck viaduct constructed in the...

 on I-880 between I-80 and the 14th Street exit collapsed, crushing cars and killing 42 people. Traffic on the MacArthur Maze headed towards I-880 was re-routed to I-580 and I-980, and ramps at both ends of the viaduct leading to the former Cypress Structure were signed for local traffic access to Cypress Street.

The Cypress Street Viaduct
Cypress Street Viaduct
The Cypress Street Viaduct, often referred to as the Cypress Structure, was a 1.6 mile long, raised two-tier, multi-lane freeway constructed of reinforced concrete that was originally part of the Nimitz Freeway in Oakland, California.It replaced an earlier single-deck viaduct constructed in the...

 was demolished soon after the earthquake, but a replacement freeway was not substantially completed until July 1997, due to lawsuits by environmentalists and local residents. The final connection to the Maze, known as the East Bay Viaduct, was not opened until 1998 (though a separate connection running northwest to the Bay Bridge along the alignment of the old Grand Avenue Viaduct was built in 1995). The replacement sections of the Nimitz Freeway dispensed with the double-deck design. It was constructed near the Union Pacific railway tracks around the outskirts of West Oakland, rather than bisecting that neighborhood as the old Cypress Viaduct did. Cypress Street, which ran in the shadows on either side of the old double-decked structure, is now a landscaped parkway along its entire length, and has been renamed as Mandela Parkway. In 2007, Mandela Parkway was linked at its northern end with the western end of Yerba Buena Avenue, creating a through route into Emeryville.

2007 I-580 East Connector Collapse

At 3:42 am on the morning of Sunday, April 29, 2007, a tank truck
Tank truck
A tank truck or road tanker is a motor vehicle designed to carry liquefied loads, dry bulk cargo or gases on roads. The largest such vehicles are similar to railroad tank cars which are also designed to carry liquefied loads...

 carrying 8,600 gallons (32,500 liters) of unleaded gasoline overturned on the connector
Connector (road)
A connector is a highway or freeway road that connects to another highway or freeway. It can be part of an interchange such as the MacArthur Maze or a longer roadway such as the 13 mi Interstate 635 ....

 from Interstate 80 west (from 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...

) to Interstate 880 south. Wikimapia The intense heat from the subsequent fuel spill and fire weakened the steel structure of the roadway above, which served as the connecting ramp from Interstate 80 east (from San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

) to 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...

 east (to 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...

), collapsing approximately 168 feet (50 m) of it onto the lower connector. The truck driver involved suffered second degree burns
Burn (injury)
A burn is a type of injury to flesh caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, light, radiation or friction. Most burns affect only the skin . Rarely, deeper tissues, such as muscle, bone, and blood vessels can also be injured...

 on his hands but was nonetheless able to walk 1.5 miles (2.4 km) to a gas station, where he found a taxi and was given a ride to Oakland Kaiser Medical Center. No other vehicles or persons were reported to be involved in the accident.

The California Highway Patrol
California Highway Patrol
The California Highway Patrol is a law enforcement agency of the U.S. state of California. The CHP has patrol jurisdiction over all California highways and also acts as the state police....

 (CHP) initially reported that they suspect that the tanker had been speeding and bounced off a guard rail leading to the overturn. The driver was found to have a clean record the preceding decade; drug or alcohol use was determined not to be a factor in this accident.
The collapse of this bridge cut off the return route from San Francisco for many East Bay commuters (primarily those whose destinations are Walnut Creek
Walnut Creek, California
Walnut Creek is an incorporated city located east of the city of Oakland. It lies in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. While not as large as neighboring Concord, Walnut Creek serves as the business and entertainment hub for the neighboring cities within central Contra Costa...

 and southeastern Oakland). To help ease the expected traffic snarl, Caltrans set up temporary detours within the days following the incident, Bay Area Rapid Transit
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...

 (BART) added additional capacity to lines serving areas that had been impacted by the incident, and on Monday April 30, all public transportation in the Bay Area was free, with the estimated cost of $2.5 million paid out of state funds. News commentators have pointed out the similarities to the disruption caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake 18 years earlier. Fortunately as of May 3, 2007 while there was some serious congestion on the detour routes, the expected traffic jams and long delays had yet to fully materialize. This was possibly caused by commuters switching to alternate transit options indicated by BART posting record ridership numbers as of that date.

Rebuilding

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...

 spokespersons estimated immediately after the accident that it would take weeks to clear the debris from the scene and months to rebuild the affected sections. Initial cost projections for rebuilding the 580 connector alone reached $10 million. However, due to the urgency to reopen such a vital highway link the project was expedited, and most demolition work and debris removal was completed by the Tuesday following the accident. For a historic comparison, Caltrans did successfully replace a single damaged upper deck panel of the Bay Bridge (after the Loma Prieta earthquake
Loma Prieta earthquake
The Loma Prieta earthquake, also known as the Quake of '89 and the World Series Earthquake, was a major earthquake that struck the San Francisco Bay Area of California on October 17, 1989, at 5:04 p.m. local time...

) and the collapsed portion of the I-10
Interstate 10 in California
Interstate 10 , the major east–west Interstate Highway in the Southern United States, runs in the U.S. state of California east from Santa Monica, on the Pacific Ocean, through Los Angeles and San Bernardino to the border with Arizona...

 Santa Monica Freeway in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 (after the Northridge earthquake
Northridge earthquake
The Northridge earthquake was a massive earthquake that occurred on January 17, 1994, at 04:31 Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, lasting for about 10–20 seconds...

) in roughly one month by expediting its internal approval process and offering an incentive program for the contractors.

On May 7, 2007, the I-880 connector reopened at 4:30 am to traffic. Substantial work was done to retrofit the structure for strength, which sank 9 inches (228.6 mm) due to the collapse of the I-580 connector onto the I-880 connector.

A contractor with a proven track record of rebuilding damaged freeways (most notably the Santa Monica Freeway after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake) well ahead of schedule, C. C. Myers, Inc.
C. C. Myers
C.C. Myers, Inc. is a Rancho Cordova, California based construction company specializing in building highways and bridges. Started in 1977 by Clinton C. Myers, the company has since converted to an Employee Owned, or ESOP company.-History:...

, submitted a winning bid of $876,075 to repair the damage to the I-580 connector. The bid was estimated to cover only one-third of the cost of the work, but the firm counted on making up the shortfall with an incentive of $200,000 per day if the work was completed before June 27, 2007.

On the evening of Thursday, May 24, the I-580 connector re-opened, just before the busy Memorial Day
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it originated after the American Civil War to commemorate the fallen Union soldiers of the Civil War...

 weekend. The deadline to finish the project was beaten by over a month, with the contractor earning the $5 million bonus for early completion. The entire reconstruction project was completed only 26 days after the original accident.

A state projection concluded that the connector collapse had cost $90 million, based on a $6 million per day economic impact estimate. This includes a $491,000 loss in toll revenue for the Oakland Bay Bridge.

On May 25, 2007, the CHP revoked the license for transporting hazardous materials
Dangerous goods
Dangerous goods are solids, liquids, or gases that can harm people, other living organisms, property, or the environment. They are often subject to chemical regulations. "HazMat teams" are personnel specially trained to handle dangerous goods...

from Sabek Transportation, the owner of the tank truck, after an investigation found 36 violations of its operations and equipment.

External links

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