Construction crew abandons repaving job over safety concerns in East Oakland

OAKLAND, Calif. - A construction crew working on repaving several East Oakland streets has refused to finish the job halfway through over safety concerns, leaving residents frustrated and confused.

The Sobrante Park neighborhood has had its streets ripped up and left in disrepair for weeks.

Residents say the half-finished streets have now become a safety and health hazard. Workers were supposed to return to Colorados Drive on Wednesday, but they were told the work has been postponed yet again.

Streets including Catron and Acalanes Drives are filled with giant potholes that look like craters. Colorados Drive is essentially an uneven dirt road. 

Cars are covered with dust.

There are several signs posted citing upcoming construction, but neighbors say, there's been no sign of any work since early May.

"It makes me feel that the city of Oakland is neglecting our communities around here," said resident Danette Truso. 

Oakland Public Works confirmed to KTVU that two separate safety incidents involving workers on this project forced the contractor to pull out in May.

One worker who told a driver to move his car for paving purposes had a gun pulled on him. Another was hit by a car.

Maya, who didn't want to show her face on camera, said it's been difficult to get any answers from the city. 

"They basically abandoned - the problem is they don't tell us anything," she said. "It's not only an  inconvenience, it's dangerous, we had three spin-outs. I keep on getting sick, because of all this dust."

Truso, who runs a home daycare, is worried about the safety of children. 

One neighbor showed us his parked car that was recently hit.

Shari Angarano also tried to get answers from Oakland officials.

"I spoke to the project manager that was listed on the public notice I received in March," she said. "He told me that the contractor suspended all work due to an unsafe work environment and they would not continue work until the city guaranteed a safe work environment."

Angarano said she's not worried about violent crime on her street, where she's lived for eight years. But she's very concerned about the roads.

"It's really unsafe, I'm unsure if my tire is going to go flat, if a rock is going to kick up and crack my windshield, and I'm just disappointed," she said. "Its just another case of neglect from the city of Oakland for East Oakland."

Oakland Public Works said the city has a new contractor in place to pick up work starting Thursday of this week. Though posted signs suggest a two-week span of work, the actual project should be completed in one to three days.