City Streets, County Roads Stuck in Neutral as Middling Pavement Quality Prevails Across Bay Area

North Bay Notches Many of Region's Biggest Gains

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 31, 2024 /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 2023 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 ninth consecutive year Bay Area streets and roads have registered an average score of 67.

"Napa County's improvement is an encouraging sign," said MTC Chair and Napa County Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza, referring to a seven-point jump in the one-year PCI score for roads in unincorporated portions of the county to 52 last year from 45 in 2022 and a three-year moving average that rose to 48 from 45. "But our county roadways are still among the lowest rated in the Bay Area and MTC's goal of having all the region's streets and roads in a state of good repair is proving to be frustratingly hard to reach. The good news is that city and county public works teams have been able to prevent large-scale deterioration. We're even seeing big improvements in some places. The bad news is there's still so far to go."

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."

San José, which has by far the largest street network in the Bay Area at nearly 4,500 lane-miles, climbed into the "good" range last year with a three-year moving average score of 71, up two points from 69 in the 2020-22 period. San Francisco's three-year moving average score held steady at 74 last year. Oakland's three-year moving average rose by three points to 57, but the city's single-year score fell by a point to 56 from 57 in 2022.

The Sonoma County city of Petaluma achieved the biggest one-year PCI gains of any Bay Area jurisdiction last year, with its 393 lane-miles of city streets registering a score of 55 (at-risk) for 2023, up 12 points from 43 (poor) the year before.

Besides Petaluma and unincorporated Napa County, other communities with big year-over-year improvements in their PCI scores include Cotati, which rose eight points to 74 (good) last year from 66 (fair) in 2022; Moraga, which recorded a five-point increase to 76 from 71; and Dixon, Larkspur, Richmond and St. Helena, each of which boosted their one-year scores by four points. Larkspur's one-year PCI score for 2023 now ranks as the highest of any Bay Area municipality at 89 and its three-year moving average score of 83 is tied with Orinda and Palo Alto at the top of the Bay Area charts. Larkspur as recently as 2017 registered one-year scores in the "poor" range but twice in recent years passed local sales tax measures dedicated to rehabilitating the city's 65 lane-miles of streets.

Six Bay Area municipalities registered three-year PCI scores in the "very good" range for the 2021-2023 period. These include Larkspur, Orinda and Palo Alto (83); Cupertino (82); and Hillsborough and unincorporated Solano County (81). Jurisdictions with three-year PCI scores in the "poor" range include Vallejo (45) and Pacifica (47) as well as Petaluma and unincorporated Napa County (48).

The complete 2023 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/5035838-pavement-condition-bay-area-jurisdictions-2023.

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

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission