San Francisco to resurface 500 city blocks

San Francisco plans to repave 500 blocks in the upcoming year, city officials announced Wednesday.

The Board of Supervisors Tuesday passed a resolution that included a list of proposed blocks that would be repaved under The City’s share of state Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account. Funds for repaving will come from Senate Bill 1, or the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017.

Under the bill, San Francisco will receive $22.8 million for the fiscal year beginning July 1, the Mayor’s Office said, which makes up about a third of The City’s repaving program budget managed by the Department of Public Works. The remaining funds come from local revenue sources, including the half-cent transportation sales tax.

The Metropolitan Transportation Commission rated The City’s street pavement condition in 2018 with a score of 72 out of 100, which falls into the “fair/good” range. The score was higher than the Bay Area average of 68.

Despite the decent score, city officials said they need to keep up and improve roadway conditions.

Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who chairs the board’s Land Use and Transportation Committee, said in a statement:

“Keeping our streets in good shape to make city life run smoothly must remain a top priority for the city. We need to continuously support this investment.”

Public Works has already identified potential corridors to work on, including segments of Harrison Street, Larkin Street, Union Street, Ninth Avenue, Diamond Street, Balboa Street and 14th Street. Blocks not covered under the SB 1 funding will be covered through other funding resources, officials said.

Extending the life of a block in good condition is more cost effective than reconstructing an entire block in very poor condition. Officials said repairing a block in good condition runs upward of $50,000 while the cost to redo an entire block in poor condition could soar up to $500,000.

In a statement, Interim Public Works Director Carla Short said:

“With the support of Mayor Breed and the Board of Supervisors, we are dedicated to keeping our streets in good condition for all users, and that’s just about anyone who lives here or comes to San Francisco to work or visit.”

Click here to find a list of blocks being considered for repaving.

Jerold Chinn

Jerold serves as a reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief for SFBay covering transportation and occasionally City Hall and the Mayor's Office in San Francisco. His work on transportation has been recognized by the San Francisco Press Club. Born and raised in San Francisco, he graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in journalism. Jerold previously wrote for the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, noncommercial news organization. When not reporting, you can find Jerold taking Muni to check out new places to eat in the city.