From SR 99 to south of Tracy, I-5 skirts along the far more remote western edge of the great Central Valley, and thus here is removed from population centers such as Bakersfield and Fresno; other state highways provide these connections. This part of I-5 is known as the West Side Freeway, and is a major connector between the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California. I-580 splits from I-5 at a point south of Tracy as the West Side Freeway Scenic Byway, the last stretch of the West Side Freeway—providing a loop-route connection to the San Francisco Bay Area. East of Tracy, I-5 intersects with I-205, another freeway that links I-5 to the Bay Area and passes through Tracy. After passing Tracy, I-5 heads north through Stockton and Sacramento before turning west to Woodland. At Woodland, the Interstate heads northwest again towards Dunnigan, where it converges with I-505.