After a lot of worrying about potential traffic confusion, drivers on Monday seemed to navigate the new Doyle Drive bypass area without a hitch.
Though at about 8:30 a.m., traffic was moving a bit slower than usual, as commuters seemed to be getting used to the new surroundings.
Three hours earlier, however, at 5 a.m. -- after 57 hours of work -- California Highway Patrol cruisers escorted the first wave of traffic onto the new roadway, which will be called Presidio Parkway, when it is completed, hopefully by 2015.
At that early hour, things went smoothly, reported NBC Bay Area's Bob Redell, who was there.
Heading southbound from the Golden Gate Bridge, the old Doyle Drive now veers slightly right over a new bridge through a new tunnel and onto a wide S-curve that dumps drivers into the Marina district of San Francisco.
Most of the old, elevated section of the drive lies in ruins on either side of the new roadway.
The old Doyle Drive was demolished because it was 76 years old and needed to be seismically retrofitted.
Retrofit construction is expected to cost $1 billion.
