Free Republic

OAKLAND, Calif. - The rains that pounded the Bay Area caused so much flooding that Interstate Highway 580 by Oakland's Fruitvale and Laurel districts shut the road early Friday morning for about six hours. The water was so high that the rains even brought the ducks out to swim. Though the rains began pouring down late Thursday night, the California Highway Patrol shut down westbound 580 at MacArthur Boulevard/High Street about 3 a.m. Friday. And the freeway stayed that way, wet and free of cars, for most of the morning commute. Finally, the freeway reopened before noon.

Commission approves financing plan for toll lanes on Highway 101, other Bay Area freeways A Bay Area transportation commission took a step today toward creating an 800-mile network of toll lanes on parts of Highway 101 and other local freeways for car pools and drivers who pay a toll. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission approved a 25-year financing plan that allocates $6.1 billion for the lanes. Transportation planners say the money for the project will come from the tolls collected from motorists who use the lanes. The commission also approved a set of principles for developing the network. The profits from...

800 miles of toll lanes on Highway 101, other Bay Area freeways proposed A Bay Area transportation commission is proposing the creation of a $3.7 billion, 800-mile-long network of mixed-use carpool and toll lanes on more than 12 freeways in a big new attempt to ease chronic traffic congestion. Called High Occupancy Toll or HOT lanes because they are free to car poolers in rush hour and open to other vehicles for a toll, the network of express lanes would be developed over the next 25 years by a group county, regional and state transportation agencies. The lanes would be...

SACRAMENTO - The California Highway Patrol on Friday released a sketch of the so-called Interstate 580 sniper. Victims described the suspect as a white male driver in his early 30s with short or balding hair, who drove a dark-colored or black American-made pickup truck, CHP spokesman Sgt. Wayne Ziese said. The CHP has been heavily patrolling I-580 trying to locate the suspect in the shooting of eight cars late last month between the East Bay cities of San Leandro and Dublin. The cars were punctured by bullets, but no passengers or drivers were injured. Ziese also said Friday that CHP...

Suspect arrested in I-580 shootings By Lisa Fernandez Mercury News The California Highway Patrol arrested a 27-year-old Stockton man today and charged him with eight counts of attempted murder in one-day spate of shootings at cars traveling along Interstate 580 last month. Christopher Charles Gafford was arrested at 6:30 a.m. at his home in Stockton. A black truck matching a description given by witnesses to the shootings was found at his home. Investigators will not say if any weapon was recovered, but that added they are still seeking other possible suspects or accomplices. Little is known about a motive for...

<p>A motorist was injured Friday when a window of her car exploded as she drove on a stretch of Interstate 580 in the East Bay where a sniper is suspected of firing shots at five other vehicles this week, the California Highway Patrol said.</p>