California State Route 262
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| Route 262 | ||||||||||||
| Length: | 1.08 mi (1.74 km) | |||||||||||
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| Formed: | ||||||||||||
| Major cities: | Fremont, CA | |||||||||||
| Direction: | East-West | |||||||||||
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State Route 262, more commonly known as Mission Boulevard, is a very short unremarkable, but vitally important highway in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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[edit] Route description
CA-262 begins at its western interchange with Interstate 880 in Fremont and travels 1 mile east to its terminus and junction with Interstate 680. CA-262 was built solely to be a link between the two interstates and lies at the point that Interstates 880 and 680 are closest together in the east bay. 2 miles north of CA-262, I-680 abruptly turns to the Northeast and into the Sunol and Livermore Valley thus making CA-262 a vital link between those valleys and the Silicon Valley to the south.
Physically CA-262 begins as a freeway rated 4 lane section for its first half miles and has one separated grade intersection with Warren Avenue. The remaining half mile is a 4-6 lane city street with two traffic lights at Warm Springs Blvd and Mojave Drive before terminating at a cloverleaf interchange at I-680.
CA-262 is unsigned along its entire route and would be totally overlooked if not for two guide signs placed in the early 2000's on south I-680 that designate the exit as "CA-262 to I-880 Mission Blvd". There is no other signage on either I-880 or I-680 that designate the road by its route number. Locals are also largely unaware of the route designation and refer to the road as Mission Blvd exclusively.
[edit] Route history and legislative status
Originally CA-262 was originally slated to run the route of present day Oakland Road from San Jose to where present day Warm Springs Blvd and Mission Blvd intersect. This plan was scrapped when State Route 17 (later I-880) was constructed. CA-262 was subsequently routed along its present route.
The original plans also call for CA-262 to be deleted from the state route list when State Route 237 to the south was completed between I-880 and I-680, however that does not appear to have occurred based on the 2 new guide signs designating Mission Blvd as CA-262. Caltrans also lists CA-262 (Mission Blvd) as part of its statewide traffic reporting.
Conversely, Cal-Nexus does not list CA-262 as part of the Mission Blvd exit on either I-680 or I-880 further calling into question whether CA-262 actually exists any longer. Caltrans has made mistakes in posting signs in the past and it is possible that the two signs on Southbound I-680 were placed in error and they have neglected to delete the route completely which would explain why CA-262 has not been signed for decades.
CA-262 is also a signed section of the Juan Bautista De Anza National Historic Trail.
[edit] Major cities
[edit] Legal definition
Legal Definition of Route 262: California Streets and Highways Code, Chapter 2, Article 3, Section 562
Note: The legal definition brings into question if 262 actually exists since 237 has been completed to the south, just not to freeway standards.
