Bay Bridge Forward Project Marks First Conversion of General-Purpose Lane

SAN FRANCISCO, April 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) today announced that construction work will begin next week on a six-month project to convert the far-left lane of westbound Interstate 580 to a high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane from just east of the Piedmont Avenue undercrossing in Oakland to the start of the existing westbound carpool lane near the foot of the MacArthur Maze.

The 2.3-mile project — undertaken in partnership with Caltrans and the Alameda County Transportation Commission — marks the Bay Area’s first conversion of a general-purpose lane to a carpool lane. This is a key element of MTC’s Bay Bridge Forward initiative to fund comparatively low-cost capital projects to help move more people in fewer cars through the Bay Bridge corridor; speed travel times and improve schedule reliability for bus riders; and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Beginning next Monday, April 20, drivers headed westbound on I-580 can expect to see crews installing concrete K-rails to protect workers and equipment from moving traffic. Because most work will take place during the overnight hours, drivers can expect night-time lane closures over the next few months. Once the project is completed this fall, use of the left lane in this segment of westbound I-580 will be restricted to buses and other vehicles with three or more occupants on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 10 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m.

MTC is the transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

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SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission