A new express lane on southbound Interstate Highway 680 opened to traffic Friday along 9 miles between Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
The new express lane runs from Alcosta Boulevard south to state Highway 84, and won’t have tolls charged until more work on the project is completed later this year, according to the Alameda County Transportation Commission, which serves as the county’s traffic congestion management agency.
Construction on the project began in 2023 and was funded through a combination of local, regional and state sources, including a sales tax in Alameda County.
Another express lane will be installed on the northbound side of the same stretch of highway, though the construction will take place at a date yet to be determined, according to the county commission.
“This new segment will provide smoother, more predictable trips for drivers every day, strengthening a regional corridor while improving the quality of life for people who travel here each day to get to work and return home to their families,” commission chair and Alameda County Board of Supervisors president David Haubert said in a statement.
More information about the project can be found at https://www.alamedactc.org/programs-projects/expresslanes/i-680-express-lanes-from-sr-84-to-alcosta-boulevard-project.
So they use our tax money to make a lane that they charge us for? We are being pimped and pandered by our government
Bay point bucc
I agree!
The truth is …
This new segment will cost the drivers and their families more every day, while it will strengthen the Slush Fund for our Government.
100% correct! Plus they did not create a lane in most places, they took one from us.
Sooooo more money for Newscum to “spend on the homeless and the high speed rail?”
Ridiculous! We paid for it – now we’re being charged to use it – and if we don’t there’s even more traffic in the other lanes …. need to vote them out!
That will help my morning commute.
and likely cost you $8-$10 more dollars a day for the privilege of going to work.
It won’t cost me any extra, because it will add a lane that was blocked, thus making all traffic move faster so I won’t need to use the express lane.
lane is still blocked unless you pay
My dad told me along never argue with idiot it’s pointless! You are spot on Angry American!
yup!
Car registration pays for roads. Gas taxes pay for roads. State/county/city taxes pay for roads. Tolls pay for what the other taxes don’t cover— or so they say. ~~ and a “per miles driven” tax in in the works!
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In the “Before we know what hits us” category’: Big plans to add a new State Route 239 4 lane from Hwy 4 Brentwood at Marsh Creek, South about 17 miles to 580/Livermore… Environmental Draft reviews were due in 2025…now postponed to around June 2026…….. (There’s a website to see progress on The SR 239 Project. https://sr239project.net/
And trying to escape going North outta Stockton… it will be a while, but toll roads and bridges are in the works before you can reach Sacramento….
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Has anyone besides me noticed that if you want to get out of CCCo…. it’s gonna cost ya a toll. If you wanna stay in CCCo… roads are gonna cost ya in taxes up the wahoo anyway! I remember when I could ride BART to SF for a buck eighty — Cross the Bay Bridge for a buck fifty. Clayton Rd, Concord Blvd were tree lined two-lane drives into the country. Pull over and tailgate for a picnic.
I’m old…and sick and tired of the gouge! Not a single one of those highways, bridges or any of it is a penny’s worth of Better Now.
Also do you remember when bridge tolls were supposed to pay for the bridge and then go away?
That’s why they developed 1st ferry’s (which did not lose enough money) and a bus district (a big loser) for the Golden Gate Transportation District, so it would never becomr “Free”. There was a big enough endowment to take care of maintenance in perputity.
What this all adds up to is that the US economic system (not just California’s) is a failure. It doesn’t work. Back to the drawing board.
Promises promises. Like Concord (et Al) and the “Temporary 1/2-cent sales tax
increase(s)(s)(s)(s)……
How many ways do we pay for roads here in California? Gas taxes. 12 cent gas tax. Increasing gas taxes that never end. Bridge tolls. Toll lanes. What happens to all that money???
it’s all just another example of the deceitful state Democrat government doing what it does best – tax and bleed working class citizens.
p.s. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started taxing us for breathing air.
🤪 I’m pretty sure there’s a line-item in the budget ‘income’ column for “Exhale” tax.
12 cents? It is more than 60 cents. And yes, the bridge tolls are now $8.50, expected, I believe, to go up to $11 in about 4 years.
The 2017 12 cent per gallon tax increase imposed on taxpayers. It was going cover road repairs that had been neglected for years because the state Democrats robbed massive amounts of road repair dollars from tax payers. They claimed it fix the roads. In the end it was just another of the endless lies by the parasitic state government.
Look at how much bridge tolls generate daily you will be shocked! Fastrak is a pure scam for the grease master to reach directly in your pockets!
Yes! How about the bay bridge? 260,000 cars a day cross it. Half pay the toll equating to over $1,000,000 daily.
Where does all that money go???
On 101 in the North Bay, carpool lane hours were recently reduced due to widespread public outrage. So public opinion can have influence.
BTW – Picture shows a car stopped in the “express lane”. 😉
Where is the equity and inclusion?
Us poor folk can’t afford to drive in that lane,… that we helped pay for with our taxes.
Pretty funny……California was trying to prevent Law Enforcement from pulling over anyone who had a broken tail light etc because the equity & inclusion group claimed to be unfairly targeted. SB 50 – It didn’t pass!! 🙂
Did my own research on the long-term results of toll express lanes. Guess what I found?
It would sure be nice if they could pave it before Haley’s Comet comes around again.