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Geary Expressway
Length: 1.5 miles (freeway portion), 6 miles (entire route)
Routing in SF: Between Masonic Avenue and Gough Street
Construction: 1963
Route Numbering: None
Geary Boulevard is a major arterial in San Francisco, connecting Market Street and downtown with the Cliff, Great Highway, and Richmond Districts. The 1951 freeway plans for the area included a Geary/Great Highway freeway, of which was never constructed.
However, in 1963, the section between Masonic and Gough was rebuilt as part of a controversial Japantown "redevelopment" project, as documented here at this SFGate article. This upgrade of Geary Boulevard caused a divide between the Japanese and African-American neighborhoods and several throusand structures were demolished to create room for the limited-access expressway.
Strangely, community opposition did not show up until after the freeway had been built; this was the opposite of the Western Freeway situation, in which heavy protest prevented any construction from occuring.
Sources: cahighways.org, personal experience, SFGate.com.
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