Authorities were working to clear two separate pro-Palestinian protests that has closed lanes on I-880 in Oakland Monday morning, according to CHP.
The protest was among multiple demonstrations blocking freeway traffic in the Bay Area, with another group of activists blocking southbound traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge starting at around 8 a.m. That protest would shut down the entire span.
CHP initially reported an accident at 23rd Ave. at around 6:15 a.m. blocking northbound lanes of the freeway, according to a sig-alert.
A short time later, KCBS Traffic posted on social media that there was additionally a protest in the area that blocked all northbound lanes.
ALL LANES ARE BLOCKED. NO ESTIMATED TIME OF OPENING. There is a protest here. No one is sure what they are protesting, but all lanes are blocked. Reports of barrels, people on lawn chairs sitting between the barrels, all in chains. #KCBSTraffic https://t.co/K98t3TDUif
— KCBS Radio – The Traffic Leader (@KCBSAMFMTraffic) April 15, 2024
The protest was in the area of 5th Ave., according to reports.
The post said there were reports of barrels in the roadway as well as people on lawn chairs sitting between the barrels that were all chained together. The post did not indicate what was being protested, but there were reports of a banner being displayed that read “A-15 Economic blockade for a free Palestine.”
CHP confirmed there were about 15 protesters blocking northbound 880. Video from the area indicated that southbound lanes were not blocked, though traffic was slowing as cars passed the protest.
CHP and Oakland police officers were at the scene in force to respond to the protest and clear lanes.
As of shortly after 7 a.m., the back-up on I-880 was stretching from Oakland to San Leandro.
Video showed police working to cut through the chains and steel barrels that the protesters were linking arms through so they can safely be removed.
Around 8 a.m., another group of hundreds of protesters blocked the southbound direction of 880 at 7th Street near the Port of Oakland and Jack London Square.
The protests also closed all lanes of the eastbound and westbound I-80 connector ramps to southbound I-880 in Oakland.
As of 11 a.m., one lane of northbound 880 near the 23rd Avenue protest has reopened and one lane of southbound 880 near the 7th Street protest has reopened. Tractor trailers are able to use westbound I-580 through Oakland until further notice, according to officials.
Shortly before 12 p.m., CHP confirmed that two lanes of traffic in the northbound direction had been reopened hours after the protest started. At around 12:40 p.m., authorities said one lane of southbound I-880 between 7th and Broadway had reopened.
A short time later, it appeared CHP had cleared the protesters from the southbound lanes of I-880, backing them down onto freeway onramps. So far, CHP have not announced if the freeway had reopened in the southbound direction.
The actions were planned as part of an “economic blockade” coordinated with similar protests around the world with disruptions happening in New York and Chicago. Protesters are hoping to target “the global economy for its complicity in Israel’s ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people,” organizers under the banner A15Action said.
Back in November, a large group of protesters shut down the westbound Bay Bridge as President Joe Biden and other world leaders visited the Bay Area for the APEC Summit. Last month, dozens of those protesters were able to reach a deal with a judge to avoid jail time.
A similar protest blocked traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge last February.
According to Bay City News Service, an additional protest is planned for noon at UN Plaza and Market and Hyde streets in San Francisco, by the Group Code Pink. An action by the A15Action group is also planned at 5:30 p.m. at the Tesla factory in Fremont.
This is a developing story. Additional information will be added as detail emerge.
