I-5 questions

[froggy33]

Hi. I will be driving up from San Diego on I-5 on Friday morning from 7:30-9. I would like to know how bad the traffic will be considering it is kind of rush hour. I am from Kansas City, so I have driven in traffic, but I have never been to CA and have heard stories. Please let me know! Thanks a bunch.

 

[SANDIEGOFAN]

Where in San Diego are you staying?

 

[pr surfer]

I've driven from Carlsbad - DLR in just under an hour, having left at about 7:05am... depending on where in San Diego you're at and when you leave, it could take you anywhere from 45 mins - 2 hours

 

[froggy33]

We are staying at the Marriott Hotel and Marina. I will be getting on the highway at 11th street at 639 I think. It says it is 95 miles. Thanks

 

[Tink33]

If you leave at 7:30 am, my guess would be 2+ hours. You will hit traffic leaving Downtown San Diego, again at the 5 and 805 merge, the border crossing outside San Clemente, and traffic starting in Mission Viejo and continuing to Anaheim.

Here is link to traffic patterns .

 

[SANDIEGOFAN]

OK, the bad and the good here. You'll hit traffic on your way out up through Sorrento valley - about 7 miles north from your location. Good news is, once you pass that area you shouldn't have a problem and it will be late enough to miss the Mission Viejo/Irvine traffic. I'd plan for a two hour trip, maybe a little longer. Good luck and have fun when you get there.

 

[froggy33]

Thank you all so much. I am really looking forward to this trip.

 

[dis-happy]

HERE is the key question: will you be by yourself? If you have a passenger, you can make use of the carpool lanes and save a bunch of time. Depending on back-ups at immigration checkpoint, your 90 minutes is quite realistic if you can use the carpool lanes, especially through El Toro and Santa Ana. I assume your destination is DL or is it somewhere else in Orange County?

Once you get past downtown San Diego and merge with the 805, you should start hitting some roads that will be moving well (at least until El Toro). If you want more info. about So. Calif. freeways, here it is: they are great at moving large amounts of cars. The trucks must stay in the right two lanes, but even they go pretty fast. If you are in the 3rd or 4th lane, make sure you aren't holding up cars behind you; if so, move over. When merging onto the freeways make sure you are up to freeway speeds!--this is an important safety tip. The road signs are large and clear. As far as traffic goes, it may be stop and go in places; if so, leave room in front of you and try to go at a consistent slow speed, rather than putting on your brakes constantly. Some freeway entrances have a stopligt system during high traffic periods. Read the sign-some say 2 cars per green. Others have a separate lane for carpoolers. Finally, gas is cheaper overall in Orange County than San Diego, but make sure you have enough to get there in one tank.

Last tip: if you have time, try to eat at In And Out Burger.

 

[froggy33]

What's immigration checkpoint? I will be dricing from right about PETCO park to Disneyland. I will be renting my car at 7:30 and leaving right away. I will have a passenger, so I can use the carpool lane.
Thanks everybody for all your help.

 

[dis-happy]

As you drive north on the I-5, just past Oceanside, there's an immigration check point. Oftentimes, it is closed, so traffic just moves through it. However, if it is open, you will see warning signs ahead of time, at least a mile or two. As you approach, you come to a stop. An INS person will look at you and (almost always) wave you through. However, if it looks like you have passengers hiding in your car (for instance, your trunk is hanging low) they might ask you some questions or send you to another lane for further checking. This actually happened to me once--I think they also look at the make of your vehicle. In all, it's not a big deal, just a way to try to keep some of the many illegal aliens out of California...