New job, new commute, and a new routine of spending 2.5 hours on 880 every workday. The job is great, but the commute sucks. As another reviewer noted, it's not like this review will have any impact whatsoever on the experience that is 880, but since a Yelp page exists for this entity (I love you, Yelp), I may as well pitch in my $0.02, since I will now be spending the equivalent of 26 full days each year on this roadway. So, a few things about 880.... There is a FasTrak express lane that you can utilize if you want to be gouged with absolutely insane 'tolls', regardless of the fact that we already pay for these roadways with our tax dollars. The 'tolls' fluctuate constantly based on traffic. I've seen them as high as $15 - to travel in the express lane for stretches of less than 10 miles. It's positively criminal. Unless I am really in a pinch time-wise, I will not use the express lane, and would go broke if I used it daily. The 'tolls' are in effect all day, until 8pm I believe. The traffic congestion on this freeway is awful. At all hours. In both directions. It rivals the 405 in Southern California, which is basically a parking lot. I know it's not the freeway's fault the Bay Area is grossly overcrowded, but the fact remains that the traffic nightmares are a direct consequence of there simply being way too many people in the area. Next thing about 880 is that there are consistently a ton of big rigs all over the road - by far more than any other freeway I've traveled on. The obvious size difference between passenger vehicles and big rigs, along with the limited visibility the trucks create, inherently increases the risk of traveling on this roadway. Needless to say, drive with the utmost caution, leave plenty of room between your and other vehicles, and give yourself ample time to get to your destination. Ok, now for the positives, if you want to call them that.... First, the road is in fairly decent condition, by California standards anyway, despite the incredible wear-and-tear it takes each day. Second, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but so far, my fellow commuters have been, for the most part.... respectful. I have seen virtually no road raging. Perhaps it is because we are severely limited in how fast we can move along, but whatever the reason, I'll take it. Perhaps we're all just trauma-bonding. So, again, please drive carefully and respectfully, y'all, on 880, and in general. Let's do our best to make commuting as bearable as possible. Happy travels! read more

Lets talk about I-880 also know as Satan's drive way to Hell, whether you are going North or South, the destination is always the same and you have to travel through hell to get there. I'm pretty sure AC/DC's "Highway to Hell" is about 880. Thanks Andrea for that. Way back in the day up by Oakland I called it the roller coaster since it was not level at all. Seriously take your motion sickness drugs. Well then mama GOD and Mother Nature agreed, and the Loma Preita earthquake took care of it in '89. So present day, no roller coaster but the traffic is horrendous all times of the day in both directions, weekdays and weekends. The express lanes help some but during commute times will break the bank with the fees. Where does this money go???? Nobody wants to know. Back in the day when I worked for Intel this was my commute a couple time a month even though I was based out of Folsom. Even now, done being a corporarate drone, I still travel the 880 to places south for non-work fun. In the morning you can be sure heading south it will jam up just before the 238. To this day I have no idea why. Frequently I would jump to side streets to get around backups. Not sure I ever saved time by doing this but way better than just taking it. The more I think about this I realize there may not be a fix for this. It would be great if all the people in the north took the jobs of people coming up from the south and the people in the south took the jobs of people traveling from the north. Maybe if I had the data I could program something like that to equalize this nightmare called I-880. My partner just started this commute and her stories are worse than any of my experiences. If I could gove it a 0 star or better multiple minus stars I would. read more

Bikes and pedestrians on the interstate are becoming more and more common. Not long ago it took me 2 hours to go from Oakland to Hayward I think because of one guy taking a stroll in the lanes. With traffic so slow its no wonder people ride their bicycles on the shoulder - I think its quicker than being in an automobile. The new thing is there are signs warning drivers to watch out for pedestrians on all roadways - highways included I guess. The diamond lane does help if you have a carpool sticker car or 3+ but I think the worst part is the smog that everybody breathes in while on the highway for probably an hour or two or three every day for their commute. read more

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880 = garbage - Unnecessary fastrak lane. Big maybe if roads weren't a shit show and had extra lanes. - Damaged stretches of road for over actual decades/generations of drivers. - Mixed bag drivers. Can't get around this, societal/product of environment - lanes can travel at 60-80 mph then come down to 0 fucking ZERO for no reason. Especially lane 2. When that comes to a zero people are still flying on shitrak and the people in lane 3-4 are somehow crawling pace and not fully stopped usually... The 1 star is for being forever garbage and our taxes not making it any better but they made it worse with the fastrak lane. Always siphoning tax payers read more

I am always surprised when I run across such random reviews: I mean the freeway? so okay let me throw in my two cents... First the 880 sucks no two ways about it! How many of us have broken mufflers, got flat tires and broken axles in the potholes? Some the size of kiddie wading pools! The trash is also dangerous, both because if something falls off a truck or car it's too dangerous to stop and can get hit by oncoming traffic a nightmare and shitshow all at once! And now the Lexus lanes?! Pay to drive in a lane we have paid taxes to build, tax on gas to drive, taxes on on homes to park the cars at and now charging me to drive in them?! I think not! Just because they have toll roads in other places doesn't make them right, or even a good idea! But, even though I didn't vote for these stupid lanes this is not a political rant! I spent years commuting I worked almost 20 years in Hayward. 5 years to Pleasanton and then 5 to Stanford before working 12 years in Newark 2.9 miles from my home without using the freeway, that was wonderful. I turned down great jobs because the older I got I just wasn't interested in commuting on the freeway or Bart. Back to 880 or what we use to call The Nimitz or 17 before the feds and there let's drive 55 changed it to I-880! It has been the best of times and the worst of times... The freeway is empty but we are in lockdown and can't go anywhere. People are dying of Covid19! Don't even get me started on the encampments on the freeway exits and entrances. I feel for the homeless. But can't even begin to imagine living on the freeways and the danger that goes along with that... Are they fixing the freeways while they are empty?? NOPE!! Can they? YEP! We all see construction and road repairs still going on... Now would be the time, Does Caltrans have an answer? Probably not! I will continue to bitch even if it's just to myself. Living my whole life in California I know we have beautiful scenic roads and freeways, but 880 ain't one of em... Stay safe my fellow yelpers! read more

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One of the worst freeways in the United states. Road is in absolutely horrible condition. Catastrophic car accidents are the norm. During sunset the sun is directly in northbounder's eyes making for a deadly situation. This freeway looks like something from one of those apocalyptic movies. read more

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I spent nearly 2 hours driving from San Jose to Oakland on I-880 North, because everyone (and their brother) had to slow down and get a good look at the accident scene. It was in Fremont/Newark, maybe Union City, a full size pickup crashed into the guard rail and got demolished. Tires were gone, doors ripped off, axle showing, but no fire. Right lane closed because the fire truck was parked on the shoulder. read more

I-880 has gotten worst with the traffic lessening. it's almost becoming a speedway instead of a highway. cars just randomly zipping in and out of traffic just to game a few seconds. cars tailgating as if i will speed up if they hug my tail. FAT CHANCE! not getting closer to the big rig in front who might suddenly slam on their brakes. i actually miss the slower moving traffic where my chances of surviving are higher. read more

This highway just gets worse and worse. The addition of a fastrak lane makes traffic even worse. The fastrak readers are also buggy and sometimes read my plate instead of my flex tag. There's bumper to bumper traffic 7 days a week. read more

How did I even end up on the I 800 review?? But I will add my 2 cents...I used to live in the East Bay and have a lot of positive memories from there. I would have had even more memories if I did not spend so much time in 880 traffic! Always busy even on the weekends. read more

It's funny how people are rating a freeway, and what's even funnier is that people check in! Probably driving 80 mph down it and going on Yelp like me right now typing this review. I love this freeway because you can just hop on and drive to wherever. Obviously during traffic hours it's less pleasant, but overall it's a nice drive when it clears up. Don't give it 1 star for a freeway having traffic. You don't rate a store 1 star because it's busy... read more

If ya'll stop driving so dam close to each other we wouldn't have congestion. It's like when drivers step into their car, their IQ drops down to negative 500. Maybe apply some awareness to your surroundings or not read more

Terrible. All the freeways in the bay are getting tough, but 880 has the majority of the shittiest drivers. People racing, cutting, switching lanes like morons, driving on the shoulders, cargo vans going 50 in the fast lane, lumber and garbage everywhere, dimwits,.... it starts on the merge from 101 N to 880 N. You'll see... you'll be flippin' the bird and road-raging in no time! That's why it's the "Hate-Hatey" read more

ummm...yeah...I kinda have to agree with everybody on the the one star review for 880. Too bad (Sigh) This is really one of the worst major freeways in the Bay Area. In some places there are no alternate routes. 880 is really bad near Oakland, crowded with bad traffic and potholes due to all the heavy trucks that come from the ports. The San Jose side is narrow, creates bottlenecks near the 101 and 280 mergers. Definitely a freeway you want to avoid during traffic hour read more

Well it's the freeway what do you expect.. always traffic at unnecessary spots. Since everyone wants to move down here. Wish it was less crowded here in the Bay Area.. but there are certain times it's not to bad but it's hit or miss to tell you the truth read more

I started driving on this freeway since September 14, 2011. I lived in SD for awhile and the freeways there are almost perfect, however I was born and raised in the South Bay. One day, I came back, I drove this piece of s*** and it was a nightmare! I commute 4 times a week to CSU East Bay and this freeway has the most idiot drivers I've seen. Here's what you will see on this freeway: 1. Drivers who drive 55 on the 1st lane (carpool lane). Seriously, if you're not driving at least 70-75, get the hell out. 2. People who have no concept of defensive driving. You'll see 3 cars right next to each other for 5 miles going the same speed. You can't get past them, at all because the 4th lane is already crawling at 45mph. The worst thing, there's no traffic to speak of! 3. People brake...and brake..and brake..and you wonder what they're seeing because quite frankly, there's nothing there. 4. Oh yeah and you see trucks driving in the 1st and 2nd lanes..blocking all traffic. 5. There are alot of po-pos on this freeway. Everytime I drive here, I see at least 2 people pulled over every time. On one day, I saw 4 and one was being chased by a motorcycle cop. Also, if you commute anytime between 7AM and 9AM or 4PM-8PM, don't EVER take this freeway in San Jose. People do all the above, except you have three lanes to work with. This review makes my blood boil...avoid, avoid, AVOID! read more

The Nimitz Freeway (Interstate 880) is prob. the worst highway in the Bay Area. The main cause I think is the Oakland Sea Port, which generates the most truck traffic in the State, moving 3M truck containers a year. Those millions of big rigs, weighing 100,000 lbs or more, wreak havoc on the pavement, creating cracks, potholes, dips, and congesting the highway. Add to that a lot of commuter traffic, lousy roads, periodic construction to "fix" the roads, an aesthetically "ugly" scenic corridor (lots of industrial and warehouse land usage) from Oakland to San Jose, yeah it sucks. read more

Traffic sucks. Otherwise, it's alright. Road is in alright condition, and the freeway signs are pretty good. Carpool lane during rush hours on some parts of the highway! But, traffic still sucks. read more

Two stars given because of the drivers I encounter on this piece of road. I have a case of road rage. I-880 not only started but has fed the flame for this road rage. Want to experience a driver tailing you? Check. Want to experience construction on almost, it seems, every on-ramp? Check. In summary... Want to experience volatile driving at its finest? CHECK. read more

I hate how it's taking forever to do construction!

To all of you folks that bitch about this freeway,it was even worse before the upgrades to 92 and 238. And the truck traffic is about half of what it used to be. The bumper sticker,"Pray for me I drive the Nimitz" ,was quite commonplace and well understood. read more

Sure traffic isn't very good but have to give it a low rating as this is my 3rd incident with tires. Twice under 3 months I have gotten a nail stuck in my tire commuting to work. The road and trash really needs to be cleaned up around Campbell to SJ (17 to 880). Another incident was when I got a flat tire hitting a sizable pothole. Those also need to be fixed as well. read more

Always traffic and shitty drivers. Some people just dgaf if you merge from 101 North coming from Oakland rd. Whenever I have to commute through 880, can't help, but cringe. read more

The highway from hell. I HATE this highway. Unfortunately I got a job on the east bay that requires me to travel on this godforsaken deathtrap. Whether it's the constant construction, remarked narrow lanes, heavy traffic, views looking like a bombed out war zone, constant backups from a neverending parade of accidents, big a* rigs that use all lanes, and people who just don't give a f*, this highway has it ALL covered. And don't forget about the uninsured, suspended motorist who I just had the pleasurable experience of being hit by. When I moved to Cali, I knew it was only a matter of when (not if) I would be hit and of course, it happened on the 880. In short, if you value your sanity, your car and your life, stay the hell away! read more

First of all, there are always big rigs on this highway-always(especially 880N towards Oakland). The road is so bumpy, especially between Fruitvale and Broadway. Lanes 4 and 5 (the right lanes) are completely undriveable. There are so many potholes. I have had so much patchwork done on my tires from 880S towards San Jose. There are lots of nails on the highway near the Milpitas exits. The traffic is horrific during rush hour time and theres always road work on weekends during high traffic hours which backs up the highway even more. It is so inconvenient; where are my tax dollars going? read more