Joe Colla Interchange
| Joe Colla Interchange | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| San Jose, California | |
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| Roads at junction: |
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| Construction | |
| Type: | Four-level Interchange |
| Constructed: | 1976–81 |
| Opened: | 1981 |
| Maintained by: | Caltrans |
| Map | |
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The Joe Colla Interchange is an interchange connecting Interstate 280 (I-280), I-680, and US Route 101 (US 101). It's named after Joe Colla,[1] a former councilman of San Jose.
Description
US 101 serves the first level of the interchange, passing under I-280/I-680. This interchange marks the southern termini of both I-280 and I-680. I-280 runs southwesterly to Downtown San Jose, while I-680 runs northeasterly. The third level containes ramps connecting northbound US 101 to northbound I-280 and southbound US 101 to northbound I-680, and the fourth level is a ramp connecting southbound I-680 to southbound US 101. This ramp is a site of major traffic, as there are only two lanes of the ramp from southbound I-680 to southbound US 101. The fourth-level ramp connects the third level ramp as they enter US 101, while the third-level ramp heading to northbound I-680 connects a ramp from northbound US 101 to northbound I-680. A one-lane ramp connects southbound US 101 to northbound I-280 and a cloverleaf ramp connects southbound I-280 to northbound US 101. A cloverleaf interchange between US 101 and Story Road also is near the interchange, but it isn't part of it.[citation needed]
History
The construction of the Joe Colla Interchange was delayed for almost five years.[1] In 1976, two uncompleted ramps hung over US 101 and unfinished I-280/I-680. At this time, both I-280 and I-680 were completed to their current southern terminus. I-280 ended at State Route 17 (SR 17), now I-880, and I-680 ended in Milpitas, California.[2]
Joe Colla Prank
Near midnight, protesters of the unfinished interchange Tom Carter, Joe Colla, and Doug Beatty placed a 1960 Chevrolet Impala on a crane and placed it on top of an unfinished ramp. They weren't seen by police, although one officer recalled seeing a crane on the unfinished ramp, but assumed that it was late night work.[1]
Later that morning, Joe Colla rode a helicopter to the top of the same unfinished ramp and took a picture with the Impala. The next day, that picture ran in dozens of newspapers and according to the San Jose Mercury News, pressured former governor of California Jerry Brown. Eventually, because of the stunt, the interchange was completed five years later, in 1981.
In 2010, this interchange was named the Joe Colla Interchange. Signs naming the interchange were posted in January 2016.[3]
