Highway 50 is a major freeway that runs East-West through Sacramento County. It begins at the Western boundary of West Sacramento, where it branches of Highway 80. It then proceeds through West Sacramento, with offramps at Harbor Blvd. and Jefferson Blvd.. Immediately after crossing the Sacramento River it merges with Highway 5. It then forms the rough Southern boundary of downtown and midtown until it passes Highway 99/Business 80. As Highway 50 proceeds West, it connects with many major streets, and passes through Rancho Cordova and Folsom. It will eventually take you to South Lake Tahoe and Carson City.

The section of Highway 50 between Highway 5 and Highway 99 is notorious for getting snarled in traffic. This is due to merging between traffic entering and exiting the freeway from the two North-South trending highways.