Half of the major roads in San Diego are in poor condition, according to data released today by a national transportation research group.
San Diego roads were ranked the eighth worst among the nation's regions with populations greater than 500,000, according to a report by TRIP, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit group, which analyzed government data from 2008.
San Diego was also the eighth worst area for automobile operating costs due to poor roads, estimated at $654 annually. The dollar amount figures in repairs and maintenance, increased fuel consumption and tire wear.
The report listed 50 percent of San Diego's major thoroughfares as being in poor condition -- more than twice the national average for large population areas of 24 percent. It also said only 10 percent of major streets were in good condition.
Six of the 10 worst regions in the report were in budget-strapped California. San Jose is the worst, with 64 percent of its major roadways in bad shape, according to the report.
Other areas with rough roads are Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, the Coachella Valley between Indio and Palm Springs and the Inland Empire of Riverside and San Bernardino, according to TRIP.
The best roads in regions with populations greater than 500,000 are in Atlanta, where 84 percent are in good shape, according to the report.
Street conditions are likely to worsen in the near future because of state budget deficits, the completion of federal stimulus funding and the failure of Congress to advance a long-term federal program to improve roadways, the report concluded.
"Repairing rough urban roads could ease the burden on drivers and provide a smoother ride while creating jobs and boosting the economy," said Will Wilkins, the executive director of TRIP.
