Caltrans – California Department of Transportation

Nothing wrong with the employees, but the road construction on 101 at University has been a joke. Lanes have been shifted twice at least the past year, and I rarely see anyone working there.
What it has done is really fucking up the traffic on 101 at that stretch, which has notoriously been bad. So they decided to add oil to fire.
Just when we all thought they would be done in less than a year, the work has already reached its 2 year mark soon with no end in sight.
This dept deserves the biggest middle finger, out of all state agencies. They make DMV look like Ritz Carlton.

is it right after 8 years that caltrans will not take a deal after injurying a driver i will be missing a 8 christmas due to the mistake made by a crew and now i can not pay for insurance to drive and unable to work cant we talk soon thank you jay

I was stuck in horrible traffic on the bay bridge today with my car over heating. The person working the toll booth was so kind and immediately called Caltrans for me. After I was finally able to pull over, Caltrans was there within minutes. George and Anthony made sure I was okay and then safely towed me and my car to the city. They made a painful experience easy. Thank you!

Hey, it’s a State agency, in a nice building, in a good location in Oakland… CalTrans has been nice enough to loan us one of their computer training rooms in order to get folks trained on the FI$Cal system.
The security folks are nice; the staff I’ve encountered is nice; there’s lots of food options within walking distance if you don’t want to partake in the on-​site café; there are plenty of parking places nearby and I recommend the Ace Parking garage on Webster, as it’s only $ 12 all day and they take credit cards (including AMEX!).
I get to go back a couple times in the next couple of weeks… looking forward to it :)

I travel highway 12/​jameson canyon twice a day, 5 days a week. this guys hardly do anything, I swear everytime I drive there, no one is working. they are always talking or gathering. This highway is a major pain!!!
they fix a portion of the road, then break it again to do something else.

Is there no end to how much Caltrans employees hate Californians and want us to suffer?
Working near the Caltrans building is a constant pain. Their employees rush in and out of their indoor garage — pedestrians take their lives into their hands to cross the street there (despite the well-​marked crosswalks).
And the smokers! Does every Caltrans employee have a pack-​a-​day habit? Anyone passing by the building — on Grand or on 22^nd — walks through a dense cloud of smoke and over a constant litter of discarded butts.
Maybe the state needs to invest in a smoking cessation plan for their employees. And some driver safety training.

Get your act together. It should never take someone 1 hour to go 1 mile because of painting stripes… who does this during a monday morning commute? I feel bad for the workers. they work very hard and the decision by someone up «high» not only puts them in danger because of the increased traffic they have to deal with but they also have to deal with the road ragers while the decision maker sleeps in their bed. POOR DECISION MAKING

I am so grateful to CalTrans and not sure where else to put my thank you. Monday when I went to start my car at work in Marin, it did not start. I had it jumped and drove to get gas, turned car off and it would not start again. The mechanics at the service station in Marin charged it again and told me it should get me home to Oakland. 6 and 2/​10s miles later, on the San Rafael Bridge, my car just stopped. I have seen other vehicles on the bridge, but had no idea how scary it is during commute with cars and trucks rushing by. I think I waited about a half hour, but I was so happy to see the CalTrans truck. The driver was wonderful, and was kind enough to make a pit stop at the toll plaza before driving me to Point Richmond Chevron to wait for tow truck to get me to my mechanic. As far as I am concerned, CalTrans is my hero.

The workers from Caltrans in San Diego have always been courteous and friendly. In San Diego, Caltrans and Sandag have these tow trucks that patrol the freeways during peak hours and help you out. I once got a flat tire and in two minutes one parked behind me and took over. Had me ready to roll out in 5 minutes! He told me that they give you gasoline if you run out, tow your car off the freeway to a safe spot, and more… for free! That’s service! You can also call 511 if you need this service.
I have a friend that works at Caltrans and he listens to all sorts of people complain about the traffic and projects that disrupt their commute. He listens and then tells them the reason why there has to be certain closures and that they have to allow Construction Companies that are actually doing the work a window to build the project. In that window of time there are more restrictions on how many lanes can be closed and so forth. I now understand how expensive it would be to build anything if it depended on everyone (public) agreeing to when a project could be built. The funny part is that once the project is complete you hear all these praises on the new freeway or bridge from the same people who used to complain… I used to be one of them, LOL.
Another thing is that my friend and his fellow state employees have been feeling the economic hardships from the state budget crisis for years now. They get furloughed which is a pay cut and medical benefits get diminished to help the state. I am glad my employer did not cut 15% of my paycheck.
I guess it is easy to criticize without knowing all the effort that it takes to have a great freeway system like we do! Just imagine how many people use and need their services everyday!!!

thumbs up to caltrans today in alameda california. there was an accident on a farm bridge at 730 this morning and it is now 230pm and the fence posts that they are repairing is almost finished, great job on the response time guys. i wish i took a before picture.

Awful customer service representatives. Moving up to the bay again I blew by the toll in the carpool lane (it used to be free when I was growing up.) So I called to inquire about the ticket. Guy on the other end of the line was incredibly impatient and rude. Told me to call back in a month since it takes time to process.
I call back after a month. Again, incredibly rude and impatient. Told me to call back in another month. Sounds incredibly disorganized and can take a lesson on courtesy.
But what do these guys care? They get funded from our tax dollars and sounds like they hate their life.

This place is the poster child for government gone wrong. The security at the front desk is just sad… I tried to check in, and because I didn’t have the phone number of the person I was meeting with, they wouldn’t let me in… They wanted me to use some bank of computers down the hall to lookup the phone number, bring it back to them, and then they would contact the person and verify my appointment.
After getting past security, no one came to meet us, or pick us up. We were sent to the 12^th floor, looking for room 600 (odd, I know)… once on the 12^th floor, there were no direction, no reception, no nothing. We were roaming around the floor for 10 minutes before we found an office belonging to someone we knew… Then, we were finally delivered to our waiting appointment.
If you’re going here, carry a large amount of patience, you’ll need it.

To the nice Caltrans man who — during rush hour on a Friday evening, between the metering lights and the tunnel — escorted me to a safe spot and then changed my flat tire quickly, and with a friendly, reassuring attitude: Thank you so much. You kept traffic flowing smoothly, you kept me calm, and you made the world seem a little bit safer. Very much appreciated.

My worst nightmare, I was the one in Lane 7, smack in between the toll booth and the metering lights during morning commute, with the broken down car.
Caltrans towed me to safety, which is 5^th & Harrison in their mind. And no charge for the tow, which forces me to forgive them for smashing into my car as they backed up to hitch her up.
I would give them 5 stars, but since you have no choice but to use Caltrans once you are on the bridge, they lose a star for having no competition to contend with.

ppl needs to give more credit to Caltrans. ppl took the transportation system for granted in the society. hello! who repairs the freeway, who provided the roadway to ur work, ur weekend get away? Caltrans is a true unsung hero. and they even risked their lives to just maintain roadways for the general public to get to point a to point b. im talking about the maintenance workers, toll collectors who die in line of duty. So slow the «beep» down for the cone zone, and stop trippin coz u arent the one dying.
yeah its call MOVE OVER now and its a law.

Unreliable. We tuned in to the road condition radio stations over I-​80 Donner Pass and there was no mention of an 18 wheeler that jack knifed or that snow chains were required ahead. Fortunately we only waited about an hour on the freeway in the falling snow before the accident was cleared.
And we could not understand why snow chain installers weren’t placed after the check point that told you to put on your snow chains. As it was, the installers were half a mile before the check point. Result, we had to put on our chains in a snow covered 76 Service Station parking lot with other first time snow chain folks. Live and learn, when you see the snow chain installers motioning you to their installation area, you’d better cough up the $ 30.
And for our return over the pass, we again monitored the driving conditions on TV and radio and heard snow chains were required. They weren’t. This is one time I was glad CalTrans was wrong. Lesson learned is be prepared for the worst and hope for the best when you drive in snowing conditions.

Their roadside service and bay bridge project might be positive… BUT…their maintenance of the Bay Area Freeways SUCKS.
We have the dirtiest highway system in the country.
Cal Trans does NOT do their job when it comes to picking up litter.

The big #100! This had to be more memorable than a fav sweet-​tooth (fro-​yo, crème brulee, macaron) spot or even a hearty and savory (Italian, Surf and Turf) meal. After much deliberation, here goes:
It was a cool, drizzly Wednesday night (~8pm). Drove home after dinner with Candice, and traffic moved smoothly westbound of the Bay Bridge. Breezed past the toll plaza and proceeded towards the incline. Suddenly, I heard a THUD, and my mph immediately decreased by 10mph without pressing on the brake, and had to down shift (yes, I’m a stick driver!).
OMG! WTF was that?! Oh Shit! Immediately, I put my hazards on and moved to the far right lane. Thankfully, there was a small shoulder area, since it was by the Treasure Island on ramp and next to a Service Call Box. There was NO way that I was going to exit the car to check which tire was flat for fear of getting run over by an oncoming car (s). I’ve heard too many news reports of accidents happening when stranded motorists have done that, and was determined NOT to be one of those stories.
I took several deep breaths and tried to remain calm. I pulled out my AAA card to call road side assistance. Andrea from AAA was very nice and helpful, but had to transfer me over to Caltrans. *FYI, AAA doesn’t do road service on the bridges, only Caltrans.
Anywho, I told Caltrans my exact location, «West bound, before tunnel, next to Service Call Box#138 and Treasure Island on ramp; Embarcadero, North Beach, Downtown SF signs straight ahead of me.»
As I waited, the vibrations from the oncoming traffic was unnerving. Was hopeful the wait for Caltrans wouldn’t be long, as the longer I waited the more anxious I became.
In less than 10 minutes, a Caltrans truck parked behind me at a slant. This was crucial as it served as a buffer from the oncoming traffic in the right lane (without totally blocking it). Then, a tall, friendly grandpa (esque) man emerged, walked over, and stopped at the passenger side. I rolled down the window.
Caltrans: «Hey lady, are you OK?»
Me: «Hey, I’m sorry, what did you say? (Side note, I can be hard of hearing depending on location, and with the cars whizzing by, it was very difficult to hear Caltrans)
Caltrans: (in a louder voice) repeated «Hey lady, are you OK?»
Me: «Yah, I’m OK, thanks. Is it safe to get out of my car now?»
Caltrans: «Sure, just be careful!»
I slowly got out of my car and stood next to Caltrans, who pointed out that my front right was kaputsky! Apparently, a huge arse nail found its way in. I pulled the spare and tools from the trunk for Caltrans. He struggled to open the wheel lock package (tightly wrapped in the hard plastic material). While he went back to the truck to get a knife to pry it open, I attempted to do so as I didn’t want to be completely helpless, ya know? Hot damn, I opened it with the help of my keys, fingernails, and my She-​Ra Princess of Power strength. Caltrans returned and was impressed that yours truly opened it and said, «Wow, you are a strong lady!» I smiled and replied, «You’re damn straight, I am!»
Within 10 minutes, the spare tire was on, and I was ready to roll.
Caltrans: «Do you live close and are you Ok with driving on the spare?»
Me: «Yes, sir I live in SF, and Ok with driving since I’ll take the first bridge exit and take side streets home. BTW, what’s your name?»
Caltrans: «My name is Larry. What’s yours?»
Me: «My name is Gill C. It’s nice to meet you, Larry. Thanks much for your help. I truly appreciate it!
Caltrans: «Nice meeting you too, Gill C. Take care and have a good night.»
Now, I drive over the Bay Bridge fairly often. Every time I do, I think how scary and awful it’d be if I was one of those stalled cars that the traffic people report on in the news. Well, one of my biggest fears became a reality. While it was unfortunate that I got a flat, I couldn’t have asked for a better location for it to occur — next to an actual shoulder area and a service call box. Was grateful that I didn’t block any traffic lanes, and more importantly that I was safe.
I know many don’t sing Caltrans praises with the road potholes not yet repaired, construction, and lane closures during rush hour, etc., Trust me, I’ve done my share of complaining. However, given my recent Bay Bridge flat tire experience, I have a greater respect for and am incredibly appreciative of Caltrans, for providing speedy and efficient roadside service. Special props to Larry, who was my Caltrans savior!

Caltrans has a lot of cool projects, like building bridges and freeways and stuff, but man o man are there a lot of projects that need to get done. I have to say back when I used to live in San Diego, the freeways were pretty awesome, smooth sailing at 90mph+. Nowdays, my commute to work from Sunset to Candlestick Point is a POS. 280N is littered with potholes, crevices, cracks. I actually had a tankslapper incident from one of the cracks on the freeway 280N heading to 101S. I’ve sent in maintenance requests to Caltrans about this and nobody has even contacted me about it (or fixed it for the matter).
YOUR TAX DOLLARS HARD AT WORK! MAYBE WE’LL FIX IT, MAYBE WE WON’T!

When you think of Caltrans, I’m sure you think of the Bay Bridge Retrofit projects, poor highway planning (I-​80), Labor Day Bridge closures and many other Bay Area transportation/​travel issues. Most of the time we curse Caltrans for creating huge backups for highway repairs but this review is directed at the Caltrans Highway Roadside Assistance.
Earlier this week, I was driving along Highway 80 on the way into the city. Somewhere between Gilman and University my car starts to make strange noises so I pull over to investigate. I see nothing, so I get back on the freeway and just as I am passing the Emeryville exit, I hear a huge noise and see silver metallic object being projected away from my car and I know instantly that I have a flat. DAMMIT!!!
I proceed to pull over to the shoulder out of harms way to investigate. Yep, my left, rear tire is flat. What’s a girl to do? Of course, I’m on the phone with a client as this is happening and she tells me to stay in the car and wait for AAA. Nope, I don’t have patience to wait for AAA and I know that it would only be an inconvenience for anyone else that I call so I decide that I’m changing the tire on the side of the freeway by myself. I pop open my trunk and it’s filled to the brim with junk, not my junk either, but that’s a whole other story. I proceed to empty the contents of the trunk into my backseat in order to get to the donut that is tucked in the underbelly of my car. Finally, I’m able to pull the spare out.
Now if you’ve ever met me, you know that I’m small… I’m just at 5″ and barely 95 lbs. You also know that my uniform of choice is a skirt and heels. Back to my story, so I pull the jack out of the trunk and start to jack up the car with my standard issue car jack. You know the type that you hand crank. My client is still calling me telling me that I should wait for AAA but I’m almost done jacking the car up when I hear the voice of God telling me to back away from the car. I turn to see my knight in orange Caltrans tow truck come lumbering towards me. «Miss, what do you think you are doing?»
«Umm, changing my tire»
Yep, so the Caltrans finished off what I started. And while I could have done it myself, yes, even in heels and a skirt, it was nice to have Mr. Caltrans come with his power tools. Thanks Caltrans Roadside Assistance you ROCK!!!