"Interstate 680" is the preferred route from the Fairfield (I-80) to San Jose and back again. You will avoid the I-880/ I-580 freeways and the concentrated urban centers of the SF Eastbay. I-680 tends to have less interchanges, so less merging traffic. The road is better planned and better maintained. Last week, I drove from Benicia to San Jose. It was a fairly smooth drive. The right lane south of Pleasanton has been repaved, the usual beatup roadway had been fixed up. It's great how there's extra lanes for slower vehicles to climb the Sunol grade going in both directions. Overall, it's not a bad drive if you don't hit commute traffic. read more

This freeway runs from the 80 at the north end near Fairfield all the way south to San Jose where it turns into the 280 and heads back north to SF. The north portion from the 80 down across the Benicia Bridge and thru Concord is not bad if you hit the traffic right. The section from Walnut Creek to Pleasanton is a fast section thru East Bay suburbia with carpool lanes and that stupid fastrak. The part I really hate is the section from Dublin all the way to Fremont over the Sunol Grade ... what a traffic mess all the freakin time! But hey, traffic is traffic but what gets this freeway a 2 stars is the stupid implementation of this TOLL lane combined with carpool lane. You HAVE to have the Fastrak transponder in your car, or you're SCREWED! How the hell do they (toll and Caltrans) expect all of the out of area travelers to know this, especially out of state tourists who never even heard of this "fastrak, and tolls!" $25 fine for using the lane with out the Fastrak thing, even if you have enough people for the freakin CARPOOL! I hate the Bay Area freeways for this! I come infrequently, maybe 3 times a year to the Bay Area and I'm not gonna fork out a Fastrak deposit and then deposit money on the thing just to use the infrequent times I get into this mess of traffic. Tolls to use the lane to get ahead ... yeah, I know why it's called the "Lexus Lane", only people with money get to use it! California with all it's uppityness for equality and non-discrimination .... WTF? I-680 is becoming more and more infested with these money lanes! Otherwise, it's a fine freeway to drive late at night and really fast! read more

My Preferred Route From Sacramento to San Jose and Back SITREP When I hear coworkers here at my office in Sacramento say that they travel down I-80 to I-880 - or worse, into San Francisco and down Hwy 101 or I-280 - I just want to revoke their Driver's license - and Intelligence Card - there on the spot. THE SETUP There is no better chance of escaping insane Bay Area traffic on the way to our San Jose Offices (or points beyond, like the Monterey Peninsula) than taking I-680. No, I can't promise an issue-free drive every time. But chances are much better that you will hit less jams and accidents along I-680, than down I-80 into the Bay and beyond on 101 and 280. SCENIC I love traipsing along the Delta, and crossing over the Benicia Bridge. Always a lot to see here, though in the past there was MORE to see, such as that ginormous Windmill back in the 80s/90s that strutted the hillsides on 680 between Fairfield and Benicia. And there is a lot more to jump off into if you want to in Pleasant Hill, Walnut Creek, etc., which is why I also prefer this route over going down I-5 and back into the Bay via I-580 at Livermore. THE LOWDOWN An enjoyable trek as far as freeways go, especially if your destination in South Bay and points beyond. read more

The freeway is very well maintained and I use it practically every day to get to work. Plenty of lanes and now there's an extra Lane for carpool. This freeway has served me well for over 20 years. It's been like an old friend, very faithful and steadfast everyday. Nicely formed concrete. However, I must say I don't see much help on this freeway. There's hardly any servers and there's not even a host to greet me when I go on the freeway. But sometimes I see these black and white car is sitting off to the side. Maybe they are there to say hello? What can I say? It's a freeway! read more

Who knew that Yelp would give me the chance to review one of the Bay Area freeways? I-680 runs from Cordelia Junction (near Fairfield) in the North and ends at San Jose in the South. Or is it the other way? Where ever you go, there you are. I-680 is a means to an end and this is what it means to me: - Commuting to work and back from Pleasant Hill to Martinez. Watch out for the CHP Speed Traps coming home! - Heading to Downtown Walnut Creek for various reasons or further South to San Ramon to visit one of Gayle's Sons. - Visiting one of Gayle's good friends in Benicia, zipping through the Fasttrak "fly by" lane on the Bridge and heading towards I-780. Some day, we may take advantage of the pedestrian path on the Bridge and walk there and back. - Driving North from Pleasant Hill and heading towards Napa/Sonoma, Ashland, or Tahoe. - Turning South from I-80 from the above Locations and knowing that I'm almost home. On rare occasions, Gayle and I will drive South of the I-580/I-680 "Boundary" that leads to the South Bay. The Sunol Grade is interesting enough, as is the proximity to I-880 near Mission. Yet, the closer I get to San Jose, the faster I want return to the East Bay. read more

680 is a simple, fast way to get to the san jose area from pleasanton/livermore and vice versa. by avoiding the 580 and 880, one can save a lot of time. -time not saved during commute rush hour, mornings and late afternoon -only 2 lanes both ways most of the way. cavaett: -driving a truck on the grade at 30mph no fun at all....(no choice, truck lacks horsepower). read more

680 definitely has less traffic than 880. When driving from Davis to Union City, I prefer to take 680 over 880 to avoid Berkeley traffic. However, be aware of cops! A lot of my friends got speeding tickets around Jacklin Road. read more

Interstate 680 is one of the better Bay Area freeways. It's often better choice then 880 if traveling south from Oakland to San Jose. Aside from the part from Walnut Creek to the benicia-martinez bridge, 680 traverses relatively beautiful terrane. read more

I drive this every day. Every single day. Almost every day I hear about some accident on 680. Somewhere. Usually in the vicinity of Walnut Creek, but occasionally in Alamo, Danville, San Ramon. Sometimes up near the 4 interchange. Strangely enough, I hardly ever see one occur near the 580 interchange (they do occur but not lately -knock on wood). It's still worlds better than driving on 880 or 101. At least I'm moving... read more

This is a freeway is ok, but it is a boring freeway. The speed limit is pretty high for the area, but this road pasts in the east of the Bay Area which is important for many commuters. This freeway sometimes has some traffic, but other times this is OK. The freeway is also well maintained, and there is carpool lanes however the parts of the carpool lanes require fastrack flex. The freeway also have a plethora of lanes. Pros: Good speed limit Safe Well Maintained Cons: Boring Fastrack required for HOV lanes read more

680 Freeway - This is Interstate 680! This is a ok freeway. - Landmarks & Historical Buildings Near Me - San Jose, California

It depends on where you are at, but I will be honest this freeway is one of the best kept up roads in all of the bay area. Traffic can really suck here, but overall it's a pretty good way to travel the east bay from north to south... This freeway is a quick get away from the south bay to the northbay or out towards sacto, stockton, molesto, and tracey; so long as its not rush hour in the afternoon. I like that it dead ends at 280 in san jo at the 101. It then meanders north through the foothills on the edge of Fremont and crosses the 84, 580, 24, 242, 4, 780 and ends at the 80, it covers the entire length and then some of the east bay providing a crucial thoroughfare east of the coastal mountains. This is also a fairly scenic route going through some of the nicer parts of the bay. So yeah it doesn't suck and I suggest you use it if you can =) read more

I definitely prefer 680 over 880 -- much less traffic and much fewer unexpected butt massages. Yay! The freeway is in decent condition, at least from San Jose to Pleasant Hill. I have yet to see a pothole. The only problem with 680 is that it is overflowing with extremely slow and confused drivers. I have never seen another freeway where SO many drivers are convinced the fast lane and slow lane have been swapped. Typically on other freeways if you want to pass slow drivers, you move into the left lane, no questions asked. Not here! The left lane is used by the SLOWEST drivers you've ever seen on the planet, going anywhere from 30-50 miles per hour in a 65 mph zone. If you need to pass slow drivers, you have to use the RIGHT-most lane. It is bizarre and mind-boggling and possibly unpleasant, but it's what needs to be done. TIP: Use the right-most lane if you have a need for speed... limits. Haha read more

The portion of I-680 that I use most frequently is STUPID! It's the portion between the cities of Martinez/ Concord and the cities of Green Valley/ Fairfield. I swear, SOME PEOPLE SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO DRIVE!! I am nearly killed every time I drive that freeway section. Not only are there an exorbitant amount of potholes and large bumps on the roadway, but someone is always... -1- merging on going 35mph, forcing everyone behind them to slam brakes or change lanes (when there's no open positions)! -2- in the fast lane going 50mph AND refusing to move over AND refusing to let anyone pass them by simply keeping in sync with the car next to them (ie. blocking me in, along with everyone else behind me who wants to GO)! -3- veering into my lane or even clear off the road because they're applying makeup, talking on the phone or texting, reading a newspaper (yes, I've seen this!), stuffing their face, falling asleep, or any myriad of dumb things people do while driving. -4- cutting people off when they know they CAN'T FIT!! Some @$$ just barges their way in, scaring everyone nearby, and forcing the victim to fall back sharply to AVOID POTENTIAL DEATH!! The dominoe effect that ensues will require EVERYONE for a half mile back to hit their brakes HARD (rippling through the lane for the next 5 minutes while we all wonder WHY THE HECK WE'RE STOPPING so suddenly?? There's nothing & no reason we can see). -5- tailgating folks when, clearly, there's NOWHERE to go!! People fail to realize, we're AAAAALLLLL stuck behind someone at the front of the line who ISN'T GOING!! It's either an oblivious slow-poker who'll eventually move over OR it's the person from #2 above, in which case, we'll be here awhile! So get off my @$$, please? -6- zippin' in & out, changing lanes, left n right, in between, all around, actin' a fool, and going NOWHERE faster than the rest of us! This person jeopardizes the lives of everyone so they can FEEL like they're getting somewhere, or perhaps they're acting out Fast n Furious?? I don't care which, they suck as drivers & kind of make me laugh because they always end up at the back of the line when we all band together to block 'em from getting back in, hah!! read more

Amazing, I saw this as a "check in" by someone in my friends list.. and well I checked in as well.. never knew freeways are reviewed as well?! Here goes, multi lanes free way, clean cut, space, crappy during peak traffic: 4pm-7pm weekdays. 7:30am-9am weekdays Way less traffic than 880.. Otherwise smooth sailing... if you're wanting to go somewhere plan accordingly so you're not stuck in traffic... be Leary of those cops hiding at the weight station exits (that merge on the freeway from the weigh stations), I've seen folks speed and get caught real easy. read more

Traffic is not too bad on this freeway compared to other freeways in the area. Compared to Southern California, the 680 Freeway is totally awesome! When heading down to San Jose, I prefer using the 680 more so than the 880 or 101. In my experiences, the 680 just moves smoother and faster. read more

The great pro: rarely has traffic and tons of empty lanes, a huge Bay Area YAY! The con: has a lot of nails and debris on the side of the roads that often leads to flat tires. Put more convicts/parolees to work and clean it up! Prevent damaged cars. read more

I like the 680 freeway. In fact, I learned how to drive on this freeway. I commute to work on it. I go to visit my folks via the 680 freeway. It's probably the freeway that I've traveled the most on in my life. Sure I've run into some traffic on it, but it has been good to me. Knock on wood, I've never had an accident or gotten a ticket on it. Most of the time that I go on it is in reverse commute traffic. As far as freeways go, it's a solid four for me. read more

The freeway is made of concrete. LOL. I can't believe there is a yelp review of a freeway. How did I end up here?

It's a freeway. I'm glad I have the option of using this instead of I780 to get to I80. If people would learn that the left lane is passing lane and GTFO of the way so people can pass, that would be amazing. read more

Quick easy access on and off! Very nice road and was recently redone. The traffic is usually very easily flowing heading south bound. The toll takers are always nice and don't ever give you attitude if you don't have exact change. read more

It's okay. Not a fan of these hilly parts to be honest. God fucked us over hard. Thanks Obama.

Great freeway! Use it every day for work! If you understand the peak commute times, then you can greatly improve your experience when on the roadway read more

I just stumbled onto this one, and my first question is "why is this here?" I guess if I were to rate it, I would say it's great that we have a highway we can all travel on, but since I use this mostly during the commuter hours, I will rate this a two ... because traffic is neither fun, and really not worth rating - but since I'm just f*cking around on Yelp, why not. read more

From a Fremont resident: get off at the first Mission exit, and then get back on 680 at the 2nd Mission exit to cut through traffic.

This freeway is well kept in someways but a constant in progress construction project. It gets you where you need to go up and down the EastBay but at strange times even on weekends it can be a parking lot. Still, it is less busy than 880. For the population, I wish it could be widened. There seems to be few if any alternate routes to go if it is backed up. Easy on and off in fun cities for shopping, eating and playing. read more

Traffic stinks and there is constantly work being done but better than other freeways around.

I get nervous driving some of the busier sections of 680. So many speedy lane changes and inattentive swerving into other lanes. Right lane potholes are terrible northbound. But other than that, it's fine. read more

This freeway is to be avoided during commute times. I never travel this freeway from 5:30am till 9am or from 2pm till 6:30pm unless I am forced to do so. read more