ROADWAYS — Big Money From State Won’t Complete Job on Road Repairs

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With the state’s coffers filled to the brim, the city of Los Angeles is receiving a massive influx of funding for street repairs this year. However, even with the additional state money, the city will still fall far short of the amount needed to upgrade all its crumbling roads.

As part of a $400 million statewide transportation congestion relief package, the city of Los Angeles will receive between $20 million and $30 million in one-time funding this year for road repairs. In addition, L.A. will receive a share of an annual $41 million distributed over the next five years to cities statewide.

“The state money will be a huge help,” said City Councilman Alex Padilla. “We’re in crisis in Los Angeles in terms of our road repair needs. So far, we have not been able to keep up with the deterioration of our streets, and this money will at the very least help us not to fall further behind in meeting our needs.”

According to Padilla, 60 percent of the street surface in Los Angeles is more than 25 years old. With the life expectancy of a road’s surface estimated at 25 years, that means the majority of the streets in L.A. are technically in disrepair.

Out of a total 6,500 miles of streets in L.A., 1,000 miles are considered failed, said Greg Scott, chief executive of the Department of Public Works’ Bureau of Street Services. That means they are beyond repair and need to be torn up and replaced completely. An additional 3,000 miles of street are in less dire condition, but need to be resurfaced.

“With the extra funding from the state, we’ll be able to go from repairing 250 miles to 300 or even 350 miles this year,” said Scott.

It would take about $150 million per year for the next 10 years to fix all of L.A.’s problem streets, he added. With the additional state funding, the annual budget available for street repairs will be between $70 million and $90 million. That leaves, at best, a $60 million gap. Still, Scott believes the city is heading in the right direction.

“This year is the best we have ever done in terms of our budget for street repairs,” he said. “And we are working through the Mayor’s Office with officials in Sacramento and D.C. to solicit additional surpluses and grants.”

However, no further funding from the state or federal level has been awarded at this point.

The sorry state of the local roads has been widely seen as a major obstacle to economic growth, especially in the city’s poorest areas.

“Some of the main streets south of downtown, like Avalon for example, are in really bad shape,” said Dean Jones, executive director of the Economic Development Partnership for South Los Angeles. “But it gets even worse when you get on the side streets, where it feels like you’re driving over a cracked desert surface.”

Such road conditions make it extremely difficult to attract new businesses to the area, because they not only distract from a location’s curb appeal, they slow down traffic, cause congestion and make businesses along these roads less accessible.

The extra money coming from Sacramento is, therefore, a welcome addition to the city’s infrastructure budget. But it is hardly going to take care of all the city’s huge road repair needs.

“It’s a very good first start, but it’s not going to be enough,” said Don Spivack, deputy administrator of the Community Redevelopment Agency. “It’s less than 10 percent of what is needed for just the city’s inner core.”

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