# Joe Colla Interchange

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Road junction

Joe Colla Interchange The Joe Colla Interchange in 1975, with its then-unfinished flyover ramps Interactive map of Joe Colla Interchange Location San Jose, California Coordinates 37°20′23″N 121°51′06″W / 37.33965°N 121.851683°W / 37.33965; -121.851683 Roads at junction I-680 I-280 US 101 Story Road Construction Type Four-level Interchange Constructed 1976–81 Opened 1981 (1981) Maintained by Caltrans

The **Joe Colla Interchange** is a [highway interchange](/source/Interchange_(road)) in [San Jose, California](/source/San_Jose%2C_California), United States, connecting [Interstate 280](/source/Interstate_280_(California)) (I-280), [I-680](/source/Interstate_680_(California)), and [U.S. Route 101](/source/U.S._Route_101_in_California) (US 101). It is named after **Joe Colla**, a former [councilman](/source/Councilman) of San Jose, who also participated in a stunt in 1976 to protest the interchange's delayed construction.[1]

## Description

View from a high ramp of the Joe Colla Interchange

The highway is a four level [stack interchange](/source/Stack_interchange). US-101 serves the first level of the complex. The second level marks the southern termini of both I-280 and I-680, as their primary lanes head into each other; I-280 then runs from the interchange southwesterly to [Downtown San Jose](/source/Downtown_San_Jose), while I-680 runs northeasterly. The third level contains 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](/source/Cloverleaf_interchange) ramp connects southbound I-280 to northbound US-101. The ramps to and from US-101 south then extend over the cloverleaf interchange with Story Road.

The interchange is a major traffic hub for the [San Francisco Bay Area](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Area). From the interchange, I-280 then runs just to the west of the larger cities of [San Francisco Peninsula](/source/San_Francisco_Peninsula) for most of its route to [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco). I-680 curves around the eastern cities of the Bay Area to join [I-80](/source/Interstate_80_in_California) in [Fairfield](/source/Fairfield%2C_California), providing a connection to [Sacramento](/source/Sacramento%2C_California). US 101 heads north along the eastern side of the San Francisco Peninsula to San Francisco, and south to the [California Central Coast](/source/California_Central_Coast) and [Los Angeles](/source/Los_Angeles).

## History

The construction of the Joe Colla Interchange was delayed for almost five years.[1] By January 1976, the state's budget woes resulted in construction being abandoned, leaving three uncompleted flyover ramps hanging over US-101 and unfinished I-280/I-680.[2] At this time, both I-280 and I-680 were completed to their current southern terminus. I-280 ended at [State Route 17](/source/California_State_Route_17) (SR-17), now [I-880](/source/Interstate_880_(California)), and I-680 ended in [Milpitas, California](/source/Milpitas%2C_California).[3]

### Joe Colla stunt

Near midnight, protesters of the unfinished interchange – San Jose councilman Joe Colla, union representative Tom Carter, and construction executive Doug Beatty – lifted a [1960 Chevrolet Impala](/source/Chevrolet_Impala#Second_generation_(1959–1960)) with a crane and placed it on top of an unfinished ramp. They were not 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](/source/San_Jose_Mercury_News)*, pressured then-governor of California [Jerry Brown](/source/Jerry_Brown). In part because of the publicity of the stunt, the interchange eventually received the necessary funding to be completed.[1]

In 2010, this interchange was named the Joe Colla Interchange.[4][5] Signs naming the interchange were posted in January 2016.[2]

## See also

- [California Roads portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:California_Roads)

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mercurynews.com_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mercurynews.com_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-mercurynews.com_1-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-mercurynews.com_1-3) Herhold, Scott (October 16, 2013). ["Herhold: The Story Behind Joe Colla's Famous 1976 Highway Stunt"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161013101619/https://www.mercurynews.com/2013/10/16/herhold-the-story-behind-joe-collas-famous-1976-highway-stunt/). *[San Jose Mercury News](/source/San_Jose_Mercury_News)*. p. A4. Archived from [the original](http://www.mercurynews.com/scott-herhold/ci_24322997/herhold-story-behind-joe-collas-famous-1976-highway) on October 13, 2016. Retrieved April 3, 2016.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-mercurynews.com_2016_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-mercurynews.com_2016_2-1) Rodriguez, Joe (January 9, 2016). ["San Jose's Infamous Monument to Nowhere Freeway Interchange Finally Named after Joe Colla"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161107094438/https://www.mercurynews.com/2016/01/08/san-joses-infamous-monument-to-nowhere-freeway-interchange-finally-named-after-joe-colla/). *San Jose Mercury News*. Archived from [the original](http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_29360940/infamous-monument-nowhere-freeway-interchange-finally-named-after) on November 7, 2016. Retrieved April 6, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Interstate 680 California"](https://web.archive.org/web/20100223070223/http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-680_ca.html). *Interstate-Guide*. Archived from [the original](http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-680_ca.html) on February 23, 2010. Retrieved April 3, 2016.[*[self-published source](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Verifiability#Self-published_sources)*]

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Bill Text"](https://web.archive.org/web/20141006100011/http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml%3Bjsessionid%3Dfd20cbcb8e1e1d4879ebf6f2603a). Archived from [the original](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml;jsessionid=fd20cbcb8e1e1d4879ebf6f2603a) on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 5, 2014.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Assembly Concurrent Resolution No. 102 - Joe Colla Interchange"](http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=200920100ACR102). California State Legislature. August 30, 2010. Retrieved November 10, 2013.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Joe Colla Interchange](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Colla_Interchange) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Colla_Interchange?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.