Caltrans to Study Ways to Connect Communities Divided by Interstate 980

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) recently issued a press release about their upcoming efforts to study ways to reconnect communities divided by Interstate 980 as part of a new federal program. They will be working with the City of Oakland on this grant-funded project. This is actually one of five projects in the state that is receiving a total of more than $35 million in funding.  

Federal Funding to Help Reconnect Communities in California  

Caltrans and the City of Oakland have been awarded $680,000 in federal funding to look at how communities split by the interstate can be reconnected. This project is part of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program and is being funded through the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.  

Caltrans to Look at Reconnecting Oakland Communities  

According to Caltrans, the I-980 corridor, which was completed in 1985, divides low-income communities in West Oakland from Downtown Oakland. It serves as a major barrier to travel and economic opportunities between these two areas. The grant funding is supposed to allow Caltrans and the City of Oakland to study ways to reconnect these areas and expand focus on community integration and environmental justice. Listed below are four other locations in California that are receiving funding for similar projects.  

Additional California Infrastructure Projects Being Funded  

  • $30 million for the City of Long Beach to reconfigure West Shoreline Drive. 
  • $2 million for the City of Pasadena to support the study of transportation and land use needs related to future redevelopment of the I-710 “northern stub.”  
  • $2 million for the City of San Jose to assess the feasibility and conception designs for converting Monterey Road from a highway to a “complete street” to serve more types of roadway users.  
  • $600,000 for the City of Fresno to support planning activities for a pedestrian bridge that crosses State Route 99 and connects Parkway Drive and Roeding Park.  

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