Los Angeles among top cities in US with most damaged roads, says report

LINCOLN HEIGHTS, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Los Angeles is among the top cities in the nation with the most damaged roads, according to a newly released report.

TRIP, a national research group based out of Washington, D.C., released its Urban Roads Report on Thursday, listing the cities with the roughest and deteriorated roads in the country.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana urban area ranked second in the nation for the most damaged streets, and the Riverside-San Bernardino urban area ranked 14th on the list, which encompasses large urban areas.

San Francisco-Oakland ranked first on the list. Other California cities like Concord, San Jose, San Diego and Sacramento also made the top 25.

According to the report, 73 percent of Los Angeles-area roads including highways are in need of repair and unnecessarily rough. This is in part due to the number of people trying to get through traffic. On average, the cost to L.A. motorists every year is over $1,000 for automotive repair and wear-and-tear on the vehicle.

Caltrans has the mammoth task of repairing freeways, some of which are more than 60 years old.

TRIP says on July 31, the federal program that funds road and highway improvements is set to expire, citing insufficient funding. Some agencies are lobbying for a long-term federally funded transpiration bill.

It's all to accommodate more people hitting the roads, including big-rigs. Commercial truck traffic is expected to increase as much as 72 percent in the next 15 years.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, Congress has been applying short-term extensions to that landmark transportation bill. TRIP says that's not enough to save drivers stress and cash.

TRIP, a nonprofit organization that distributes transportation data, is sponsored by companies invested in construction and road maintenance.

To see the full report, visit www.tripnet.org.