SUBJECT
Title
An Update to the Improvement of County Roads Pavement Condition Index of 70, the Future Allocation of SB1 Funding to DPW Infrastructure Maintenance Projects AND related CEQA FINDINGS (DISTRICTS: ALL)
Body
OVERVIEW
Today, staff is pleased to present a comprehensive report on the significant progress achieved in fulfilling the Board's strategic objectives for County Road system maintenance, culminating in the recognition of one of the most well-maintained road networks in the State. This milestone represents the result of a sustained investment exceeding half a billion dollars over the past decade, reflecting the County's unwavering commitment to infrastructure excellence and the well-being of the communities it serves.
In addition, staff is presenting a forward-looking, long-term maintenance and investment plan for the Board's consideration and approval. This plan is designed to uphold and build upon this exceptional standard of maintenance while strategically directing resources toward critical public infrastructure assets, including bridges, culverts, asset management, and drainage facilities - ensuring the County's infrastructure remains resilient, safe, and serviceable.
The County of San Diego’s (County) Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for maintaining a range of road assets, including nearly 2,000 centerline miles of road, 208 National Bridge Inventory bridges, approximately 19,000 culverts, 223 traffic signals, and 39,827 traffic signs. On April 6, 2017, the State Legislature passed Senate Bill 1 (SB1), the Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017, which allocated an estimated $7.5 billion of State gas tax revenue to be distributed to California counties over the next decade to be used to address road maintenance activities.
In response to this legislation, on May 2, 2017 (11) the Board of Supervisors (Board) directed DPW staff to use the new SB1 funding to develop a road resurfacing program to achieve an average pavement condition index (PCI), an industry-standard road rating system, of 70 for County-maintained roads. Roads with a PCI of 70 and above are in very good condition. Since 2017, DPW has invested over $500 million for road resurfacing and has resurfaced over 778 centerline miles of roads, replaced over 230 culverts, upgraded over 1,700 curb ramps to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and has upgraded 145 intersections and 57 traffic signals.
Today, staff are reporting that DPW has achieved the Board’s goal of an average of PCI 70 for the County’s maintained roads. As shown in the table below, staff will continue the use of approximately 75% of SB1 funding for resurfacing projects to maintain a PCI of 70 on County-maintained road and the remaining 25% to address critical infrastructure projects that are eligible for SB1 funds, including updating DPW’s existing asset management system. Updating the asset management system and related processes will allow staff to more accurately verify and maintain asset inventories, including assessing asset conditions. With improved data, the County can reassess asset needs and evaluate maintenance programs more holistically. This will strengthen confidence in managing asset lifecycles, reduce liability, and ensure that assets and programs remain resilient and aligned with community needs.
|
Asset |
Approximate SB1 Distribution |
|
Resurfacing to maintain 70 PCI |
75% |
|
Drainage |
15% |
|
Guardrails |
2% |
|
Bridges |
3% |
|
Asset Management |
5% |
|
Total |
100% |
The Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program was created by the State to address deferred maintenance on the state highway system and the local street and road system. The program mandates that the funds made available shall be for expenditure on basic road maintenance and road rehabilitation projects, pedestrian and bicycle safety projects, drainage and stormwater capture projects, and other critical road safety projects.
Infrastructure needs that are eligible under State and Highway Code 2030 will allow DPW to address other critical drainage, pavement and traffic assets such as drainage channels and culverts, curbs, ramps, sidewalks, guardrails, bridges and street signage, to advance the County’s commitment to maintaining a safe, reliable, and resilient public infrastructure system in the unincorporated areas. These projects will provide substantial community benefits by enhancing public safety, improving mobility, and ensuring the long-term performance of essential facilities relied upon by residents, businesses, and visitors.
Today’s request is for the Board to direct staff to continue using SB1 funding for maintenance projects permitted under SCH 2030, while maintaining an average road condition of an average PCI of 70 for County maintained roads.
RECOMMENDATION(S)
CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
1. Find that the proposed action is not a project pursuant to Sections 15060 and 15378 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines because it consists of general policy direction and fiscal planning related to the continued use of existing Senate Bill 1 (SB1) funding and the maintenance of County roads, and does not involve approval of any specific construction activity or a commitment to a definite course of action that would result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable physical change in the environment.
2. Direct the Chief Administrative Officer to prioritize the use of SB1 funds to maintain the County maintained road system in a state of good repair, including sustaining an average Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 70, and to use any remaining available or received roadway-related funding, including funds from the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017, for road maintenance, rehabilitation, safety improvements, and asset management activities in accordance with Streets and Highways Code Section 2030 and other applicable laws and regulations.
EQUITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The Department of Public Works (DPW) uses a standardized, data-driven process each year to develop a list of roads requiring maintenance, ensuring the selection is proportionally balanced across County districts based on total centerline miles. As part of our general approach and established procedure, DPW prioritizes equity by incorporating the most recent data from CalEnviroScreen (4.0) and the Healthy Places Index (3.0) GIS layers. These projects deliver significant benefits for residents, including upgrades to Americans with Disabilities Act compliant pedestrian ramps and drainage improvements that enhance access and mobility for non-motorized road users. Road resurfacing also supports reliable transit access, enabling cars and buses to travel more safely and efficiently to underserved communities and connecting workers to job centers. In addition, County of San Diego construction contracts are publicly advertised and competitively bid, supporting transparency and stimulating the local economy.
SUSTAINABILITY IMPACT STATEMENT
The maintenance of San Diego County’s County-maintained road system and other critical infrastructure has benefits to sustainability in terms of the economy, environment, social, health, and well-being. The repairs prevent more costly maintenance treatments in the future, thereby supporting economic sustainability. Through a comprehensive infrastructure management system, rehabilitation activities use 25% recycled asphalt from old, deteriorated facilities, saving thousands of tons of aggregate each year and supporting the County’s sustainability goal to reduce pollution and waste through recycling. Well-maintained infrastructure allows vehicle owners and community members to use fewer resources for transportation, maintenance, and operation providing social sustainability benefits. Systemwide improvements, such as rehabilitating culverts, curbs, gutters, bridges, and similar assets contribute to the County's sustainability goals to improve water quality and extend the useful life of facilities, by protecting County-maintained infrastructure from costly and resource-intensive repairs. The installation of Americans with Disabilities Act compliant pedestrian ramps proposed in this action supports walkability, public access, and contributes to County sustainability goals to protect the health and well-being of everyone in the region, reduce greenhouse emissions, and transition to a green, carbon-free economy.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with today’s request to continue using SB1 funding for maintenance projects permitted under SCH 2030, while maintaining an average PCI of 70. The total road resurfacing program cost included in the Fiscal Year 2025-26 Operational Plan for Department of Public Works, Road Fund, is $73,023,808. The funding sources are State SB1 gas tax revenue ($62,953,444), Road Fund fund balance ($2,181,000), TransNet ($6,200,000), City of Escondido revenue agreement ($288,516), City of San Diego revenue agreement ($268,186), City of San Marcos revenue agreement ($53,042), and PRD Zones’ available prior year fund balance ($1,079,620). There will be no change in net General Fund cost and no additional staff years.
BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
The maintenance of public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts, storm drains, and other essential facilities, is critical to daily life and the regional economy. Additionally, well-maintained transportation corridors support efficient movement of goods and services, reduce travel times, and enhance mobility for commuters, businesses, and emergency responders. Properly functioning drainage systems convey stormwater safely away from County roadways to downstream treatment areas, reducing flood risk, improving water quality, and protecting adjacent properties. Regular, proactive maintenance also strengthens responsible asset management by identifying and addressing deterioration early, extending the life of infrastructure, minimizing unexpected failures, and reducing long-term capital costs associated with reconstruction or replacement, ensuring public funds are used cost effectively. Additionally, County of San Diego construction contracts are publicly advertised, competitively bid, and contribute to the regional economy, with all workers on public works projects receiving prevailing wages set by the California Department of Industrial Relations and in accordance with the County’s Working Families Ordinance, according to the type of work and location of the project.Details
ADVISORY BOARD STATEMENT
Department of Public Works’ (DPW) staff regularly attend Community Planning and Sponsor Group meetings and consider input from stakeholders to develop project lists based upon safety, traffic congestion, connectivity, current roadway condition, bicyclist and pedestrian access, impacts to community health, number of customers the project will serve, community interests and backing, and project funding. Throughout the road resurfacing program, DPW staff conducted broad-based outreach for current and planned projects. Input from community members and Community Planning and Sponsor Groups across the unincorporated county is instrumental in developing DPW’s list of road resurfacing projects.
Additionally, DPW manages a webpage to increase virtual engagement and education about road resurfacing projects. The webpage includes information about DPW and how projects are developed, project planning documents, and an interactive GIS map with detailed project information.
BACKGROUND
The County of San Diego’s (County) Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for maintaining a range of assets, including nearly 2,000 centerline miles, 208 National Bridge Inventory bridges, approximately 19,000 culverts, 223 traffic signals and 39,827 traffic signs. Prior to 2017, funding used by DPW to maintain its assets was primarily limited to the Highway User Tax Account and between 2000 and 2017, the State of California saw increases in fuel efficient vehicles, resulting in decreases in gas tax revenue. Together with an increase in the number of vehicles on the road and the increase in maintenance costs, State entities and local jurisdictions found there was insufficient funding to address road maintenance needs. Over this same period, the County’s average pavement condition index (PCI) declined from above 70 to 60 and was forecast to decrease to 45 by 2026. PCI is an industry standard rating system used to rate the condition of a road on a scale of 0 to 100. A newly paved road has 100 PCI, and a severely damaged or failed road has a 0 PCI. Roads with a PCI of 71 - 100 are considered very good, 51 - 70 are good, 26 - 50 are poor, and less than 25 are very poor. In 2017, approximately one-third of County-maintained roads were identified as being in poor or very poor condition.
To address this state-wide funding gap, on April 6, 2017, the State Legislature passed the Road Repair & Accountability Act of 2017, which allocated an estimated $7.5 billion of State revenue to be distributed directly to California cities and counties over the next decade to be used to address road maintenance activities. The Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Program was created by the State to address deferred maintenance on the State highway system and the local street and road system. The program mandates that the funds made available shall be for expenditure on basic road maintenance and road rehabilitation projects, pedestrian and bicycle safety projects, drainage and stormwater capture projects, and other critical road safety projects.
On May 2, 2017 (11), the Board of Supervisors directed staff to use this funding and develop a program to achieve an average PCI of 70 (Road to 70 PCI) for County maintained roads. Since 2017, DPW has prioritized the use of over $500M of SB1 funding for resurfacing projects. To date, DPW has resurfaced 778 miles of roads, or almost 40% of County maintained roads.
In 2025, a National Transportation report found that nation-wide public infrastructure is generally in poor condition with approximately 50% of roads in poor or mediocre condition, a PCI range of 0 to 39. As a result of DPW’s road resurfacing program, less than 8% of County-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition. Maintaining 70 PCI results in significant cost savings and improved road safety by reducing negative impacts such as higher vehicle operating costs, decreased fuel efficiency, and lost travel time.
Today, the County’s network wide PCI goal of 70 has been achieved. DPW’s resurfacing efforts have resulted in significant decreases in the number of roads classified in the very poor and poor condition categories, dropping from 32% to just 8.6% of the network, or a 73% decrease since 2017. The remaining network of good and very good roads has improved from 68% to 91.3% of the network, or a 34.3% increase since 2017. The improvements to County-maintained roads between 2017 and 2026 are summarized in Attachment A.
Over the last nine years DPW’s resurfacing program completed the resurfacing of 778 miles of roads, with an additional approximately 269 miles of roads still in various stages of construction. The table below provides a summary of the total mileage of roads, the total mileage of resurfacing completed and the PCI for each County district.
|
SUMMARY BY COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO DISTRICT |
|
|
D1 |
D2 |
D3 |
D4 |
D5 |
Total |
|
TOTAL ROAD MILES |
135 |
862 |
96 |
172 |
691 |
1,956 |
|
RESURFACED ROAD MILES |
54 |
307 |
35 |
69 |
313 |
778 |
|
PCI |
74 |
70 |
73 |
70 |
70 |
70 |
In addition to the resurfacing of roads, this program also made improvements to over 230 culverts, upgraded over 1,700 curb ramps to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), 145 intersection and 57 traffic signal improvements.
DPW continues to receive SB1 funding and as the PCI goal has been met, funding for future resurfacing projects will continue to be allocated to maintain a network wide average 70 PCI. Although the PCI naturally fluctuates as pavement deteriorates, as resurfacing projects are completed, DPW will prioritize the allocation of funding to maintain an overall 70 PCI to protect the SB1 investment. It is anticipated that this annual cost will be approximately $49M. This will fluctuate depending on market costs for resurfacing labor and material, and contractor availability.
In addition to funding the resurfacing program, staff are proposing to prioritize the remaining SB1 funds, which could amount to about $16M based on Fiscal Year 2025-26 budget, toward the maintenance of other critical infrastructure in coordination with updating the existing asset management program. DPW's asset management program comprises two core components: comprehensive data collection (tracking asset inventory, condition assessments, service histories, and other critical information) and strategic asset management. To enhance inventory accuracy, DPW is deploying an integrated approach combining physical inspections, video surveys, and Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered analysis.
The department is enhancing its asset management program to improve both preventive and emergency maintenance operations. The upgraded system will provide data-driven insights that strengthen project prioritization and resource allocation, allowing DPW to focus efforts on the most critical assets. This work is fully funded in the upcoming fiscal year’s budget. These improvements will give staff the ability to more accurately verify and maintain asset inventories, including asset condition assessments. With stronger and more reliable data, the County can better evaluate asset needs, refine maintenance strategies, and manage asset lifecycles with greater confidence. Collectively, these enhancements will reduce liability, improve public safety, and ensure that County assets and programs remain resilient and responsive to community needs. Today, priority assets include drainage facilities, bridge structures, guardrails and sidewalks. DPW maintains approximately 19,000 culverts, including nearly 9,000 corrugated metal pipe (CMP) culverts, which need to be upgraded to reinforced concrete pipe (RCP). Of these, over 470 culverts have been identified as critical and need immediate replacement. Additionally, DPW has identified 87 metal beam guardrail (MBGR) locations, which also require immediate replacement of end treatments and possible complete system replacement. It is estimated that the costs to upgrade these culverts and guardrails are approximately $150,000 per asset. Over time, the prioritization of assets will change due to various factors, including, but not limited to, changes in legislation, natural disasters, emergency projects, costs for labor and materials, etc.
Today’s request is to direct staff to continue the use of SB1 funding for projects permitted under the Streets and Highways Code, while maintaining an average 70 PCI.
ENVIRONMENTAL STATEMENT
The proposed action consists of providing policy direction and fiscal guidance regarding the continued use of existing Senate Bill 1 (SB1) funding to maintain County roads and sustain an average Pavement Condition Index of 70. The action does not identify or commit to any specific project and does not result in a direct or reasonably foreseeable physical change in the environment. As such, the proposed action is not a project as defined by Sections 15060 and 15378 of the CEQA Guidelines and is not subject to CEQA review. Any future project(s) that may be developed or implemented as a result of this action would be subject to CEQA review, as appropriate, prior to construction.
LINKAGE TO THE COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO STRATEGIC PLAN
Today’s proposed action supports the Sustainability, Equity and Community initiatives in the County of San Diego’s 2026-2031 Strategic Plan by equitably distributing resources for the routine maintenance of critical infrastructure assets. This ensures that all communities have access to well-maintained infrastructure, both above and below the road surface, which ensures safe communities and improves the quality of life of all residents.
Respectfully submitted,
Dahvia LYNCH
Deputy Chief Administrative Officer
ATTACHMENT(S)
A. Summary of Pavement Condition Categories for County-Maintained Roads and Resurfacing Project Improvements to PCI