OAKLAND, CA - MAY 04: Interstate 980 is seen from this drone view in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, May 4, 2021. Opponents of the freeway say that tearing it down is a good opportunity to use the money President Biden wants to spend to rectify past freeway construction which tore through historically Black neighborhoods. (Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group)
Q: The “Hate the Car Lobby” is active again. Now they’ve set their sights on Interstate 980.
This is an important connector between 880, the Oakland Airport, Alameda, southeast Berkeley, the Berkeley-Oakland Hills, and western Contra Costa County. Take out 980, and watch gridlock grow on Oakland city streets. If Oakland wants to raze 980, the only acceptable replacement would be a tunnel, like the Presidio Parkway which replaced Doyle Drive in San Francisco.
Ready to spend a billion dollars to mollify these special interest groups?
Bill Stock, Emerald Hill
A: California’s love affair with freeways is slowly starting to ease. In Northern California, this trend began several decades ago. Following extensive damage caused by the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, the Embarcadero freeway that looped around San Francisco was torn down and the area opened up.
Not only do many want to see 980 turn into a city street, but last spring, Caltrans canceled a project to widen 710 in Southern California. The E.P.A. ruled in late 2020 that the 710 widening plan violated the federal Clean Air Act. Last spring, Caltrans canceled the project. Caltrans Director Tony Tavares said it was “probably the most significant” cancellation in the agency’s history.
Urban advocates in Oakland recently told this news organization that 980 in Oakland was always unnecessary, and separated Black residents in West Oakland from downtown, with a noisy pedestrian pathway surrounded by vehicle traffic in between.
With $680,000 in federal funding, part of the “Reconnecting the Town” initiative headed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Caltrans will study options for 980 as they consider how communities initially split by transportation infrastructure could be reconnected.
“For too long, I-980 has been a scourge on the East Bay: instead of bringing communities together, it has been a barrier to economic opportunity for the primarily Black neighborhood of West Oakland,” Congresswoman Barbara Lee said in a statement celebrating the new funding.
Q: A few months ago, you shot down out-of-hand a reader who suggested reducing the length of the carpool lane on the 880 north approach at the 101 interchange. Having driven this route daily for the last 11 years, I think shortening the carpool lane deserves more thought. Much of the mayhem here is due to drivers staying in the carpool lane as far as possible before trying to cut across 4-5 lanes of merging traffic at the last minute. Long term, this interchange needs flyovers in all directions, but I will not hold my breath.
Nathan Laing, San Jose
A: Possible designs are still being considered. Flyovers would solve some problems, but bring others. A flyover here would have to be so tall and so heavy that it could worsen the flooding that periodically occurs on 101.
Look for Gary Richards at Facebook.com/mr.roadshow or contact him at mrroadshow@bayareanewsgroup.com.
Originally published at Gary Richards