Motorists Can Now Use Widened 98th Avenue To Reach Oakland International Airport

OAKLAND, Calif. — The westbound portion of 98th Avenue, recently widened to six lanes, is now open to inbound traffic from Interstate 880 to Oakland International Airport, creating a fast, direct route to the airport.

The roadway, with extensive landscaping and ornamental teal-colored streetlights, goes under the new Doolittle Road overpass, reducing the number of traffic lights between the freeway and the airport.

"With the expansion of 98th Avenue, we now have an efficient and attractive gateway to the airport. The 98th Avenue approach is the most direct route for travelers from the south and is a good alternative for travelers from the north when other roads are congested," said William E. Wade, Oakland International Airport general manager.

Outbound lanes on 98th Avenue will open this fall, and an extension of the road across the airport to Harbor Bay Parkway in Alameda will open in the fall of 2003.

The $114 million project is funded by the Port of Oakland, the cities of Alameda and Oakland, the Federal Highway Administration and the Alameda County Transportation Authority, which administers Measure B sales tax funds.

General contractor is Gallagher & Burk and design consultants are Kaiser Engineers, J.T. Warren & Associates and Korve Engineers. All four firms are located in Oakland.

Last year Oakland International Airport served 11.4 million passengers and handled more than 600,000 metric tons of air cargo. Oakland International has more than 200 flights a day on 13 domestic and international carriers to 33 nonstop destinations. The airport is a revenue division of the Port of Oakland.