As many of us remember, on 17 October 1989, just as the Giants and As took the field to play the fourth game of the World Series, the great Loma Prieta earthquake struck, destroying the I-880 Cypress freeway structure in West Oakland. The quake also severely damaged the surrounding West Oakland neighborhood. When CALTRANS announced that they would rebuild the freeway, the local community voiced strong opposition and proposed that an alternative freeway route be selected to go around their neighborhood. Ultimately, CALTRANS developed a new route that bypasses most of the residential district. The new route has created a planning nightmare with incredible construction constraints and scheduling conflicts. The Cypress Replacement Project is very complex politically, environmentally, seismically, and even archaeologically. Tackling these issues, CALTRANS is implementing a novel approach to historical archaeology that is proving to be extremely productive and exciting.