Bay Area pavement in “fair” condition for 10th straight year; Lakrspur again tops list
By Tim Fang
The overall pavement conditions of the Bay Area’s streets are once again in “fair” condition, according to an annual report on the state of the region’s roadways.
On Wednesday, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission released its “Pavement Report Card” on the Bay Area’s 44,000 lane-miles of local streets and roads. The report found the region’s Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score in 2024 was 67 out of 100 points for the 10th consecutive year.
A score of 67 is squarely in the “fair” range, the agency said, with the typical Bay Area roadway showing serious wear and likely requiring rehabilitation soon.
“The good news is our cities and counties are continuing to hold the line against major deterioration,” MTC Chair and Pleasant Hill mayor Sue Noack said in a statement. “But the bad news is we’re still just as far away from bringing the regional average into the ‘very good’ range as we were a decade ago. The sheer size of the Bay Area’s local streets and roads network makes this a hard needle to move,”
Noack noted the PCI scores in her community have consistently been in the low- to mid-70s, in the “good” range.
In the Bay Area’s three most populous cities, the agency found gains over the past three years. San Jose, which has the largest network of city streets in the Bay Area, boosted its PCI score from 71 to 73. Meanwhile, San Francisco’s score climbed one point to 75 and Oakland also improved by one point to 58.
The community of Larkspur in Marin County had the highest pavement score for the second straight year, an 87, which is considered “very good”. Other Bay Area jurisdictions with PCI scores in the 80s include Palo Alto, Cupertino, Orinda, Hillsborough, unincorporated areas of Solano County, and Los Altos Hills.
Meanwhile, the city of Vallejo had the lowest PCI score in the Bay Area at 44, which is in the “poor” range.
In the most improved category, the community of St. Helena in Napa County saw its PCI score jump 11 points over the past year, from 52 to 63. Other cities that saw significant year-over-year improvements include Colma (74 to 84), Los Gatos (75 to 82), Atherton (73 to 79) and Mill Valley (74 to 79.)
The full report card can be found on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission website.
