More than one-third of the streets in San Bernardino are in need of repair, prompting officials to seek funding sources to pay for it, the city announced Wednesday.
A recent assessment found the city’s streets overall are in “fair” condition but below the state’s “good” average for pavement quality.
The cost to bring roads up to the statewide average over the next decade is expected to cost between $440 and $550 million, or $44 million-$55 million annually, officials said. Current spending for street repair is about $13 million a year.
Last week Mayor Helen Tran and the City Council heard a presentation at their regular public meeting that reported the findings of a recent assessment of streets citywide and the cost of repair and maintenance over the next 10 years.
City manager Eric Levitt said in a statement, “This is the first step in putting together a program to continue the City Council’s efforts in improving the City’s pavement conditions and pavement ratings.”
San Bernardino has about 557 miles of paved roadway that include “arterial, collector and local residential streets” that represent one of San Bernardino’s largest capital assets, playing a crucial role in enabling mobility, economic activity and public safety, officials said.
In 2024, the city approved a contract for the firm NCE to prepare a Pavement Management Program that evaluated the condition of streets. The program assessed pavement conditions, identified maintenance and rehabilitation needs, developed five- and 10-year investment strategies that aim to “maximize the return on investment through lifecycle-based preservation,” according to the city.
Each street segment was rated to determine a rating based on the Pavement Condition Index’s scale of 0-100, with 100 reflecting excellent condition and 0 denoting failed pavement. San Bernardino’s overall street condition rated 51, or a “fair” grade, according to the analysis. That rating is lower than the statewide average of 65.
The pavement study summarized conditions — streets that rated “good” at 65-100 totaled 32.4%, “fair: streets rating 40–64 totaled 31.9%, “poor” at 24–39 ratings were at 17.3% and “very poor/failed ” below a 25 score totaled 18.4%.
After hearing NCE’s presentation at the Dec. 3 meeting, the City Council voted to direct staff to incorporate the pavement findings into the city’s Capital Improvement Plan. Staff also is evaluating and developing “sustainable funding strategies” that include possible bond financing, allocations from the city’s voter-approved Measure S sales tax and potential state and federal grants.
Staff is also working on a plan to prioritize available funds with the city’s street repair needs.
The full presentation on street conditions is available on the city’s website.
