Half of Bay Area's Roads in Poor Shape
By Corey Lyons
Contra Costa Newspapers
March 15, 2002
The condition of major streets and highways nationwide is a major pain in the asphalt.
The twisted maze of urban streets and freeways in the Bay Area is in particularly bad shape, with 50 percent listed in poor condition, according to a study released Thursday.
Nationwide, nearly one-fourth of urban roadways in the largest cities are cracking and crumbling away, costing the average motorist about $358 a year in car maintenance.
San Francisco and San Jose were ranked among the top 10 large cities in America whose seriously decaying roads cost frustrated drivers about $600 a year.
Boston's pockmarked streets were ranked worst in the country, followed by New Orleans and Los Angeles.
"Motorists in our nation's largest cities are in for a rough ride every time they drive unless needed road improvements are made," said William M. Wilkins, executive director of The Road Information Program, or TRIP, which released the report.
The grim study is titled "Rough Ride in the City: How Poor Road Conditions Increase Motorists' Costs."
It illustrates a kind of pothole purgatory in which more drivers are paying more money to navigate roads that are deteriorating rapidly.
TRIP analyzed information from the Federal Highway Administration, which provided data for the 10 largest metropolitan regions in the country. Cities with more than 200,000 people were also researched.
"We have a system that's kind of wearing out," said Larry Fisher, executive director of Transportation California, which lobbies for road construction. "Most were built in the 1960s and now require an awful lot of maintenance."
The report concluded that only 5 percent of 917 heavily traveled miles of roadway in the San Francisco-Oakland region were in good condition.
"The timing of road maintenance and rehabilitation is critical to ensure that it occurs before a road deteriorates," the report stated.
"Repairing a road in poor condition is approximately four times more costly than repairing a road in fair condition."
But Jim Lawrence, acting deputy director of maintenance for Caltrans in the nine-county Bay Area, said road construction remains a booming business here.
About $500 million to $600 million worth of roadway construction projects are being planned in the region over the next four years, he said.
"Overall, the roads in the Bay Area and statewide are in good shape, by our own inventory," said Greg Bayol, a spokesman for Caltrans.
"We have about less than 10 percent of the state highway system in need of repair at this moment," he added. "And those areas are in line for work now."
Stuart Cohen, director of the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition, said the report appeared to be too narrowly focused.
"Given so much repaving out here, I figured we'd have more than 5 percent of our (major) roads in good condition," he said. "You can't call it a comprehensive assessment by not doing all of the roads."
In California -- which includes four of the 10 regions the report described as having the poorest road conditions -- highway construction remains a serious issue.
State voters on March 9 overwhelmingly approved Proposition 42, which dedicates sales tax on gasoline to highway and transit projects.
Contra Costa Newspapers
March 15, 2002
The condition of major streets and highways nationwide is a major pain in the asphalt.
The twisted maze of urban streets and freeways in the Bay Area is in particularly bad shape, with 50 percent listed in poor condition, according to a study released Thursday.
Nationwide, nearly one-fourth of urban roadways in the largest cities are cracking and crumbling away, costing the average motorist about $358 a year in car maintenance.
San Francisco and San Jose were ranked among the top 10 large cities in America whose seriously decaying roads cost frustrated drivers about $600 a year.
Boston's pockmarked streets were ranked worst in the country, followed by New Orleans and Los Angeles.
"Motorists in our nation's largest cities are in for a rough ride every time they drive unless needed road improvements are made," said William M. Wilkins, executive director of The Road Information Program, or TRIP, which released the report.
The grim study is titled "Rough Ride in the City: How Poor Road Conditions Increase Motorists' Costs."
It illustrates a kind of pothole purgatory in which more drivers are paying more money to navigate roads that are deteriorating rapidly.
TRIP analyzed information from the Federal Highway Administration, which provided data for the 10 largest metropolitan regions in the country. Cities with more than 200,000 people were also researched.
"We have a system that's kind of wearing out," said Larry Fisher, executive director of Transportation California, which lobbies for road construction. "Most were built in the 1960s and now require an awful lot of maintenance."
The report concluded that only 5 percent of 917 heavily traveled miles of roadway in the San Francisco-Oakland region were in good condition.
"The timing of road maintenance and rehabilitation is critical to ensure that it occurs before a road deteriorates," the report stated.
"Repairing a road in poor condition is approximately four times more costly than repairing a road in fair condition."
But Jim Lawrence, acting deputy director of maintenance for Caltrans in the nine-county Bay Area, said road construction remains a booming business here.
About $500 million to $600 million worth of roadway construction projects are being planned in the region over the next four years, he said.
"Overall, the roads in the Bay Area and statewide are in good shape, by our own inventory," said Greg Bayol, a spokesman for Caltrans.
"We have about less than 10 percent of the state highway system in need of repair at this moment," he added. "And those areas are in line for work now."
Stuart Cohen, director of the Bay Area Transportation and Land Use Coalition, said the report appeared to be too narrowly focused.
"Given so much repaving out here, I figured we'd have more than 5 percent of our (major) roads in good condition," he said. "You can't call it a comprehensive assessment by not doing all of the roads."
In California -- which includes four of the 10 regions the report described as having the poorest road conditions -- highway construction remains a serious issue.
State voters on March 9 overwhelmingly approved Proposition 42, which dedicates sales tax on gasoline to highway and transit projects.
posted by Corey at 3:35 PM
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