Free Republic

Caltrans reached its next steps to remove one of the worst freeways in the country and make right what Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee once called a “scourge on the East Bay.” The freeway is highly criticized for ostracizing residents in the predominantly Black neighborhood of West Oakland. For years, community organizations have called for its demolition. “Today, I-980 represents a painful physical monument to the segregation and discrimination of generations past,” Caltrans wrote in a statement. In March 2023, Caltrans received a $680,000 grant from the federal government as part of the Biden administration’s infrastructure law. This prompted Caltrans to...

The California Transportation Commission played Grinch this week when it denied funding for a project to extend high-occupancy vehicle lanes from Acton to Palmdale on the Antelope Valley Freeway in favor of other Metropolitan Transportation Authority projects. "This is a very difficult time for transportation," said David Yale, the MTA's director of regional programming. "We've lost a lot of money over the last several funding cycles and we're running out of ways to solve these problems." The commission also denied funding for a project on State Route 90. The MTA sought funding from the commission for five projects through GARVEE...