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Vision 980 Study

Vision 980 logo with image of the Oakland skyline

Phase 1

Phase 1 of the Vision 980 Study took place between Spring 2024 and Fall 2025. For more information on Phase 1 please see below or visit: Vision 980: Phase 1 - Public Engagement Portal

Phase 2

The second phase of the Vision 980 Study began in Summer 2026. This phase is evaluating the feasibility of removing some or all of the I-980 Freeway. While no decisions have been made yet, based on Phase 1, removal of the freeway was the scenario that community members were most interested in learning more about. For more information on Phase 2 and to stay up to date on this study please visit: Vision 980: Phase 2 (Current Phase) - Public Engagement Portal

Stay Involved

To stay informed about future updates and opportunities to engage, we encourage you to sign up for our email list here or reach out to the study team directly.

If you have questions about the Vision 980 Study, please contact the study team at vision980@publicinput.com.

About the Vision 980 Study

The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is conducting the Vision 980 Study to hear from the community about ways to reimagine the I-980 corridor. The I-980 freeway divides neighborhoods in West Oakland from downtown Oakland and is a barrier to travel and economic opportunities. The Vision 980 Study aims to improve the quality of life for impacted residents through a community-led and equitable visioning process that seeks to reimagine the freeway to create new opportunities for land-uses like housing, businesses, open space, recreational, and cultural facilities.

Previous racially discriminatory decision making and redlining policies resulted in I-980 directly cutting through West Oakland. The freeway’s 1.6-mile-long connection between I-880 and I-580 displaced many West Oakland families and led to community disinvestment. Today, I-980 represents a painful physical monument to the segregation and discrimination of generations past. Some of the possibilities for the future of the corridor may include:

  • Improving connections between communities.
  • Redesigning roadways and over/underpasses for walking, biking, and transit.
  • Transforming the freeway including the potential to add more crossings, a freeway cap/deck, or to convert the freeway into a boulevard.
  • Creating new opportunities such as housing, open space, and access to economic opportunities.

The image below shows the study area, which is bounded by Broadway to the east, West MacArthur Boulevard to the north, Frontage Road to the west, and 3rd Street to the south.

Map showing the Vision 980 study area; which is bounded by Broadway and Telegraph Avenue to the east; West MacArthur Boulevard to the north; Peralta Street to the west; and 7th Street to the south. I-980 and San Pablo Blvd. are both marked on the map as well as the locations of the four BART stations that are in or near the project area.

The study is split into two phases:

  • Phase 1 included collaboration with study partners, community organizations, and the public to identify a new corridor concept/vision for transportation and land use along the corridor and develop an evaluation framework to ensure the concept/vision meets equity performance measures or benchmarks. Phase 1 was completed in November 2025.

  • Phase 2 includes similar collaboration with study partners, community organizations, and the public to perform a more detailed feasibility and technical analysis of the removal scenario. During Phase 1, the removal of I-980 was identified by community members as the scenario they were most interested in learning more about. Phase 2 began in July 2026.

Thank you to everyone who participated in Phase 1 of the Vision 980 Study! Your insights and involvement were instrumental in shaping the direction of this study. We deeply appreciate your time, ideas, and commitment to helping reimagine the I-980 corridor.

Phase 1 completed public documents are linked below. If you have any questions about these, feel free to contact the study team at: vision980@publicinput.com

Technical Memorandums

  • Existing Conditions Story Map: This report explains the current and projected future social, economic, physical, and operational conditions of the neighborhoods adjacent to I-980.

For more information on Phase 1 please visit: Vision 980: Phase 1 - Public Engagement Portal

The Phase 2 study team includes:

  • Fehr & Peers, Lead Consultant
  • Transform, Community Engagement
  • Horizon 54, Equity Assessment
  • Mark Thomas, Civil Engineering
  • Bodewell Group, Community Engagement & Political feasibility
  • Warren Logan Consulting, Community Affairs & Government Relations
  • Randolph Belle, Community Engagement & Strategy

The study team is also working in close coordination with the following study partners:

  • City of Oakland
  • Alameda County Transportation Commission (Alameda CTC)
  • Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC)

As shown in the image below, construction of I-980 began in 1968. Prior to this, West Oakland was a vibrant and active community that suffered from decades of disinvestment as a result of federal redlining policies and suburbanization aided by white flight after World War II. The specific routing of the freeway was chosen to connect the then recently completed Grove-Shafter Freeway (State Route 24) and Cypress Freeway (I-880). Ultimately, this involved taking over 42 acres of property, including the removal of 503 houses, 155 trees, four churches, 22 businesses, and 142 jobs.

Timeline of key events related to Interstate 980 including the proposal of the Grove-Shafter Freeway in 1946, construction beginning in 1968, the opening of I-980 in 1985, and the effects of the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. The timeline also includes a note of the 503 houses, 4 churches, 22 businesses, and 155 trees removed as part of building I-980.
Image created by ConnectOAKLAND.org.

The Segregation by Design project uses historic aerial photography to document the destruction of communities of color due to redlining, “urban renewal”, and freeway construction. This site includes imagery from 1948, 1968, 1988, and 2002 to show the impact of the construction of I-980 in terms of dividing the community (Susaneck, Adam Paul. “Segregation by Design.” TU Delft Centre for the Just City, 2024. https://www.segregationbydesign.com/). The freeway bisected the neighborhood and created a physical barrier for residents and visitors that exists today.