Yes, the traffic in that part of Richmond was horrible (still is, but different). It wasn't 580 - it was 17. And there was no freeway through town until, I vaguely recall (drove through occasionally, living in the North Bay), some time in the 1980s. There were a couple of spots with tracks crossing and alongside the boulevard that occasionally had visible evidence of use (spotted or parked cuts). I don't remember all the numbering changes, but the road went through several as the Interstate system expanded and reorganized in the early 1980s - 17 originally ran from San Rafael to 80 in Richmond, then was what is now 880, before picking up in San Jose to Santa Cruz which is the only section of it left [www.cahighways.org]. Pulling 17 into the Interstate system as 880 and a 580 extension was needed to capture Federal money for improvements, and in fact to pay for the connecting freeway through Richmond for the San Rafael bridge.