Coronado Bridge traffic: when to go over, when to come back
Avoid heading to Coronado 7–8am and leaving 2–3pm. Those are the bridge's peak hours in the city's 2023 counts, and the 2pm one is the busiest of the day: 3,964 vehicles an hour toward San Diego. Weekends carry about a quarter less traffic.
- Busiest hour
- 2–3pm
- Morning peak
- 7–8am
- Daily traffic
- 65,606
- Toll
- None
3,964/hr toward San Diego
2,156/hr toward Coronado
2023 average
Since June 2002
The short version
- The Coronado Bridge carried 65,606 vehicles a day in 2023, per the City of Coronado's annual traffic report
- Its busiest hour is 2–3pm toward San Diego: 3,964 vehicles an hour
- The morning peak is 7–8am toward Coronado: 2,156 vehicles an hour
- Weekdays average 70,807 vehicles, weekends 52,709, about 26% fewer
- The bridge has been toll-free since June 2002
Most freeways jam at 4 or 5pm. The Coronado Bridge peaks at 2pm. The City of Coronado counts every car on and off the island, and its 2023 report has the busiest hour on the bridge as 2–3pm heading toward San Diego, at 3,964 vehicles. The likely reason is the Navy: in 2009 Coronado's engineering director told KPBS that more than 60% of peak-hour bridge traffic was going to or from Naval Air Station North Island.
The bridge's busiest hour is 2–3pm leaving Coronado. Head back before 2pm, or stay for dinner.
Peak direction · weekday afternoon (2)
Lighter direction in this window
- Coronado Bridge, toward coronado
- Silver Strand (SR-75), toward coronado
Peak hours and directions from the City of Coronado's 2023 Annual Traffic Report. These are vehicle counts, not speeds: the busiest direction, not a measured jam. Lines traced on OpenStreetMap.
The numbers
Coronado's two ways in, 2023
| Coronado Bridge | Silver Strand | |
|---|---|---|
| Vehicles a day | 65,606 | 20,340 |
| Weekday / weekend | 70,807 / 52,709 | 22,798 / 14,261 |
| Morning peak | 7–8am toward Coronado, 2,156/hr | 7–8am toward Coronado, 1,398/hr |
| Afternoon peak | 2–3pm toward San Diego, 3,964/hr | 4–5pm toward Imperial Beach, 1,158/hr |
Bridge traffic is lower than it used to be. The city counted 75,100 vehicles a day in 2017 and 76,681 in 2019, against 65,606 in 2023. The busiest month is July: counting both the bridge and the Strand, 96,099 vehicles a day entered or left Coronado in July 2023, according to the Coronado Times.
When to cross
Timing a Coronado trip
- 01
Going over: after 8am
The inbound peak is 7–8am. A beach or Hotel del trip that leaves at 9 or 10 misses it.
- 02
Coming back: before 2pm, or after dinner
2–3pm outbound is the busiest hour on the bridge all day. The Strand's outbound peak comes later, 4–5pm.
- 03
Weekends are lighter
About 26% fewer vehicles cross on a weekend day than a weekday, and the Strand drops by more than a third.
- 04
Don't plan around a toll
There isn't one. It ended at 10pm on June 27, 2002. See is there a toll on the Coronado Bridge.
KEEP READING
SOURCES
Everything above traces back to one of these. Follow them — if one has changed and we haven't, that's our mistake, not yours.
- PrimaryAnnual Traffic Report 2023
City of Coronado · Checked October 19, 2026
Daily volumes and peak hours for the bridge and the Silver Strand
- PrimaryAnnual Traffic Report 2019
City of Coronado
76,681 vehicles a day on the bridge
- PrimaryAnnual Traffic Report 2017
City of Coronado
75,100 vehicles a day
KPBS · April 26, 2009
More than 60% of peak-hour traffic to or from North Island
Coronado Times · September 15, 2025
July the busiest month
San Diego Magazine · August 2015
Five lanes and the moveable barrier
10News · June 30, 2025
OpenStreetMap contributors
Map lines trace the bridge and the Strand