The East Bay is well represented in an annual "Dirty Dozen" list of roadway nightmares, which also notes the locations that are most improved.
The list includes six spots in the East Bay
- the toll plaza at the Bay Bridge (No. 1)
- the Wilder Road exit on eastbound Highway 24 near the Caldecott Tunnel (No. 5)
- the Interstate 580-680 interchange (No. 7)
- toll lanes on Interstate 680 and at Interstate 880-Highway 237 (No. 10)
- northbound Interstate 680 over the Sunol Grade (No. 11)
- the Gilman Street-Interstate 80 interchange (No. 12)
Newspaper columnist Gary Richards, aka Mr. Roadshow, compiles the list annually for the San Jose Mercury News, Oakland Tribune and Contra Costa Times. Richards writes that the list reflects "not necessarily the most congested roads, but the areas that most tick us off, judging by the hundreds of complaints that Roadshow receives each week."
The article also lists a dozen "most-improved" spots, including four in the East Bay: Highway 4 (No. 4); Interstate 680 paving in Walnut Creek (No. 6); cellphone lot improvements at Oakland airport (No. 7); traffic signal sychnronization in Walnut Creek (No. 8).
What do you think of the list? Anything missing?
Related:
Using freeway exits like Wilder Road to dodge traffic jams (Claycord.com)
Drivers behaving badly at the Bay Bridge (KRON YouTube video)
Interstate 580-680 interchange modification project (Caltrans-Alameda County)
PDF: Gilman Street-Interstate 80 project fact sheet, November 2012 (Alameda County)
Luckily, I found a "long cut" that shaves about 5 minutes off my route, even though it is about 0.3 miles longer. The reason for this crappy commute? No, it isn't because of construction. It's because many of the intersections in downtown Hayward have 4 way lights.