California State Route 82 - Route Description

Route Description

Route 82 begins its journey at US 101 and Blossom Hill Road, where it heads north onto Monterey Highway, later known as Monterey Road north of Capitol Expressway. At Alma Avenue the road becomes South First Street, and Route 82 veers onto Market Street upon approaching downtown San Jose just north of Interstate 280 (which has no direct interchange with Route 82). In less than a mile, Route 82 turns west on San Carlos Street past Downtown San Jose's hotels and convention center, then soon 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 bends north-east around Santa Clara University and onto El Camino Real, where it continues for the remainder of its trip up the San Francisco Peninsula. Route 82, referred to by local residents almost always as "El Camino," runs through a number of cities on the Peninsula, including Palo Alto (passing by Stanford University), San Carlos, San Mateo, Burlingame, and Millbrae, and it is a central artery of the Peninsula communities through which it passes.

In Daly City, Route 82 becomes Mission Street, connecting with San Francisco's Mission Street, but then quickly flows onto San Jose Avenue, crossing Alemany Boulevard, and terminating at I-280.

Route 82 takes an inland course paralleling the Bayshore Freeway (US 101). The entire route is at street level with at least four lanes of traffic; no portions of it exist as a freeway, although the route is occasionally a divided highway. The Bayshore Freeway and the Interstate 280 tend to provide faster alternatives than Route 82 even during traffic jams on those freeways.

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