Bay Area Pavement Earns 'Mid' Marks As Condition of County Roads, City Streets Stagnates

Smaller Cities Make Many of Region's Biggest Gains

SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Overall pavement conditions on the Bay Area's 44,000 lane-miles of local streets and roads landed once again in fair territory last year, with the typical stretch of roadway showing serious wear and likely to require rehabilitation soon. Data released today by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) put the region's 2024 pavement condition index (PCI) score at 67 out of a maximum possible 100 points, as computed on a three-year moving average basis. This marks the tenth consecutive year Bay Area streets and roads have registered an average score of 67.

"The new pavement numbers present a mix of good news and bad news," said MTC Chair and Pleasant Hill Mayor Sue Noack. "The good news is our cities and counties are continuing to hold the line against major deterioration. The average PCI score for my own city of Pleasant Hill consistently has been in the low- to mid-70s. But the bad news is we're still just as far away from bringing the regional average into the "very good" range as we were a decade ago. The sheer size of the Bay Area's local streets and roads network makes this a hard needle to move."

PCI scores of 90 or higher are considered "excellent." These are newly built or resurfaced streets that show little or no distress. Pavement with a PCI score in the 80 to 89 range is considered "very good" and shows only slight or moderate distress, requiring primarily preventive maintenance. The "good" category ranges from 70 to 79, while streets with PCI scores in the "fair" (60-69) range are becoming worn to the point where rehabilitation may be needed to prevent rapid deterioration. Because major repairs cost five to 10 times more than routine maintenance, these streets are at an especially critical stage. Roadways with PCI scores of 50 to 59 are deemed "at-risk," while those with PCI scores of 25 to 49 are considered "poor." These roads require major rehabilitation or reconstruction. Pavement with a PCI score below 25 is considered "failed."

Each of the Bay Area's three biggest cities registered gains in their three-year pavement scores for the 2022-24 period. San José, whose nearly 4,500-lane-mile network of city streets is by far the largest in the Bay Area, boosted its three-year moving average score to 73 from 71. San Francisco's three-year moving average score climbed one point to 75 and Oakland's three-year moving average rose by one point to 58.

The Napa County city of St. Helena achieved the biggest one-year PCI gain of any Bay Area jurisdiction last year, with its 50 lane-miles of city streets registering a score of 63 (fair) for 2024, up 11 points from 52 (at-risk) the year before. Other communities with significant year-over-year improvements in their PCI scores include Colma, which rose 10 points to 84 (very good) last year from 74 (good) in 2023; Los Gatos, which recorded a seven-point increase to 82 from 75; Atherton, which boosted its one-year score from 73 to 79; and Mill Valley, which last year bumped its one-year PCI score to 79 from 74.

Larkspur earned the title of Bay Area pavement champion for 2024, with the city's streets registering identical scores of 87 on both the one-year index and the three-year running average for 2022-24. Larkspur as recently as 2017 reported one-year scores in the "poor" range but twice passed local sales tax measures dedicated to rehabilitating the city's 65-lane-mile street network.

In addition to Larkspur, six other Bay Area municipalities registered three-year PCI scores in the "very good" range for the 2022-2024 period. These include Palo Alto (83); Orinda and Cupertino (82); Hillsborough and unincorporated Solano County (81); and Los Altos Hills (80). The only jurisdiction with a three-year PCI score in the "poor" range is Vallejo (44). Pacifica, Petaluma and unincorporated Napa County all moved from "poor" to "at-risk," with each logging three-year scores of 50 for the 2022-2024 period.

The complete 2024 Pavement Conditions Summary — including percentages of local roadways in various conditions, and a listing of average PCI scores for the arterials, collector roadways and residential streets for all Bay Area counties and cities — may be accessed at https://mtc.ca.gov/digital-library/5099739-pavement-condition-index-pci-bay-area-jurisdictions-2024.

MTC is the regional transportation planning, financing and coordinating agency for the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission