California State Route 82 runs from U.S. Highway 101 at Blossom Hill Road in San Jose to Interstate 280 in San Francisco following the San Francisco Peninsula. It forms part of El Camino Real.

Route Description

Route 82 begins its journey at Route 101 and Blossom Hill Road, where it heads north onto Monterey Hill Road. Upon approaching downtown San Jose and passing under Interstate 280 (with no direct interchange), the street renames itself to Market Street. In less than a mile, Route 82 turns west on San Carlos Street through the financial and cultural district of San Jose, then quickly turns north on Montgomery Street and Autumn Street where it quickly turns again west onto The Alameda at the HP Pavilion. Once it enters Santa Clara, Route 82 turns north onto El Camino Real, where it continues for the remainder of its trip up the peninsula. Route 82 runs through the dense cities of San Mateo, San Carlos, Santa Clara, California, and Colma, with a BART line running loosely parallel to it. Exiting Daly City, El Camino Real connects with San Francisco's Mission Street, though now it flows more naturally into Alemany Boulevard .

Route 82 takes an inland course paralleling the Bayshore Freeway (U.S. Highway 101). The entire route is street-running and has at least four lanes of traffic; no portions of it exist as a freeway, although the route is occassionally a divided highway. The Bayshore Freeway and the Junipero Serra Freeway (I-280) tend to provide faster alternatives than Route 82 even during traffic jams on those freeways.

From 1964-1968, Route 82 continued past its current end north on Alemany Boulevard to Bayshore Boulevard in San Francisco (see below).

Legal Definition

"Route 82 is from Route 101 near Blossom Hill Road in San Jose to Route 280 in San Francisco." [CS&HC Sec. 382]

History

Originally a segment of U.S. Highway 101 (and before that, the historic El Camino Real), rapid growth of the San Francisco Bay Area after World War II, including urbanization of the towns along its path, made it completely inadequate for the needs of traffic. The Bayshore Highway to the east was later upgraded to a freeway and was originally built as "Bypass U.S. 101".

In 1964, U.S. Highway 101 was officially moved onto the Bayshore Freeway (now Route 101), and its former alignment on El Camino Real became Route 82. It was defined as two portions: From Route 101 near Ford Road south of San Jose to Route 101 in San Francisco (which today corresponds to the Alemany Maze ), and from Route 101 near Alemany Boulevard to Route 87 (current unbuilt Route 230 ) in San Francisco. In 1968, the portions from Route 280 (at current Route 82) to Route 101 and from Route 101 to Route 87 were transferred to Route 280. Route 82 today is designated as part of El Camino Real.

Points of Interest

• HP Pavilion (formerly San Jose Arena, at The Alameda and Autumn Street)
• Santa Clara Vanguard (Scott Street, Santa Clara)
• Triton Museum of Art (Lincoln Street, Santa Clara)
• Santa Clara University
• Mission Santa Clara de Asis (Lafayette Street, Santa Clara)
• Palo Alto High School
• Stanford University (Palo Alto)
• Bay Meadows Racetrack (south of Route 92)
• Hillsdale Shopping Center (San Mateo)

Junctions and Mile Posts

See Also

• El Camino Real (California)
• U.S. Highway 101
• Route 72, Route 82's sister route in Southern California.

External Links

• sr82.com Listing of businesses along El Camino Real
• Caltrans: Route 82 highway conditions
• California Highways: Route 82
• The Big Highways Page: California Route 82