1989 Loma Prieta earthquake larger loss of life, as several of the Bay Area's major transportation structures suffered catastrophic failures. The collapse of a section of the double-deck Nimitz Freeway in Oakland was the site of the largest number of casualties for the event, but the collapse of man-made structures and other related accidents contributed to casualties occurring in San Francisco, Los Altos, and Santa Cruz. The history of earthquake investigations in California has been largely focused on the San Andreas Fault System, due to its strong influence in the state as the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate; it
California State Route 17 in Oakland, destroyed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake) but parts have been redesignated. The section between Interstate 80 and US 101 in San Rafael was renumbered as an extension of Interstate 580. Prior to the redesignation, this part of SR 17 followed Richmond streets, including an expressway called Hoffman Boulevard, to the bridge; a freeway built to Interstate standards was completed in 1990 after the corridor became 580's northwestern leg. Additionally, SR 17 between Interstate 280 in San Jose and the freeway's new northern terminus in Oakland was re-designated as Interstate 880 later that year. Since the late 1990s,