Dismal Grades for California’s Bridges, Roads and Transit

Good thing California’s bridges, roads and transit aren’t trying to get into a top tier college. More likely, they’d be placed on academic probation. That was largely the conclusion this week of the America Society of Civil Engineers, which released its annual Surface Transportation Infrastructure Report Card at a press conference that included Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman. The report graded the condition of California’s roads a D, its bridges a C- and its transit systems a C-. California is home to 13 of the top 25 most traveled structurally deficient bridges in the nation, the ASCE found. The report said 44 percent of California’s roads are deficient, ranking it 49^th in the country and costing the average motorist $843 in extra vehicle operating costs.

The report comes as voters prepare to cast their ballots on Proposition 6, a misguided initiative to repeal legislation the Council supported that invests $52 billion to fix the states roads, highways and bridges and improve transit. The Council opposes Prop. 6. Said Wunderman in an interview with KTVU following the press conference about the importance of investing in California’s aging transportation infrastructure: “If we don’t do this, we just keep increasing the backlog of work that needs to be done at tremendous cost to public safety and the quality of life for the people of our state.”