History
See also: State Route 238The section of road that is now I-238 had no signed number before the 1964 renumbering; it was pre-1964 Legislative Route 228 (along with an unbuilt extension west to unbuilt State Route 61, which is still included in the Route 238 definition).
The segment from what is now I-580 to I-880 was built as a freeway in 1956. The rest of SR 238 south to Interstate 680 in Fremont was also planned to be upgraded to a freeway (parallel to present I-880), but after it was unsuccessfully submitted to the Interstate Highway System in October 1968, and after several lawsuits, it never got off the ground.
When present Interstate 880 was added to the Interstate Highway System as a renumbering of part of State Route 17, the short piece of SR 238 connecting I-880 to I-580 was also added; both were non-chargeable routes (not eligible for Interstate Completion funds). Both numbers — I-238 and I-880 - were approved by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on July 7, 1983. The interchanges with I-580 and I-880 were rebuilt from 1988 to 1994, in part to add missing ramps between I-238 and I-880 towards the south. Prior to the completion of the ramps, access was provided by Hesperian Boulevard.
As the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials said on July 7, 1983, when approving the designation,
| “ | This is to inform you that your application for the elimination of Route 180 and extension of Route 580, and the establishment of Route 880 and Route 238 have been approved.
However, since the I-238 designation does not fit the overall national numbering sequence and was necessitated only because all three combinations of I-80 have been used, the Committee has a further option to offer for your consideration. If the I-580 designation continued from Castro Valley to San Lorenzo and then used in place of the proposed I-880 designation northerly to Oakland and over existing I-180 between Albany and San Rafael, then existing I-580 between Castro Valley and Oakland could be designated I-180. The Committee does recognize this option would involve considerable resigning, however. |
” |
Caltrans responded on July 27, 1983:
| “ | We already have a state route 180 in our Fresno area, and this route is separated from I-580 in Castro Valley by about 100 miles. We are therefore unable to recommend the designation of existing I-580 between Castro Valley and Oakland as I-180. | ” |
With the deletion of State Route 480 in 1991, the "480" designation is once again available. However, there has been no push since then to renumber I-238 to I-480.
In September 2006, a project began to reconstruct the entire length of I-238, including a reconfigured interchange with I-880 and an added travel lane in each direction. Additionally, almost all of the bridges and overpasses were replaced with new ones meeting current earthquake resistance standards. The projected was completed in October 2009, 6 months ahead of schedule.
Read more about this topic: Interstate 238
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