Best Time to Drive from Menlo Park to Modesto

Right now (3:20 pm PST): about 119 minutes via I-580 West and SR-84 North, usually 120 at this time.

Only 6% of this drive is measured by working traffic sensors right now. The rest is estimated from nearby sensors, typical speeds and street traffic, so times can be off. Why so few sensors work.

About this drive

On weekdays the 86-mile drive from Menlo Park to Modesto (via I-580 West and SR-84 North) usually takes as little as 112 minutes and up to 246 minutes, when leaving around 7:30 am on Wednesdays. The fastest times to leave are before 5:30 am or after 7:30 pm. Midday (11 am to 2 pm) it takes about 122 minutes. On weekends it is slowest around 5 pm on Sundays (193 minutes).

About 32 miles of it is freeway, where times follow typical and live traffic from our sensors, and about 54 miles surface streets (75 to 171 minutes on weekdays), estimated from how jammed the freeways around them are at that time. Drive times are measured from central Menlo Park to central Modesto along the route on the map. Starting or ending elsewhere in a big city can add or save several minutes.

Simulated from typical freeway speeds at each point of the drive for the time you would reach it, from every 5-minute reading we have recorded. We don't have sensors on surface streets yet, so the time on them is estimated from how congested the freeways around each end of the drive are at that time, in both directions: streets jam when the freeways do.

Questions

What is the best time to drive from Menlo Park to Modesto?

On weekdays, leave before 5:30 am or after 7:30 pm. The drive usually takes about 112 minutes then, versus up to 246 minutes at the worst times.

How long does it take to drive from Menlo Park to Modesto?

The 86-mile drive usually takes 112 to 246 minutes on weekdays, depending on when you leave, and about 122 minutes midday.

When is traffic worst from Menlo Park to Modesto?

Leaving around 7:30 am on Wednesdays is usually slowest, about 246 minutes.

Freeways on this drive

I-580 West in Bay Area (19 miles) · SR-84 North in Bay Area (9 miles) · I-680 North in Bay Area (3 miles)

Bay Area traffic right now · Bay Area traffic tomorrow

More drives

Modesto to Menlo Park (return trip) · Menlo Park to San Jose · Menlo Park to San Francisco · Menlo Park to Oakland · Menlo Park to Stockton · Menlo Park to Fremont · Menlo Park to Hayward · Menlo Park to Salinas · Menlo Park to Sunnyvale · Menlo Park to Concord · Menlo Park to Santa Clara · Menlo Park to Vallejo

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