San Jose Ranked Second Worst In Road Upkeep Per 'TRIP'

SAN JOSE, CA -- A pet peeve to him, Noah Stafford braces himself when he takes to the streets of San Jose with its cracks, potholes and uneven pavement that ranks it the second worst metropolitan cities in the nation for problem roads, TRIP reported. The Washington, D.C.-based transportation research firm released a study this month that uses data from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration agency.

As it turns out, his wife needs to.

"I was driving on (Interstate) 680 northbound, and my wife almost hit her head on the roof of the car," he said. "These are some crazy potholes."

As a motorist and motorcycle rider using the overused roads, Stafford lamented about hurting his back going over some of the obstacles. Moreover, he realizes the rough rides all start to make sense when his customers where he works at San Jose Autoworks complain of faulty suspension systems in their fairly new vehicles.

"I do see an unusual number of cars under (the recommended) mileage to have their struts replaced," he said. Normally, motorists are advised to replace them after 100,000 miles. Customers are coming in complaining of their rides at about 70,000.

"The owners are pissed. I gotta explain -- California roads are crap," he said.

Even the California Highway Patrol fields calls about potholes in the road. CHP San Jose spokesman Ross Lee agreed these pitfalls represent something people are passionate about.

"They'll call in and give the dimensions of it," Lee said.

Carolyn Bonifas, TRIP Associate Director of Research and Communications, noted that the Golden State is in desperate need of some green to keep up with road use.

"California is very heavily over-represented on this list," she said.

The problem can be attributed to multiple factors. More people are driving to pre-recession levels. The population is growing. Local jurisdictions are spending less on maintenance, and the funds that trickle down have dried up substantially.

San Jose's Department of Transportation Team was questioning the numbers used in the report and pointed out they involve more than the jurisdiction since an urban area is defined as the "neighboring or surrounding suburban areas" that stretch beyond the city's jurisdiction.

San Jose is lined with 2,400 miles of streets. Of that, 944 miles are designated as major roads in need of attention. Addressing them is an issue the major South Bay city hopes to do with the release of Measure B funds passed in 2016 in Santa Clara County. Local and neighborhood streets "are in fact suffering from years of deferred maintenance due to budget shortfalls," DOT spokesman Colin Heyne admitted.

The city hopes more help is on the way.

Measure T will go before the voters in this upcoming election. If passed, $300 million will be earmarked for road repair and paving the worst-offending streets. Heyne contends pothole repairing has been job 1 for his crew, which has responded to more than 11,000 last year. City DOT resembles a pit crew in terms of repair jobs, holding the distinction of plugging them up in 48 hours upon being made aware of them.

Top of the list for mid-sized urban areas under 500,000 population and above 200,000 is another California city -- Antioch. Second is Concord and Oxnard comes in as fourth.

Still, it's not a fine and dandy drive everywhere else in the country. One third of the nation's major urban roads are rated in poor condition. For metro regions, Milwaukee, Wisc. was ranked fourth behind Los Angeles-Long Beach and Anaheim as a massive area spanning two counties. In laid back Honolulu, hitting the road might be the only stress its citizens endure.

For mid-sized cities across the nation, Madison, Wisc. was ranked third; and Round Lake Beach-Grayslake, Ill. rounded out the top five.

U.S. vehicle travel increased 16 percent from 2000, while the nation's population grew at about the same level.

We've known for a long time our transportation system is deteriorating because of the lack of funds," Bonifas said.

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