Despite a slight improvement in pavement conditions on the Bay Area’s nearly 19,500 miles of local streets and roads in 2005, 18 percent of the region’s pavement is in "poor" or worse condition, and fully one-third is rated only "good" or "fair," according to a new report released by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC).
By John Goodwin
Published: November, 2006
The region’s average pavement condition index (PCI) score last year rose two points to 64 out of a maximum possible 100. The Bay Area’s nine counties and 101 cities registered an average PCI score of 66 points in 2001, with the numbers dropping to 65 in 2002, 63 in 2003 and 62 in 2004.
The improvement in the regional average certainly is good news, said MTC Vice Chair, and former Santa Clara City Councilmember, John McLemore. But our streets and roads are still at a critical stage. There are thousands of miles of streets and roads all around the Bay Area with PCI scores that have fallen below 60, which is the point when pavement begins deteriorating rapidly. So we need to invest in both preventive maintenance to keep the good roads above 60 and in rehabilitation to bring poorer roads out of the danger zone. Given the size of our funding shortfall, that’s a huge challenge.
PCI scores of 90 or higher are deemed excellent. These are newly built or resurfaced streets that show little or no distress. Very good scores of 75 to 89 are given to pavement that shows only slight distress and requires mostly preventive maintenance. Pavement with PCI scores in the good (60-74) and fair (45-59) ranges are becoming worn to the point where rehabilitation may be needed to prevent rapid deterioration. Because major repairs cost about five times more than routine maintenance, these streets are at an especially critical stage. Streets and roads with PCI scores of 25 to 44 are considered poor and require major rehabilitation or reconstruction. Pavement with a PCI score below 25 is considered very poor. These roads are difficult to drive on and need reconstruction.
No Bay Area city or county scored in the excellent range for 2005. The top-ranked jurisdiction is the Contra Costa County city of Oakley, where the PCI on local streets averaged 86, up two points from 2004. The lowest-ranked pavement was found in unincorporated Sonoma County, which for the second consecutive year recorded an average PCI score of 44. The San Mateo County city of Colma logged the biggest year-to-year improvement in 2005, with its average PCI score jumping 31 points to 78. About one-quarter of Colma’s nine miles of city streets received a new asphalt overlay in 2005.
MTC projections made for the long-range Transportation 2030 Plan, adopted last year by the Commission, show that between now and 2030, the Bay Area’s cities and counties face a combined shortfall of more than $6 billion for maintaining and restoring local streets and roads.
The November statewide ballot will give voters an opportunity to close some of the funding gap, explained Santa Clara County Supervisor and MTC Commissioner Jim Beall. Proposition 1A would help close a loophole that allows the state Legislature to divert funds away from transportation and Proposition 1B — the $20 billion transportation infrastructure bond — would deliver about $375 million over 10 years for local street and roads in the Bay Area.
MTC released the pavement statistics at an October press conference in San Jose. The statistics are part of the Bay Area Transportation: State of the System 2006 project spearheaded by MTC and Caltrans. This annual initiative tracks the performance of the region’s transportation system and the condition of its facilities. The complete State of the System report is scheduled for publication later this year.
