June 10th, 2023: Bay Area "Carmageddon."
Several years ago Interstate 405 in the LA area was going to be completely closed for some vital repair work. I was down south with my Wife and we heard, and saw news stories and advisements of the impending traffic nightmare. It was popularly dubbed by the media as "Carmeggedon."
This was the complete closure of a section of the 405 from West LA, over the pass to the San Fernando Valley. This was going to occur on two separate weekends.
It turned out to be less dramatic than had been feared. A lot of drivers must have stayed home.
Our version was going to be a closure of s/b I680 at Sunol Rd. I would guess that traffic would be diverted off of I680 at Bernal Rd. There had been advisory signs posted on I680 for several weeks. The closure was not a surprise, and it could be easily navigated around by traffic that was passing through the South Bay.
The idea was to get off of s/b I680 at the major intersection with I580, well north of the closure, then head west and then south again on I880. Vehicles could re enter s/b I 680 at Mission Blvd in Fremont. The advice was to avoid the area, or stay home.
I did neither.
There was a car show up in Rio Linda just e/o Sacramento that sounded interesting. The "Night of the Revving Dead." By the flyer, it figured to be a Rat Rod/ Rockabilly type of event. I attended the West Koast Kustoms show in Paso Robles and Santa Maria for many years. I even went to the Rockabilly Route 66 Reunion put on by Bo Huff. I thought the Rat Rod phenom was a refreshing change from the uptight Street Rod shows that had been the norm for years. It was for a while, then it became it's own extreme thing. But that was just the fringe, the majority of the cars were just more traditional cars built in a reasonable manner.
But I like traditional Hot Rods and Kustoms as well as Rockabilly music. Though I could easily be mistaken for almost anybody's "Pappy," I thought that I'd still be welcome there. I was curious to see how the scene had changed over the last several years.
The venue was very nice, an old country house with a very large grassy field with numerous trees. The spectator parking lot was also grassy and it was a relief not to have my car covered with dust after the event. I arrived at the show shortly after it opened at noon. The grounds were still pretty empty but were filling up steadily.
There were a lot of interesting cars and everyone was very open and friendly. There was a real good Rockabilly band. It was a good show and it was worth driving the distance. At least on the way up.
It was returning home where the problem was waiting.
I 680 s/b closed at Sunol Rd. On a Saturday afternoon.
I had been gripped by the idea of an alternate non freeway route from San Jose to the Sacramento area for a long time. So I had been checking the map and making plans. I was tired of driving the same old route and wanted to try something different. I should have known better, the last time I tried that, I took a longer roundabout route to Sacramento, that began with me backtracking from Dublin all the way to I580 west to I 5 north. That didn't turn out so well.
I know the following account won't make much sense unless the reader is familiar with Bay Area roadways, but this is my opportunity to vent a little bit. I admit that any pain was self inflicted!
After the show I took I80 south, then cut off at 133 to Dixon, the plan was to cut through the fields, veer east to Rio Vista, take the river route south to Antioch, then take Vasco Rd. to Livermore, Where I would skate freeway traffic by taking surface streets from Livermore to 84 where it would connect with s/b I680 s/o the Sunol closure.
I thought that I was being very clever but I didn't realize two things. First, a lot of other people had the same idea. Second, every back road way out of Livermore ended at s/b I680! In the vicinity of the closure.
Things went smoothly as I went through Dixon, miles of open farmland, but things came a halt as I entered Rio Vista. There was a huge back up before I could cross the bridge over the Sacramento River. After crossing the river, the road was busy, but flowing well.
I should have taken highway 4 west from Antioch, but I decided that I wanted to go through Brentwood and use Vasco Road to end up in Livermore. Traffic wasn't bad, and using my Garmin Navigation I was soon on Vasco Rd, on my way to Livermore.
I had my last decision to make when I approached I580, I passed the W/B entrance and drove into the nightmare that was Livermore surface streets. Luckily I had wisely bought gas before I entered the city.
Things were going well through Livermore until I had to turn left on Concannon from Holmes. Cars at a total stop for miles! I waited and crept slowly until I reached a place where I could bail with a u turn, and started following some cars on alternate routes, eventually I found myself passing Del Valle Shadow Cliffs. I turned right on Palmer, and got all the way to Bernal Rd. which would intersect with I680. I went through Old Town and traffic stopped to a creep for 15 mins. Then I thought I'd just backtrack and take n/b 680 to w/b 580 when I reached the freeway. I'm sure that s/b traffic on I680 was being turned around at Bernal Rd. So all surface street traffic was at a stand still. Nope. But I was able to make a left turn, then a U turn and headed back into Livermore, I saw Isabella, and turned towards I680. Big mistake! Traffic ahead was completely stopped. I made an illegal u turn through a wide painted divider, and headed to w/b I 580. I breathed a sigh of relief as I entered the freeway. Traffic was very heavy, but moving towards I880. At 5-10 mph. But at least I was making progress, I'd get home... sometime! I was so relieved to pass through Castro Valley. Once I reached s/b I880 I could see that traffic was also very heavy and slow. I stayed in the right lanes so that I had an option to bail, which I did at A St. in Hayward.
I was pretty familiar with Hayward surface streets, and was confident that I'd make it home eventually!
I went east on A st. until I reached Mission Blvd, where I turned south, and encountered more stop and go traffic. Lot's of drivers must have been coming from Crow Canyon Rd. but traffic lightened up after Jackson Ave. where many drivers were heading down to I880. I stayed on Mission Blvd, until it hit I680 in Fremont. S/B traffic on I680 was lighter than usual, and fast.
I left the car show at a bit after 3:00, and was at my front door at a bit before 9:00! I had make a quick stop for a burger in Rio Linda and for gas when I reached Livermore.
So much for clever ideas!
But it wasn't so bad, I was by myself, so I didn't have to listen to any criticism or commentary. I also had my collection of CDs with me, so I had plenty of my favorite music with me. I treated the whole thing as a lark, and was travelling in good spirits. I didn't have anywhere that I had to be, at least not right away!
I didn't get much sympathy from my Wife when I finally got home and explained my travails. She asked me why I didn't just do the smart thing. The answer I offered up was pretty lame. "Doing stupid things makes me feel young."
There was no sympathy after that!
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