Drive to San Francisco from Fresno?

Question

Ok, I live in the fresno area and Im planning on going to San Francisco next week for a concert

I know I have two Main Routes, well, three, including the 880

Which route is the best---faster

*152 West to I-5 north towards Sacramento; Then I-580 West towards the bay, through Oakland, merge onto I-80 West, go across the Bay bridge, and onto the central freeway/US-101

and

*152 west to US-101 all the way to SF

Which way is the fastest and most efficent, I have used the 5 and 580 before, and it seems fast, and have also used the 101, as well as 101 to I-280, which seems to have traffic issues, though I know the 580 gets some bottlenecks as well, and I know I can also take 580 to the 238 to 880 to 80 west

Which way is the fastest way to go to SF?

Answer 1

5/580 is much more direct than 152/101, but it also depends a lot on the time of day.  Hit http://www.511.org/ at the same time as you'll be traveling, and see what traffic looks like in the Bay Area.  101 can get snotty, but there's always 280... and the Bay Bridge can be murder especially if you don't have a FasTrak.

Don't bother with the little 238 to 880 zigzag, that's usually slower.  (unless you're a big truck then you must take it.)

If you don't have much gear, and if travel times work, also consider the Amtrak San Joaquins - Fresno to San Francisco is easy.

http://www.amtrakcalifornia.com/rail/go/...

Answer 2

I'd use 580.  When I lived in Palo Alto, I used 152.

Answer 3

99 to Sacramento...then 80 to San Francisco.."Smooth sailing"