Some Cities Repave Streets Better than Others

Dublin and Union City shine, Oakland and San Leandro far behind The Metropolitan Transportation Commission released the “Pavement Condition Of Bay Area Jurisdictions 2011” report on October 29, 2012 and the results are “fair to middling.” Roadway condition is expressed as the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) scores for each city. The PCI score is a numerical index between 0 and 100, based on a three year running average, which indicates the average condition of the roadway pavement in a jurisdiction. In Alameda County, PCI scores ranged from Very Good to At-Risk for the 14 cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, Union City and the County of Alameda. Every year local jurisdictions analyze their pavement conditions by evaluating representative samples of roadways and entering this data into MTCs’ online Pavement Management Program (PMP) called “Street Saver”. The “Street Saver” program is a computer-assisted decision-making process designed to help cities and counties prevent pavement problems through judicious maintenance, and to diagnose which roadways to repair in a timely, cost-effective manner. In this report, MTC compiles the PCI scores for the jurisdictions in the nine counties of the Bay Area and ranks them by Condition Categories, ranging from Very Good-Excellent (PCI= 80-100) to Failed (PCI= 0-24).: The East Bay Bicycle Coalition successfully campaigned for more money to repave local streets in both the Vehicle License Fee (Measure F) and if the recount goes well, in the reauthorization of Measure B1. Both of these programs will invest millions of new dollars to repave the streets you ride on everyday. Full Report on Pavement Conditions by MTC The following table describes the average pavement conditions and possible roadway treatments recommended per each Condition Category:

Table

Very Good-Excellent
• (PCI= 80-100) Pavements are newly constructed or resurfaced and have few if any signs of distress
• Good (PCI= 70-79) Pavements require mostly preventive maintenance and have only low levels of distress, such as minor cracks or spalling, which occurs when the top layer of asphalt begins to peel or flake off as a result of water permeation.
• Fair (PCI= 60-69) Pavements at the low end of this range have significant levels of distress and may require a combination of rehabilitation and preventive maintenance to keep them from deteriorating rapidly.
• At Risk (PCI= 50-59) Pavements are deteriorated and require immediate attention including rehabilitative work. Ride quality is significantly inferior to better pavement categories
• Poor (PCI= 25-49) Pavements have extensive amounts of distress and require major rehabilitation or reconstruction. Pavements in this category affect the speed and flow of traffic significantly.
• Failed (PCI- 0-24) Pavements need reconstruction and are extremely rough and difficult to drive.