Interstate 680

Interstate 680

Interstate 680 runs from I-80 near Cordelia south to San Jose through the East Bay. The commuter freeway connects a number of cities including Milpitas, Fremont, Pleasanton, San Ramon, Danville, Alamo, Walnut Creek, Concord and Benicia in the eastern suburbs of the San Francisco Bay Area. It is a heavily traveled route that was expanded and widened in several locations.

Interstate 680 California Guides

The section of freeway through San Jose and Milpitas is generally eight lanes, and the rural area between Fremont and Pleasanton was previously only four to six lanes wide, including the stretch through Sunol. This section was widened to accommodate commuters between the jobs in Silicon Valley and affordable housing in the Central Valley.

Additional upgrades along I-680 included reconstructing the former cloverleaf at the junction of Interstates 580 and 680 and expanding the freeway between Pleasanton and Concord. $1.2 billion in construction from 2001 to 2007 constructed a second span for I-680 across the tolled Martinez-Benicia Bridge over Suisun Bay. Work included constructing a new toll plaza, which was the first with open road tolling in Northern California. Following the opening of the new northbound bridge on August 25, construction seismically retrofitted the 1962-span and converted it for four lanes of southbound traffic, with a bicycle/pedestrian path opened on August 29, 2009.1

I-680 Sunol Express Lanes

A southbound express toll lane accompanies 14 miles of Interstate 680, from SR 84 near Pleasanton to SR 237 in Milpitas. The express lanes allows drivers of single occupant vehicles to use the lane for a variable toll rate paid electronically with a FasTrak transponder. Carpools, eligible clean air vehicles, motorcycles and transit vehicles can use the express lane free of charge. Rates can change in 15 minute increments based upon traffic flow in the general travel lanes.

Construction on the $41,134,000 southbound I-680 Sunol Express Lanes started in October 2008. The new lane opened to traffic on September 20, 2010.2 The I-680 Sunol Northbound Express Lane Project commenced on March 5, 2018, with a formal ground breaking ceremony taking place on April 19, 2018. The new HOV/express toll lane extends nine miles from Auto Mall Parkway to SR 84. Costing $205,784,000, construction continued through late 2020.3

Key Opening Dates of Interstate 680:

References:

  1. Benicia-Martinez Bridge - About. Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) web site, accessed June 25, 2018.
  2. I-680 Sunol Express Lanes - Southbound - Project Fact Sheet Alameda County Transportation Commission.
  3. Interstate 680 Sunol Express Lanes project fact sheet Alameda County Transportation Commission. April 2018.

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Page Updated Monday June 25, 2018.