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TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

July/August 2007

Facts & Figures:
Bay Area Freeway Congestion Up for Third Straight Year in 2006

Just as a rising tide lifts all boats, it seems that a rising economy slows all freeway lanes. Commute-period congestion on Bay Area freeways increased for the third straight year in 2006, according to the latest congestion-monitoring data released in June by Caltrans and MTC.

Driven by an expansion of the regional economy that spurred creation of an estimated 61,000 jobs in 2006, the daily number of vehicle hours of delay due to con- gestion in the nine-county region rose by 6 percent in 2006. This follows a 9 percent surge in 2005 and a 2 percent bump in 2004.

Among the “Top 10” list of congestion hot spots, the morning commute on westbound Interstate 80 from Hercules to the Bay Bridge retained its longtime hold on the top spot in 2006, with an average 12,230 daily vehicle hours of delay.

Beyond a shuffling of positions within the Top 10, the only change on the list is that the “reverse” commute westbound in the afternoon across the Bay Bridge into San Francisco moved into a tie for the No. 10 spot last year, after ranking No. 11 in 2005.

Regionwide, vehicles spent about 143,900 hours in congested conditions (defined as average speeds below 35 miles per hour for 15 minutes or longer) on Bay Area freeways on a typical weekday in 2006. While this marks a 6 percent increase over 2005 figures, it remains well below the 177,600 hours per day recorded in 2000 at the height of the region’s technology-charged economic boom.
— John Goodwin

Top 10 Bay Area Traffic Hot Spots

Ranking of Commute-Period Bottlenecks Along Freeways, 2006
(Number 1 indicates the most congested freeway)

2006 Rank Location
(numbers correspond to map below)		 2006 Daily (Weekday)
Vehicle Hours of Delay 		2005
Rank
1 Interstate 80, westbound, a.m. — Alameda/Contra Costa County
State Route 4 to Bay Bridge metering lights
12,230
1
2 Interstate 580, eastbound, p.m. — Alameda County
Interstate 680 to west of El Charro Road
6,720
2
3 Interstate 580, westbound, a.m. — Alameda County
West of North Flynn Road to west of Airway Boulevard
5,320
3
4 U.S. 101, southbound, a.m. — Marin County
North of Route 37 to Interstate 580
5,020
5
5 U.S. 101, northbound and Interstate 80, eastbound, p.m. — San Francisco
U.S. 101 from Alemany Boulevard to Interstate 80;
Interstate 80 from U.S. 101 to Sterling Street on-ramp
4,880
 4
6 Route 92, eastbound, p.m. — Alameda County
Clawiter Road to Interstate 880 interchange
3,880
7
7 Route 4, eastbound, p.m. — Contra Costa County
Railroad Avenue to east of Somersville Road
3,800
8
8 Interstate 80, eastbound, p.m. — San Francisco/Alameda County
Bryant Street/5th Street in San Francisco to Emeryville
3,030
10
9 Route 4, westbound, a.m. — Contra Costa County
East of Lone Tree Way to east of California Avenue
2,990
6
10a U.S. 101, northbound, p.m. — Marin County
Marin City to North San Pedro Road
2,760
 9
10b Interstate 80, westbound, p.m. — San Francisco/Alameda County
Bay Bridge toll plaza to 5th Street in San Francisco
2,760
11
Notes: Rankings are for routes in which continuous stop-and-go conditions occur with few, if any, breaks in the queue. Thus, corridors that have equally severe delays, but where congestion is broken into several segments, may rank lower in this type of congestion listing. Congestion is defined as average speeds below 35 miles per hour for 15 minutes or more. Source: MTC, Caltrans District 4

The 2006 congestion statistics are part of the ongoing Bay Area Transportation: State of the System project spearheaded by MTC and Caltrans. View more data and listen to the press conference at: www.mtc.ca.gov/news/press_releases/rel407htm

 

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