By Khalida Sarwari
A report released today by a national transportation research group ranks San Jose first among American cities with poor road conditions.
According to the TRIP report, titled “Hold the Wheel Steady: America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother,” about 64 percent of San Jose’s roads are in battered condition.
San Jose motorists consequently spend an average of $756 annually for car damage repairs due to potholes, deficient roadways and poor pavement.
The figure is the highest vehicle operating cost in the country and almost twice the national average of $402.
Other Bay Area regions cited in the report are Concord and San Francisco-Oakland, both with 58 percent of roads deteriorated.
The report gives a bleak outlook for the future of California’s roadways, stating that increases in travel will put additional stress on roads and further increase the cost to improve and maintain them.
Bert Sandman, executive director of Transportation California, a coalition of business, labor and government organizations that promote sound transportation policies, said it is critical to the health and safety of residents that the state invests in basic safety improvements and maintenance on streets and highways.
“Much of our infrastructure dates back to the post-World War II boom and even before,” Sandman said in a prepared statement. “It is simply wearing out, and we are failing to invest in essential upkeep.”