Nearly 40 miles of crumbling Oakland streets repaired at record-setting pace

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Despite the challenges of a pandemic, more roads are being repaved in Oakland than ever before, according to city leaders. Many of the streets are in underserved communities.

Ten years ago Oakland was repaving only two miles of road in a year. They consistently were rated as having some of the worst road conditions in the country.

That changed this past year.

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"Our workers have broken an all-time record this last fiscal year for the most number of miles of road repaved. And boy, did Oakland need it," Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said.

Last year the city launched what was dubbed "The Great Oakland Pave" using money from voter approved measure KK .

Nearly 40 miles of roads have not just been pothole-patched, but completely reconstructed and repaved.

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Selecting which neighborhoods got the road improvements was a groundbreaking choice. Ryan Russo, Director of the Oakland Department of Transportation described it as, "The nations first equity-driven paving plan where we equally weigh how bad the condition of the road is with the historic disadvantages that exist in a community."

"This is just one of many ways we are continuing to invest in those areas of east Oakland that have been marginalized, investing in the people of east Oakland that have been disenfranchised," Oakland City Councilmember Loren Taylor said.

Sidewalks were also repaired at a record-setting rate.

A map shows the master plan to work on major roads, as well as small neighborhood streets from Berkeley to San Leandro.

The "great pave" has 90 miles to go over over the next two years. City officials thanked the workers on the front lines making it happen.