At the time of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake , the Cypress Street Viaduct double-deck segment of the Nimitz Freeway collapsed , killing 42 people . The old freeway segment had passed through the middle of West Oakland , forming a barrier between West Oakland neighborhoods . Following the earthquake , this section was rerouted around the perimeter of West Oakland and rebuilt in 1997-2001 . The east span of the San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge also suffered damage from the quake when a 50-foot ( 15-m ) section of the upper deck collapsed onto the lower deck ; the damaged section was repaired within a month of the earthquake . As a result of Loma Prieta , a significant seismic retrofit was performed on the western span of the Bay Bridge . The eastern span has now been replaced with a dramatic single-tower self-anchoring suspension span
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
1989 Loma Prieta earthquake
Oakland, California