Local News

Fullerton’s Roads Rated ‘Fair’

City staff presented a report on the condition of Fullerton’s roads at the City Council meeting on June 16. This is called the Pavement Management Plan (PMP).

The PMP determines the typical existing roadway condition and assigns a Pavement Conditions Index (PCI) rating from 0-100 for each roadway segment. The Pavement Conditions Index is a function of overall conditions of the pavement. Condition problems include potholes, cracking, failures, rutting, etc. Fewer problems equals a higher PCI rating.

Overall, Fullerton’s roads have an overall Pavement Conditions Index rating of 63.8, which is considered “Fair.” The breakdown of how Fullerton’s roads fared is:

Very Poor: 28%

Poor: 16%

Fair: 15%

Good: 12%

Very Good: 29%

The Pavement Management Plan is required by Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) in order for the City to be eligible for Measure M2, also known as OC Go funds. Measure M2 funds are part of the County’s ½ cent sales tax increase passed in 2011.

The purpose of the Pavement Management Plan is to, 1) Determine typical existing pavement conditions for roadway segments, 2) Assist with development of pavement rehabilitation strategies, 3) Assist with forecasting future pavement rehabilitation projects and, 4) Assist with future budget needs.

According to the staff report, in order to maintain our roads in their current condition, the City must increase annual investment from the current $4 million per year to a proposed $8 million per year.

Recently, the City’s Infrastructure and Natural Resources Advisory Committee (INRAC) recommended an annual budget of $5.5 million for arterial roads and $10 million for local roads in order to provide an improvement in the overall condition of the roads. All recommendations (Pavement Management Plan and Natural Resources Advisory Committee) require increased funding.

City Council also voted to create a dedicated Infrastructure Fund to increase the City’s ability to make infrastructure improvements. This will require that 50% of all secured property tax and sales tax revenues, above a designated baseline, be deposited into the newly-created Infrastructure Fund.


9 replies »

  1. The people who rated fair have the city councils back. We all know Fullerton roads should NOT be rated fair. It is below average. I have a friend from Mexico saying that the roads by her house are nicer than Fullerton roads. The Corrupt politicians don’t mind keeping all the money away from our roads and into their own pockets. Something needs to be done NOW!

  2. I have damaged my tires twice on Fullerton roads. “Fair” is an exaggeration. Fix the roads, or pay me for my replaced tires.

  3. Ummm perhaps I am reading this wrong but the key on the map and the pie chart in the article use the colors in exactly the reverse way i.e. map Very poor is red, pie chart Very good is red…

  4. Lol okay, this article is full of it. The Mayor admits our streets are horrific.

  5. What happens with our gas tax and property taxes? Problem is with our skewed budget. Fullerton spends 70 percent of budget for police and fire departments. very little for other programs. we have to fix this problem.
    Please, don’t support any sales tax or levy for fixing roads. City has to fix current spending for police and fire dept. first.

  6. Did they drive down Orangethorpe? That street is in the worst shape ever. I don’t feel it’s even safe

    • I have friends that have used Orangethorpe to start labor when they’re sick of being pregnant…

  7. What happened to the gas tax that we did not support and was improperly titled but passed to our chagrin? How much does Fullerton get each year and is that squirreled away into the road replacement fund or does it go down the rabbit hole?