For more than seven months, commuters forced to find alternate routes to get on northbound I-680 because of construction on ramps from I and L streets.
Thursday, the barricades are coming down.
While access to I-680 is about to get significantly better for thousands of drivers, for Joe Fortina it means much more for his camera business.
Fortina says he has seen six to eight crashes happen since March, some of those he blames on I-680 closures.
"Very frustrating,” Fortina said. “I had many a customer that would say, 'boy, it is just crazy out there.' There were, I don't know exactly how many, but a number of accidents of people trying to make it through the two lane section there and hit someone trying to do business with us."
For lifelong friends Karin Menghini and Julie Wright, it meant hours added to their lives.
"Definitely, it will help so much,” Menghini said. “Instead of just taking Pacific or Center down Dodge, that will definitely help to get in and out.”
Joann Gould says the I-680 work brings extra traffic through her neighborhood..
"There's a lot of cars driving around, there's a lot of kids because people use our neighborhood to turn around and find a different route to go,” Gould said. “There's been a lot more random cars pulling in my driveway."
