Congresswoman Barbara Lee Applauds Grant Award for Oakland I-980 Replacement Study
Washington, DC – Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-12), a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee, applauded the Department of Transportation’s announcement of $680,000 in funding for a California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) study on potential replacements to Interstate 980, a freeway that divides disadvantaged communities in Oakland.
In September 2022, the Congresswoman hosted Secretary Buttigieg in her district, where they toured I-980 and other local transportation. In October 2022, Congresswoman Lee sent a letter to the Secretary requesting $680,000 in funding for a Caltrans study on I-980 alternatives.
“For too long, I-980 has been a scourge on the East Bay: instead of bringing communities together, it has been a barrier to economic opportunity for the primarily Black neighborhood of West Oakland,” said Congresswoman Lee. “Last fall, I had the chance to show Secretary Buttigieg the detrimental impact of this freeway in person. I’m grateful that he has followed through on his commitment to center transportation equity and safety by awarding Caltrans this grant to study alternatives to I-980, and look forward to utilizing this study to advance new, just solutions that prioritize opportunity for all communities and begin to right the wrongs of discriminatory urban planning.”
This grant funding is part of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg’s “Reconnecting the Town” project. The study will explore alternatives for reconnecting communities with an expanded focus on community integration and environmental justice. A broad range of multimodal options for using or crossing the corridor will be considered, including options that reallocate right-of-way to benefit the adjacent communities equitably, economically, and environmentally.
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Congresswoman Lee is a member of the House Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations. She serves as Co-Chair of the Steering & Policy Committee, former Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, Chair Emeritus of the Progressive Caucus, Co-Chair of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus Health Task Force, and Co-Chair of the Pro-Choice Caucus. She also serves as Chair of the Task Force on Poverty and Opportunity. As a member of the Steering and Policy Committee, she is the highest-ranking Black woman appointed to House Leadership.