Sacramento, California – California is taking its statewide traffic-safety push into the East Bay, where a busy stretch of Interstate 880 will become a testing ground for a more targeted approach to preventing deadly crashes.
The state has designated I-880 between Union City and San Leandro as the Bay Area’s first State Priority Safety Corridor. The designation brings crash data, enforcement, infrastructure spending and public education together in one corridor where officials believe focused action can save lives.
The announcement builds on California’s statewide road safety policy launched in October 2025. That policy sets an interim goal of cutting fatal and serious-injury crashes by 30% by 2035, while pursuing zero traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2050.
“Prevention is a critical component of any road safety initiative aimed at saving lives,” Transportation Secretary Toks Omishakin said. He said the corridor program is intended to direct transportation investments to communities where they are most needed.
I-880 is a major East Bay route used by commuters, freight traffic and residents traveling between surrounding communities and transportation networks. Under the new designation, state and local agencies will use crash patterns and other roadway information to decide where safety resources should be concentrated.
Potential measures include improvements to streets, intersections and crossings, along with signs and pavement markings intended to reduce wrong-way driving. The program may also support safer walking, bicycling and transit connections near the corridor.
Enforcement and education are another major part of the strategy. CHP and local agencies are expected to coordinate efforts aimed at dangerous driving, while public campaigns such as SLOWCAL will focus on changing roadway behavior.
“This project puts data-driven enforcement where it can make the greatest difference – on corridors where lives are at risk,” California Highway Patrol Commissioner Sean Duryee said.
The corridor was selected using a High Injury Network methodology developed with UC Berkeley’s Safe Transportation Research and Education Center. The process examines crash severity, roadway conditions, community factors and whether local partners are prepared to carry out safety projects.
Officials will track changes in fatal and serious-injury crashes, along with indicators such as vehicle speeds, roadway conflict points and available traffic data.
Two more State Priority Safety Corridors are expected to be announced later this year. More information is available through the CalSTA Enforcement and Safety webpage and California’s infrastructure portal.