Remembering California’s Award-Winning I-680 HOV and Express Lane Conversion Project
The 2025 Roads & Bridges Top 10 Awards submission deadline is fast approaching.
While R&B already highlighted past winners in our July/August print issue, we’re not done celebrating our favorite road and bridge projects from the past 25 years.
In 2021, Interstate 680’s HOV Lane Completion and Express Lane Conversion Project earned the No. 1 Road Award. The San Francisco Bay Area connector gained three miles of express lanes and eight miles of high-occupancy vehicle lanes.
The I-680 project created a 25-mile continuous express lane from Martinez to San Ramon. It also eliminated a lane drop at North Main Street, which was a primary cause of congestion and bottlenecks for the 270,000 daily motorists on the corridor.
The collaboration between the Contra Costa Transportation Authority, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration stood out because of how it took advantage of unprecedented times.
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically reduced traffic on the freeway, allowing the contractor to extend lane closure hours and accelerate construction. The project opened $1.3 million under budget and a year ahead of schedule in December 2020.
“This was a remarkable project and a testament to partnering,” said Ivan Ramirez, then-director of construction at CCTA. “The team achieved savings, compressed the schedule, and provided safety and convenience improvements to the public a year ahead of schedule.”
This year, the deadline to enter a project for Top 10 Awards consideration is Sept. 25. The nomination form can be found here.