East Bay commute ranked among the worst in the US, study finds – NBC Bay Area

The Bay Area — and California in general — has no shortage of challenging commutes, but a new study shows that the East Bay has one of the worst.

The study asked more than 3,000 commuters across the nation one question: What’s the worst place to commute, and how much would you pay to avoid it?

When all the answers and dollars were counted up, the MacArthur Maze, a large freeway interchange in Oakland, held a dubious distinction, with drivers who regularly navigate those roads saying they’d pay more than $3,000 a year to skip it.

What makes the MacArthur Maze such a nightmare for commuters that they’d be willing to shell out that much money?

Drivers tell NBC Bay Area it’s the sheer volume of traffic on the MacArthur Maze at all times of the day, which all comes together in one massive structure with multiple on-ramps and off-ramps.

The formal name for the MacArthur Maze is the East Bay Distribution Structure, according to Caltrans.

The roadways handle over 250,000 drivers per day, helping explain why it’s called “The Maze.”

NBC Bay Area’s Thom Jensen has more in the video above.