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Bay Area’s Most Congested Freeway Opens New Express Lane

Traffic relief comes to I-680, one of the Bay Area’s most congested freeways, with new carpool express lane
By - posted 11/5/2020 No Comment

Commuters traveling on one of the Bay Area’s busiest afternoon commutes should hopefully see some relief.

A brand new express way on I-680 has just opened. Toll collection won’t start until spring 2021; for now, these lanes are functioning as HOV 2+ carpool lanes only from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. until tolling begins. Until then, only valid carpools and eligible clean air vehicles can use the lanes.

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and its partner, the Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC), celebrated the official opening of the Interstate 680 (I-680) Sunol Northbound Express Lane with a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony on October 29, 2020.

The new express lane on northbound I-680 is between south of Auto Mall Parkway and State Route 84 (SR-84) and will now be open to carpools with 2 or more persons, vanpools, motorcycles, and transit vehicles.

The I-680 corridor is one of the most congested corridors within the nine Bay Area counties. The express lane will improve commute and travel times by allowing solo drivers access to the lane via a toll payment system, resulting in reduced traffic congestion.

Upon completion in spring 2021, the improvements will result in a near-continuous express lanes system on I-680 from south of the SR-84 interchange to north of the State Route 262 (SR-262) interchange in Alameda County. Tolling operations in both directions will begin in spring 2021.

Modifications to this corridor are expected to improve overall freeway operations and eliminate known congestion at specific locations, such as SR-262 (Mission Boulevard) and the Auto Mall Parkway exits.

The project will reduce congestion, accommodate current and future traffic increases and provide state-of-the-art technology that allows for improved enforcement, reliability and improved travel speeds in the general-purpose lanes. It also adds several auxiliary lanes to facilitate the smooth and safe transition of traffic between local streets and the highway system between interchanges.

I-680 Sunol Express Lane

Hours of operation:

  • MON-FRI, 5:00 AM to 8:00 PM

Carpool occupancy:

2 or more people

FasTrak:

    • FasTrak is not currently required
    • HOV 2+ Only Lanes until Spring 2021