San Francisco

Bay Area Home to Roughest Roads in United States: Report

This may not come as a surprise to many drivers in the Bay Area, but the region is home to some of the worst roads in the country.

In San Francisco and Oakland, 71 percent of roads were classified as being in poor condition, good enough for the worst ranking in the United States compared to areas boasting more than 500,000 people, according to TRIP, a national transportation research group.

San Jose was not far behind. The South Bay city was the third worst urban area in the country with 59 percent of its roads being categorized as poor, according to the report.

Those damaged stretches of pavement cost drivers in San Francisco and Oakland roughly $978 per year in additional car maintenance costs. Drivers in the South Bay fork out approximately $863 each year, according to the report.

Aside from the major metropolitan regions in the Bay Area, three cities recording a population between 200,000 and 500,000 also made the not-so-desirable list. Seventy five percent of roads in Concord, 60 percent of roads in Antioch and 36 percent of roads in Santa Rosa were all classified as poor.

The battered pavement in Concord costs motorists $1,014 in vehicle repair costs and rings up a bill of $883 for those drivers in Antioch. Those two figures are among the top three worst in the country for smaller cities.

The decrepit state of Bay Area roads could worsen if local and state agencies do not dedicate ample funds to fixing the problems, the report says.

Contact Us