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Interstate 980
John B. Williams Freeway
I-980 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by Caltrans
Length	2.03 mi (3.27 km)
Existed	1976 (FHWA); 1981 (state)–present
NHS	Entire route
Major junctions
West end	I-880 in Oakland
East end	I-580 / SR 24 in Oakland
Location
Country	United States
State	California
Counties	Alameda
Highway system
Interstate Highway System Main Auxiliary Suffixed Business Future State highways in California Interstate US State Scenic History Pre‑1964 Unconstructed Deleted Freeways
← SR 905 → SR 1

Interstate 980 (I-980) is a short 2.03-mile (3.27 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway entirely within Oakland in Northern California, connecting I-580 and State Route 24 (SR 24) to I-880 near Downtown Oakland. I-980 passes the Oakland Convention Center and near the famous Jack London Square. I-980 is commonly considered the dividing line between Downtown Oakland and West Oakland. The freeway was planned as the eastern approach to the Southern Crossing. It is officially known as the John B. Williams Freeway, after the former director of the city of Oakland's Office of Community Development.

I-980 was used as an alternate route between Oakland and San Francisco when the Cypress Viaduct carrying I-880 collapsed in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. Traffic headed from the south would have to use I-980 to I-580 west to I-80 west to get across the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge to reach San Francisco. This ended when I-880 reopened on a new alignment in 1997 (1998 to and from I-80 east).

Route description

Although I-980 physically goes north and south, it is signed as an east–west route like SR 24. Immediately after traffic leaves I-880 on elevated connector ramps, I-980 then descends below grade to pass under downtown city streets. The freeway then ascends above grade to pass over SR 123 (San Pablo Avenue) and 27th Street before reaching I-580 and SR 24.

The freeway itself lacks overhead guide signs mentioning I-980. Immediately after exit 1B (SR 123/17th Street) going eastbound on I-980 is a guide sign mentioning the junction with I-580. Likewise, the guide signs on westbound I-980 at exit 1D (18th Street) list I-880 and San Jose as a control city. Since 2018, Jackson Street and I-880 south have been signed as exits 1B and 1A in the westbound direction.

I-980 is part of the California Freeway and Expressway System and is part of the National Highway System, a network of highways that are considered essential to the country's economy, defense, and mobility by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

History

I-980 was added to the state highway system in 1947 as part of Legislative Route 226 (LRN 226) and to the California Freeway and Expressway System in 1959. This segment of LRN 226 became part of SR 24 in the 1964 state highway renumbering. The FHWA approved the addition of the roadway to the Interstate Highway System in January 1976, with Interstate funding only used west of SR 123, and the number was legislatively changed to I-980 in 1981.

Construction on I-980 began in the 1960s but was not completed until 1985; officially the freeway was designated as I-980 from its opening. The surface roads which existed prior to the completion of the freeway had been designated as SR 24. The highway was intended to serve the Southern Crossing and a regional shopping mall in Oakland, neither of which were ever built.

Future

The San Francisco Chronicle reported in November 2015 about a grassroots organization of local architects and planners, supported by Oakland mayor Libby Schaaf, that propose to replace I-980 with a landscaped city boulevard. ConnectOakland is coordinating the push for a replacement. Arguments for replacement focus on the freeway's low volume of traffic and negative impact on surrounding neighborhoods. In January 2017, I-980 was included in Congress for the New Urbanism "Freeways without Futures" report.

Caltrans and the city of Oakland received a $680,000 Reconnecting Communities planning grant, funded by the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, to study rebuilding or removing I-980. BART may use the corridor as an approach for a second Transbay Tube.

Exit list

The entire route is in Oakland, Alameda County.

mi	km	Exit	Destinations	Notes
0.01	0.016	1A	I-880 south (Nimitz Freeway) – San Jose	No access to I-880 north; west end of I-980; I-880 exit 42A northbound; former SR 17
		1B	Jackson Street	Westbound exit only
		1A	11th Street, 14th Street	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
		1B	17th Street, San Pablo Avenue	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance only
0.54	0.87	1C	12th Street, 11th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
0.90	1.45	1D	18th Street, 14th Street	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
0.90	1.45	2A	27th Street, West Grand Avenue	Westbound exit and eastbound entrance only
2.03	3.27	2A	I-580 (MacArthur Freeway) – San Francisco, Hayward	Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; east end of I-980; I-580 exit 19C eastbound, 19D westbound
		2B	SR 24 east (Grove-Shafter Freeway) – Berkeley, Walnut Creek	Continuation beyond I-580; CA 24 exit 2A
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi       Incomplete access

See also

• California Roads portal
• San Francisco Bay Area portal

References

1. "Table 2: Auxiliary Routes of the Dwight D. Eisenhower National System Of Interstate and Defense Highways". FHWA Route Log and Finder List. Federal Highway Administration. December 31, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
2. "Article 2 of Chapter 2 of Division 1". California Streets and Highways Code. Sacramento: California Office of Legislative Counsel. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
3. Federal Highway Administration (March 25, 2015). National Highway System: San Francisco–Oakland, CA (PDF) (Map). Scale not given. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
4. Natzke, Stefan; Neathery, Mike & Adderly, Kevin (June 20, 2012). "What is the National Highway System?". National Highway System. Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved July 1, 2012.
5. California State Assembly. "An act to provide for a system of public streets and highways..." Fifty-seventh Session of the Legislature, 1st extraordinary session. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 11 p. 3798.: "Route 226 is from a point in the vicinity of the intersection of Webster Street and Santa Clara Avenue in Alameda to a point on Route 5 in Oakland."
6. California State Assembly. "An act to amend Sections 306, 320, 332, 351, 362, 365, 369, 374, 382, 388, 397, 407, 408, 409, 410, 415, 422, 435, 440, 446, 453, 456, 460, 467, 470, 476, 487, 492, 493, 494, 506, 521, 528, and 529..." 1959 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 1062 p. 3114.: "Route 226 from Route 258 near San Leandro to Route 5 ."
7. California State Assembly. "An act to add Section 253 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 300) to Chapter 2 of Division 1 of, and to repeal Section 253 and Article 3 (commencing with Section 300) of Chapter 2 of Division 1 of, the..." 1963 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 385 p. 1173.: "Route 24 is from: (a) Route 17 near Castro Street in Oakland to Route 580..."
8. California Department of Transportation, State Highway Routes: Selected Information, 1994 with 1995 revisions
9. California State Assembly. "An act to amend...the Streets and Highways Code, relating to state highways". 1981–1982 Session of the Legislature. Statutes of California. State of California. Ch. 292 p. 1419.: "Route 980 is from Route 17 in Oakland to Route 580."
10. "Interstate 980 California @". Interstate-guide.com. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved January 26, 2013.
11. ^ Nicp Savidge (May 11, 2021). "A freeway separates West Oakland from downtown. Biden's infrastructure bill could help get rid of it". San Jose Mercury News.
12. King, John (November 14, 2015). "Oakland moving in right direction with idea to replace I-980". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved November 16, 2015.
13. "Report: Oakland's I-980 on national 'top ten' list for teardown". January 30, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
14. "Freeways Without Futures 2017". CNU. January 26, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2017.
15. "Oakland, Caltrans receives funds to study removing Interstate 980 in downtown". Bay City News Service. February 24, 2023.
16. ^ "Interstate 980 Freeway Interchanges" (PDF). California Numbered Exit Uniform System. California Department of Transportation. March 16, 2020. Retrieved October 17, 2020.

External links

• Caltrans: I-980 highway conditions
• Caltrans Traffic Conditions Map
• California Highway Patrol Traffic Incidents
• California @ AARoads.com - Interstate 980
• California Highways: I-980
• Interstate 980 connection from 1966 Southern Crossing plan
• ConnectOakland

v t e Auxiliary routes of Interstate 80
California 180 238 280 380 480 580 680 780 880 880 980 Business Oregon 80N Nevada 580 Business Idaho 80N 180N Utah 80N Business Wyoming 180 Business Colorado 80S Nebraska 80S 180 280 480 580 680 Iowa 80N 280 380 480 680 880 Illinois 180 280 Ohio 80N 80S 280 380 --> 480 480N 680 Pennsylvania 80N 80S 180 180 280 380 480 680 New Jersey 80S 280 680
Former
Proposed

• Interstate 80
• Interstate Highways in California
• San Francisco Bay Area freeways
• Auxiliary Interstate Highways
• Roads in Alameda County, California