Anyone drive to DL from NorCal recently?

[stagemomto3]

I'm curious how much of a delay the construction on I-5 is causing people. What time of day and day of the week did you travel?

 

[MackSparrow]

I just made the drive this weekend. Going down I took the 5 but we left the Bay Area around 7, so traffic was non-existent. Coming back up I heard was rough so I decided to take the 99, leaving around 3, instead which only adds maybe 20-30 minutes to your drive. A little longer, but worth it to avoid the construction traffic. I also did the drive about 3 weeks ago but took the 99 both ways. Easy drive, no traffic.

 

[stagemomto3]

Thanks! Since we're leaving late, we'll likely do what you did...take 5 down and 99 back (the return will be mid-day).

 

[Marilynbn]

We are in the Santa Cruz area and usually go hwy 101. The trip is alot prettier than 5. Usually takes us 5 to 6 hours or so with just one quick stop on the way.

~Marilyn

 

[PinkBudgie]

Drove back on the 18th, a Monday, and the construction wasn't bad. It certainly didn't add any significant amount of time to our trip. Maybe about 15 or 20 min. at most. The problem is when lanes merge to one, most people get over right away. That makes the other lane less crowded. So then some people go over there and pass up all the other cars, making that first lane take even longer to get through. If people used both lanes right until the end, the whole thing would flow better.

 

[roma753]

I'm driving from San Francisco to DL next Friday (and returning on Sunday). I guess I'm not up to date on the news. Where on I-5 is the construction at?

We drove on 5 to San Diego a few weeks back, and we hit problems near Lost Hills. Is that the same problem?

Thanks!

Bill

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

We drove it earlier this month with absolutely no problems! It does go down to one lane, we slowed to about 35-40, but never stopped. Same coming back home. I will say on our way home (Sunday), the SB direction was backed up a fair amount though.

 

[gcatt]

What's a good radio station for traffic updates in the Los Angeles area?

In San Francisco we have KCBS, which offers traffic every 10 minutes. Is there something similar in LA?

And, to echo an earlier question: exactly where on I-5 is the construction / land closures?

Thank you!

 

[PinkBudgie]

I forget where exactly. I think it was around the Button Willow area. But not entirely sure.

 

[roma753]

Ah, I found the info on the CA Dept of Transportation website. Southbound, you should cut over on 41 to 99, then take that through Bakersfield until it rejoins I-5. The website estimates 3 hour delays on that portion of I-5.

I made a tiny map, but I'm not yet able to post images. Ah well!

 

[JH87]

Ah, I found the info on the CA Dept of Transportation website. Southbound, you should cut over on 41 to 99, then take that through Bakersfield until it rejoins I-5. The website estimates 3 hour delays on that portion of I-5.

I made a tiny map, but I'm not yet able to post images. Ah well!

Thanks for the info! I make the trip on Sunday. The way I go to DLR is to take 99 until it turns into I-5 around Bakersfield, then it's a straight shot there. So, from what I am reading, my usual route should be ok right?

 

[roma753]

Thanks for the info! I make the trip on Sunday. The way I go to DLR is to take 99 until it turns into I-5 around Bakersfield, then it's a straight shot there. So, from what I am reading, my usual route should be ok right?

Yes, as far as I can tell. The DOT website says that all that construction is between Buttonwillow (near 58) and 119. You should be missing all of it.

 

[roma753]

So I created a little image of I-5, and marked in red the areas that the Dept of Transportation website has said will be single-lane until October.

As I mentioned above, we drove through this at the beginning of July, and it was an absolute nightmare. We ended up getting off I-5 and driving over to 99 to avoid it, and I would do that again. The Dept of Transportation website suggestions that delays could take 3 hours.

 

[NStramler]

Going 99 to the 5 south of Bakersfield will not be a problem at all. As a matter of fact the speed limit increases to 70 m.p.h. at Panama Lane, so that helps a little. As for the construction, yes it is by Buttonwillow and I would suggest to take the detour... some days the delay has been as long as 10 miles according to our local news (I live in Bakersfield).. If you want a fast lunch, there is a In N Out Burger on the East side of the freeway at Panama Lane BUT DO NOT buy gasoline there.. it is a major rip off! If you need gas around that area, go to the west at Panama Lane and there is a AM/PM, Howards Mini Mart and Chevron.. all lots lower than the two stations on the east side.. There is also a Walmart Super Center there if you need to run in and grab things you forgot... Enjoy your trip!

 

[LisainCalifornia]

We just got back yesterday around 5:00 p.m. The slow down area was not bad at all--either driving down there (on Sunday) or driving back up to Bay area. It was actually much worse when we went in June. This time was no problem either way--and not worth taking a detour. Coming home was much quicker than driving up for both our trips this summer.

 

[23bw]

What's a good radio station for traffic updates in the Los Angeles area?

In San Francisco we have KCBS, which offers traffic every 10 minutes. Is there something similar in LA?

Thank you!

The equivalent of KCBCS in the Los Angeles area is KNX 1070AM. Traffic updates all the time just like KCBS.

 

[smiles33]

Thanks all for sharing your experiences. I'll be watching this thread closely as we'll be driving down in Sept. before construction is finished. I'm hoping it will lighten up as schools go back into session.

 

[Lilbunnyk]

We drove to DL on Saturday July 23, left the bay area at 9:30 AM and made it to about 30 miles from DL at 2:30 before we hit traffic but once we did hit traffic it took 2 more hours to get there. The total drive time was 7 hours. On the way home, we left on Monday July 25 at 12:30 PM and hit the i5 construction traffic which we were stuck in for 2 hours so again it took us 7 hours! It's all worth it for Disneyland though!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

So I just read through this thread again. It sounds like people who went in June had a generally worse experience due to the construction than people who have gone more recently. Anyone who has been in the last week have any further comments to add about their experiences? We'll be going soon, and I've started monitoring weather, traffic, and so on.

 

[rob1105]

I from Modesto took 99 all the way no constuction or traffic until we hit LA