MTC: Bay Bridge In Afternoon Worst Commute 4 Years Running
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) – In what should come as no surprise to those who drive the Bay Bridge daily, Interstate 80 continues its reign atop the list of Bay Area's worst commutes.
According to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, eastbound I-80 in the afternoon and evening from Cesar Chavez Street to the Yerba Buena Island Tunnel is the most congested commute for the fourth year running.
The agency reports that commuters heading east see congestion from as early as 12:30 p.m. and as late as 10:30 p.m. on weekdays.
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Second on the list is westbound I-80, from Highway 4 in Hercules to the Bay Bridge toll plaza. The MTC reports this stretch of the freeway is congested from 5:25 a.m. to 6:55 p.m., with no lull between morning and afternoon commutes.
Coming in at third is the afternoon drive on southbound Highway 101 from Sunnyvale to San Jose.
Rounding out the top five are the afternoon drives on northbound Interstate 680 from Fremont to Sunol and eastbound Highway 4 from Martinez to Concord.
Overall, the MTC found that delays have leveled off after four consecutive years of worsening commute times, which hit a record in 2016.
"The good news here is that the average Bay Area commute hasn't gotten any worse," MTC Chair Jake Mackenzie said in a statement. "The bad news is that it hasn't gotten any better either."
Several other routes made the MTC worst commutes list, which are all afternoon drives. They include eastbound I-80 from Grand Avenue in Oakland to Gilman Street in Berkeley; southbound I-880 from Union Street to 29th Avenue in Oakland, and southbound Interstate 280 from Foothill Expressway in Los Altos to Downtown San Jose.
Completing the top 10 worst commutes list are eastbound Highway 24 from the Caldecott Tunnel to Orinda, and northbound 680 from Danville to Pleasant Hill.
Tim Fang is a digital producer for CBS San Francisco and a native of the Bay Area. Follow him on Twitter @fangtj.