Full Notification

On Dec. 11, a fire at a construction site in the 6600 block of Snake Road in Oakland destroyed four homes and forced the indefinite traffic closure of Snake Road. This message is an update from OakDOT on our work to address the road closure.

The impact of the fire damage was extensive and complex: it burned a retaining wall that was holding up not only the roadway surface of Snake Road, but also the hillside beneath the roadway. When the wall burned, that hillside slid down and out from under the paved road. What remains is a stretch of pavement hanging over open air, without sufficient structural support. To safely restore traffic to this stretch, OakDOT will need to work with contractors to fully address this in a way that will be safe, sustainable and resistant to future damage.
We are working now with contractors and consultants to develop that plan. We feel the urgency of this work -- we know Snake Road typically carries significant levels of traffic, as what we call a “collector” road, connecting people from their local neighborhood streets to major arterials and freeways. We will work with our experts and City leadership to prioritize this project accordingly, but it’s important to set achievable expectations: this project will take several months, and in the meantime the roadway must remain closed for the safety of both drivers and nearby residents. Please find attached a map of the closure itself and points where drivers will need to take alternate routes.

Work to restore this roadway will be complex and expensive. We are fast-tracking our immediate efforts to assess, design, bid and award the work to get it done. We anticipate completing a detailed assessment by January 31, 2018, which will provide the timeline for the full restoration project, and we will report back to the community at that time. At this early stage, we believe this issue could take as much as 12 months to fully repair.

In the meantime, please continue to report any infrastructure issues you may observe to the City of Oakland Call Center. The Call Center can be reached by phone at (510) 615-5566, by email at [email protected], or through our free mobile app, SeeClickFix. Thank you, and drive safely!