California State Route 87

SR 87 intersecting with I-280 in Downtown San Jose

The route is almost entirely within the city of San Jose, California. A very small portion between the Curtner Avenue exit and the Capitol Expressway Auto Mall exit is in unincorporated Santa Clara County.

SR 87 has carpool lanes for its entire length.

SR 87 begins at SR 85 in southern San Jose. VTA light-rails run parallel to this freeway from SR 85 to I-280. After intersecting CR G21, SR 87 runs through a small pass in Communications Hill. SR 87 intersects I-280 in southwestern Downtown San Jose, then runs parallel to the western border of Downtown San Jose. Unusually, SR 87 crosses above I-880 without an interchange. Located between Taylor Street and Skyport Drive, the site where the two freeways cross has two restrictions that prevent the construction of any connecting ramps. First, because of its proximity to the runways at San Jose International Airport, any elevated ramps running above the SR 87 mainline would interfere with flight paths. Second, tunneling underneath would leave a significant environmental impact on the nearby Guadalupe River.[3] Drivers from SR 87 to I-880 and vice versa have to use First and Taylor Streets to get on the freeways. SR 87 runs east of the Mineta San Jose International Airport before terminating at US 101 in northwestern San Jose. This route is unconstructed from US 101 to SR 237 in Santa Clara, legislatively defined to run north from US 101 through suburban San Jose and Santa Clara, terminating at SR 237, as this route is defined as (a) Route 85 in the vicinity of Santa Teresa Boulevard to Route 101 in the vicinity of Guadalupe River and (b) San Jose easterly of Route 101 to Route 237.[4]

SR 87 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System,[5] and except for a small portion south of I-280 is part of the National Highway System,[6] a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration.[7] In 2014, SR 87 had an annual average daily traffic (AADT) of 88,000 at US 101, and 176,000 between I-280 and CR G8, the latter of which was the highest AADT for the highway.[8]

The Taylor Street single-point urban interchange, just south of San José International Airport

SR 87 looking north towards downtown San Jose from Communications Hill in 2006. VTA light rail runs between the northbound and southbound lanes; the freeway was under construction to add an additional lane in both directions.

A Guadalupe Parkway connection between Downtown San Jose and the present day US 101 had existed since the early 1960s; the road channeled traffic between the Bayshore Freeway and ramps that connected directly to Market Street. However, construction on a freeway over the same path and southward beyond Downtown began a decade later and stretched across 30 years.

The first stage of the SR 87 freeway, its 4-level interchange with I-280, replaced an old downtown neighborhood in the mid 1960s. A ramp to Julian Street, north of the interchange with I-280, was completed in the mid-1970s. The freeway extension north to Taylor Street was completed in May 1988. Construction of SR 87 in the 1980s is shown in this photo. The southern part, from I-280 to SR 85, was opened to Almaden Expressway in September-October 1992 and to SR 85 in August 1993, built in conjunction with the construction of a light rail line. Local-express lanes were constructed along this segment, the Northbound segment running from I-280 to Julian Street and the Southbound extension from I-280 to Alma Avenue. At SR 87's northern terminus, its 3-level interchange with Highway 101 and North First Street was completed in 1992. Finally, with all grade-level intersections replaced by grade separations, construction of the six-lane freeway between Taylor Street and the Highway 101/North First interchange began in the late 1990s was completed in 2004, and the name Guadalupe Parkway stopped being used (except on some signs). The final ramps at the Skyport interchange opened in 2005. The widening of the southern segment, from Taylor Street to Highway 85, to six lanes was completed in 2007. In each direction, two lanes are for regular traffic and one lane is an HOV lane.[11]

The right-of-way for SR 87 south of I-280 includes two tracks for the Guadalupe line of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority light rail system. Stations are accessible from the streets via staircases and elevators. Beyond 87's terminus, the line continues southeastward in the median of SR 85.

SR 87, as once defined legislatively, would have extended from its current northern terminus, skirting the edge of San Francisco Bay as the Bayfront Freeway to San Francisco. This would have provided an eastern bypass to US 101 along the Peninsula (US 101 itself being originally a bypass to El Camino Real along the Peninsula). The route would have ended at SR 480 (the Embarcadero Freeway) practically underneath the Bay Bridge, and it would also have connected to the approaches of the unconstructed San Francisco Bay Southern Crossing. Along with SR 61, a similar project on the eastern shore of the Bay, this portion of SR 87 was abandoned due to local opposition to the project that would have destroyed a nearly pristine wildlife habitat. In 1980, the route was truncated to end at SR 237.[2]

A resolution of the state legislature in 2007 named a section of this highway (between I-280 and Julian Street/Santa Clara Street) the Lewis E. Platt Memorial Highway (honoring the late chairman, president and chief executive officer of Hewlett-Packard who successful campaigned for local ballots to fund transportation improvements), and required that signage be paid by private donations.[12]

The high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on SR 87 are proposed to be converted into high-occupancy toll lanes. The date of conversion isn't certain, but Plan Bay Area plans for the project to be completed by 2018 and the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) plans it by 2020.[13] Caltrans' post-25 year concept also proposes an additional express lane in each direction.[13]

The entire route is in San Jose, Santa Clara County.

mi[14]	km	Exit[14]	Destinations	Notes
0.00	0.00	1	SR 85 (West Valley Freeway) – Gilroy, Mountain View	Southern terminus; signed as exits 1A (south) and 1B (north); SR 85 north exit 5A, south exit 5B
0.00	0.00	1C	Santa Teresa Boulevard	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
1.34	2.16	1D	Capitol Expressway Auto Mall (CR G21)	Signed as exit 1 northbound
2.83	4.55	3A	Curtner Avenue	Signed as exit 3 northbound
3.35	5.39	3B	Almaden Expressway (CR G8)	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
4.12	6.63	4	Alma Avenue	Southbound exit and northbound entrance
5.15	8.29	5	I-280 to I-680 – San Francisco, Sacramento	I-280 exit 3A
5.56	8.95	6	To SR 82 / San Carlos Street / Auzerais Street / Park Avenue	C/D lanes provide northbound access to Santa Clara St. and Julian St. exits; signed as exit 6A southbound; Park Ave. not signed northbound, Auzerais St. not signed southbound
6.10	9.82		Santa Clara Street (SR 82)	Northbound exit only; accessible from C/D lanes
6.10	9.82		Julian Street / St. James Street	Northbound access from C/D lanes; signed as exit 6B southbound; St. James St. not signed northbound
			Market Street, Coleman Ave	Closed in 2002 during construction of northern freeway segment; was southbound exit and northbound entrance
6.80	10.94	7	Taylor Street	Single-point urban interchange (SPUI); opened in 2003-05
			Hedding Street	Closed in 2004 during construction of northern freeway segment; was an intersection
3.20	5.15	Overpass above I-880 (Nimitz Freeway); no access between freeways
8.75	14.08	8	Skyport Drive – Mineta San Jose International Airport	SPUI; opened in 2004; former intersection
			To US 101 south / Airport Parkway / Brokaw Road	Closed in 2004 during construction of northern freeway segment; was an intersection
8.75	14.08	9A	North First Street	Northbound exit and southbound entrance
8.80	14.16	391	Trimble Road / De La Cruz Boulevard	Northbound exit only
		9B	US 101 north (Bayshore Freeway) – San Francisco	Northern terminus; US 101 south exit 390
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Closed/former       Incomplete access

• California Roads portal
• San Francisco Bay Area portal

• Caltrans: Route 87 road conditions
• Eric Buchanan's Highway Photo Page: 87 Guadalupe Parkway (project history and historical images)
• California Highways – State Route 87
• California @ AARoads – California 87