Study Calls Oakland Interstate 980 A Top 10 Eyesore, Urges Teardown
OAKLAND (CBS SF) – Interstate 980 in Oakland has made a national top 10 list for freeways considered eyesores that should be torn down.
The Congress for the New Urbanism has put the two-mile stretch of freeway that connects Interstate 580 and Highway 24 to Interstate 880 near downtown Oakland on its "Freeways without Futures" list of top 10 urban freeways that add blight.
The nonprofit said the freeway only reaches 41.9 percent capacity during peak hours and has isolated West Oakland from downtown.
Interstate 980 was part of a plan to build a second bridge between Oakland and San Francisco, which was never built.
Connect Oakland, which is advocating for the removal of Interstate 980, said if the freeway were taken out, it would free up 17 acres of land to unify the neighborhood.
The city of Oakland is also studying a plan to convert the freeway to a surface boulevard.
The Congress for New Urbanism also recommended the teardown of the Interstate 280 extension in San Francisco, which stretches from U.S. Highway 101 to King Street in Mission Bay.
