MacArthur Boulevard is an important cross-town route for thousands of bus riders and a vital connection to the freeway and Bay Bridge for AC Transit's transbay buses. As the flattest and most direct route over Oakland's rolling foothills, MacArthur Boulevard is also an important bike route connecting East Oakland and the Oakland Hills with Downtown Oakland. MacArthur is closely intertwined with Interstate 580 and acts as a parallel route and access corridor for vehicles using the freeway or navigating across town.
There are many projects on MacArthur Boulevard, and this website seeks to provide information on current and future projects and planning efforts for this roadway.
ONGOING PROJECTS AND PLANS
- Oakland High School Transit Improvements: Funded by a grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), this design project led by AC Transit aims to improve transit service around Oakland High School from Alma Avenue to 13th Avenue. Design for these improvements will begin in late 2021, with construction occurring in 2023.
- LAMMPS Phase 2: The Laurel Access to Mills, Maxwell Park, and Seminary (LAMMPS) Phase 1 project completed a series of bicycle and pedestrian improvements from High Street to Richards Road. LAMMPS Phase 2 will continue to improve safety for all users by expanding the pedestrian and bicycle connection from Buell to Seminary and completing the bike path from High Street to Seminary. In 2022, OakDOT staff conducted community engagement to develop preliminary designs; these designs were then used to secure $1.2 million in funding from the Alameda County Transportation Commission to complete the project designs, which will be finalized in 2025. In August 2024, LAMMPS Phase 2 and Phase 3 won $8.7 million in construction funding from the State's Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program. In Fall of 2024, OakDOT will find out if the two projects have been awarded an additional $14 million in construction funding through the federal Safe Streets for All program. If the necessary funding is secured, OakDOT will start construction on both LAMMPS Phase 2 and 3 in 2027.
- MacArthur Smart Cities: This is a traffic signal upgrade project designed to improve transit service and reliability on 13 miles of MacArthur Boulevard and adjacent roadways. This project will connect signals on MacArthur with fiber-optic cables to allow for signal coordination to improve transit service. Improvements will enhance mobility for all modes. This project will also add transit signal priority for buses on MacArthur to keep buses moving, install new transit lanes at intersections, and upgrade curb ramps for pedestrian accessibility.
- MacArthur Boulevard Safety Improvements (73rd Ave to 83rd Ave): OakDOT repaved MacArthur Boulevard between 73rd Avenue and 83rd Avenue in Summer 2021. The City of Oakland utilized this paving project as an opportunity to also install safety and traffic-calming improvements along Macarthur Boulevard.
UPCOMING PROJECTS AND PLANS
- Laurel Multimodal Improvement Project: MacArthur Boulevard from 35th Avenue to High Street is a dense cluster of commercial businesses in the Laurel District and a key transit corridor that connects East Oakland with Downtown Oakland. This is also a critical gap in the City's bike network connecting the LAMMPS Phase 1 bike path with the bike lanes to the west on MacArthur, with only painted sharrows where bicyclists share the roadway with vehicles. This section of MacArthur also carries high traffic volumes and acts as a bypass for I-580. Planning for multimodal improvements on this stretch of street is funded by the Oakland Capital Improvement Plan and will likely begin with stakeholder outreach and design in late 2022. There are currently no funds identified for construction, but OakDOT staff is working to identify upcoming grant opportunities.
- I-580 Transit and Multimodal Strategy: This is an upcoming planning study led by the Alameda County Transportation Commission. The study will investigate and propose a package of strategies for the I-580 corridor and surrounding transportation network that align with regional and state goals. This project will also identify locations along Macarthur Boulevard to improve transit connectivity and reliability, with an additional focus on multimodal safety and access. The City of Oakland will conduct community outreach to identify community priorities and needs for Macarthur Boulevard. This study will begin in Fall 2022. Construction funding is not yet identified nor is a timeline available for construction of any improvements.
If you have questions or would like more information about these projects, please contact Charlie Ream, Transportation Planner with OakDOT's Planning and Project Development.