Roads

60% of California's major urban roads are congested. 71% of California's major roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Vehicle travel on California's highways increased 25% from 1990 to 2003. California's population grew 19% between 1990 and 2003. The state has transferred $3.1 billion from the transportation trust fund to the general fund. Driving on roads in need of repair costs California motorists $12.6 billion a year in extra vehicle repairs and operating costs --- $554 per motorist. Congestion in the Bakersfield area costs commuters $130 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the Fresno area costs commuters $270 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the Los Angeles metropolitan area costs commuters $1,668 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the Ventura area costs commuters $574 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the San Bernadino area costs commuters $1,043 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the Sacramento area costs commuters $650 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the San Diego area costs commuters $865 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time Congestion in the San Francisco area costs commuters $1,325 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time. Congestion in the San Jose area costs commuters $964 per person per year in excess fuel and lost time.

Bridges

28 % of California's bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete.

Dams

There are 44 state-determined deficient dams in California. California has 336 high hazard dams. A high hazard dam is defined as a dam whose failure would cause a loss of life and significant property damage. The estimated rehabilitation cost for California's most critical dams is estimated at $679 million.

Drinking Water

California's drinking water infrastructure needs $17.5 billion over the next 20 years. California loses 222 million gallons of drinking water a day due to leaking pipes.

Wastewater

California has $14.4 billion in wastewater infrastructure needs.

Solid Waste

California generates 1.55 tons of solid waste per capita. California recycles 40.2% of the state's solid waste.

Schools

71% of California's schools have at least one inadequate building feature. 87% of California's schools have at least one unsatisfactory environmental condition.

Engineer Anecdotes

"As a city engineer I get calls from the residents that our infrastructure is on its way to becoming that of a third-world country." - a civil engineer from Berkeley, CA

"We have now a Governor who is intent on returning the money which has both been taken from and diverted from transportation needs. Although he will return $1 billion this coming year, there is much more owed." - a civil engineer from Redding, CA

"Funding for new infrastructure projects is missing from state budget crisis." - a civil engineer from Marysville, CA

"The general maintenance of our local streets has been neglected for so long, that Petaluma received the worst rating in the State of California, which, I believe, received the worst rating in the United States; thus, by default, Petaluma, at that time, had the worst roads in the United States." - a civil engineer from Petaluma, CA

"California's diversion of funds has almost halted the bridge replacement program in most jurisdictions, including our shaky wooden truss bridge with a 3-ton load limit, that provides the only access to a hundred square miles of land, people, and forests. Ever tried to take a 12-ton fire engine over a 3-ton bridge?" - a civil engineer from Modoc, CA

"We need to upgrade several freeways in the area, but state funding has evaporated. Some need to be upgraded for safety reasons." - a civil engineer from Chico, CA

"Community lacks minimum public works infrastructure. Roads are inadequate, no sidewalks, storm drains or sewer system." - a civil engineer from Los Osos, CA


From the Headlines

City crews struggled to clear a clogged sewer line in Balboa Park that sent 4.6 million gallons of raw waste into San Diego Bay, the city's worst sewage spill in four years. Signs warning swimmers of the contamination and telling them to stay out of the water have been posted at the bay's beaches. The overflow came from a 40-year-old clay sewer pipe. The spill was spotted by a city wastewater employee. Sewage was flowing out of a manhole and down a concrete storm drain culvert near the intersection of Pershing Drive and 26th Street. San Diego Union-Tribune 2/25/04

A chunk of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge fell into the bay yesterday afternoon, forcing the closure of a lane and causing major traffic tie-ups in the county that lasted for hours. The 3-foot-wide, 1-foot long hole opened along the trestle section of the bridge exposing the bay below. The span has been bedeviled by holes in recent years. Opened in 1956, the decks on the span have never been replaced and are showing signs of age. Marin Independent Journal 4/24/04

Crowding continues to dog the Mt. Diablo district, where seven schools have suffered crammed classes and jammed corridors so far this year. "In my history class, students have to sit on the floors and desktops," Andy Luo, Mt. Diablo High School's student representative to the school board, told trustees. "Every student deserves a chair." College Park parent organization president Jodi Wagner said there's no room to "spread" students at the high schools. "The hallways are so crowded, they can hardly move to class," she said. She invited the trustees to join the school's 2,111 students and eat lunch on the ground because there aren't enough tables or chairs. Contra Costa Times 9/30/04

The Victoria Avenue Bridge, which dates to 1928, will be retrofitted to withstand an earthquake of magnitude 7.4- if the City Council approves the $9 million project. The bridge was not built to handle a major earthquake and has deteriorated over the years. "The work must be done," said Councilman Art Gage, who lives nearby and drives across the bridge several times a day. "It's a little scary looking," he said of the span. "You see the concrete cracked everywhere." The Press Enterprise 12/7/04

Recent rains have exposed another serious weakness in San Diego's infrastructure: 33 miles of corrugated metal drainage pipes that are obsolete and routinely collapse. A corroded metal drainage pipe was the culprit when a section of Fashion Valley Road collapsed, creating a massive sinkhole and closing a heavily used Mission Valley road. City officials estimate that it will take three months and cost about $1 million before the repair is completed and the road reopened. The city is a long way from fixing the overall pipe problem, even though officials have been aware of the deficiency for years. In 1998, city engineers issued a report emphasizing the need to replace the entire inventory of metal pipes at an estimated cost of $30 million. But San Diego balked at the cost of the project, putting it instead on the city's "unfunded needs" list of deferred maintenance projects. Corrugated metal drainage pipes typically last 30 to 35 years. Most of what's in the ground in San Diego is at or near the end of its design life span. San Diego Union-Tribune 1/7/05

A ruptured pipe in Rubidoux unleashed about 4 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Santa Ana River, which spills into the ocean. As a result, Orange County health officials closed a large stretch of shoreline in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. Other spills contributed to shore closures in Corona del Mar, San Clemente and Dana Point. Newport Harbor High School surfing coach Scott Morlan warned his students not to enter the water and has canceled four events because of the rain. "I can't justify putting the kids in the water with the pollution out there," Morlan said. "The ocean right now looks like chocolate milk. If we let them go in and practice, they risk becoming ill." At the Surfrider Foundation's national headquarters in San Clemente, staff members were trying to keep up with the shoreline closures for Orange, Los Angeles and San Diego counties. "[The list] just runs on and on," said spokesman Matt McClain. "Dozens and dozens of beaches, from Imperial Beach in the south, north up to Malibu. This is the most closures I've seen in any one time. Every watershed is contaminated right now." Los Angeles Times 1/13/05



Sources

Survey of the state's civil engineers conducted in December 2004

TRIP Fact Sheets, February 2005

Texas Transportation Institute, 2004 Urban Mobility Report

Government Performance Project, Grading the States 2004

The State of Garbage in America, Biocycle Magazine 2004

Condition of America's Public Schools, 1999

EPA Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey, 2001

EPA Clean Water Needs Survey, 2000

Association of State Dam Safety Officials