San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and City Councilman Henry L. Foster III on Monday joined city crews as they paved the 30th mile of street resurfacing this fiscal year, a new record for the city's Mill-and-Pave Program.
The city leaders met on 51st Street in the Emerald Hills neighborhood, a road which previously had a Pavement Condition Index score of just 3.56 on a scale of 100. The city maintains around 6,600 lane miles of streets and uses the PCI to "evaluate roadway conditions and prioritize repairs."
"Residents don't experience government through reports — they experience it through the condition of their streets, sidewalks, parks and neighborhoods," Gloria said. "That's why fixing roads remains one of my top priorities. By investing in our in-house paving crews, we're able to repair some of San Diego's worst streets faster, stretch taxpayer dollars further, and deliver visible improvements in neighborhoods across our city. Reaching this record-setting milestone shows what sustained investment and a commitment to infrastructure can accomplish."
According to the city, Fiscal Year 2026 marks the third consecutive year of growth for San Diego's in-house paving operation. The city's transportation department crews completed close to 20 lane miles in FY 2024, and 24 lane miles in FY 2025.
In 2024, KPBS investigated the inequity in the city’s road repair plans that left many residents in underserved areas feeling overlooked yet again.
The city’s pavement management plan now includes an equity factor when considering which roads to repair first.
"The last pavement treatment on this stretch of 51st Street was 40 years ago, and it has been more than 50 years since the street received a full asphalt overlay," Foster III said. "This is why I continue pushing for greater maintenance and investment in District 4 streets. This project is a meaningful and long-overdue accomplishment for the residents who rely on 51st Street every day. I am thankful to our hardworking crews for getting this work done, and I look forward to finding opportunities to grow the city's in-house Mill-and-Pave capacity because this is how we lower costs and get more work done.''
The Mill-and-Pave Program was established to "complement contractor-delivered resurfacing projects and provide the city with greater flexibility to address streets in poor condition that might otherwise wait years for rehabilitation," a city statement read. It focuses on smaller street segments and "severely deteriorated" surfaces that can be completed efficiently by city crews.
San Diego's Fiscal Year 2026 Pavement Management Plan set a goal of rehabilitating 30 lane miles through in-house crews in addition to 115 lane miles of contractor-led rehabilitation and 225 lane miles of pavement maintenance across the city.
"The expansion of our in-house paving capability is helping us stretch taxpayer dollars while accelerating improvements on streets that need attention the most," said Naomi Chavez, interim director of San Diego's Transportation Department. "Our crews are focused on fixing roads in poor or failing condition, bringing smoother streets to neighborhoods across the city."
San Diego has a public site where residents can view current and planned projects at StreetsSD.sandiego.gov.
