Marin's Road Quality Improved Last Year, Report Finds

SAN RAFAEL, CA — The quality of Marin County roads nudged higher in 2023, despite intense new challenges caused by storms that swept across the region early last year, according to a new report.

Officials announced Thursday that the Pacement Condition Index (PCI) score for county-maintained roads grew from 66 to 68 through Dec. 31, 2023. The county uses that index to measure overall road quality on a 100-point scale, with a perfect 100 indicating a newly paved road. Average scores are determined by engineers who consider pavement age, climate and precipitation factors and traffic loads.

According to the county, last month's assessment placed Marin's score a couple of steps ahead of the most recent statewide average of 66. Officials welcomed the news Thursday, acknowledging the added headaches brought on by a historic winter.

"The increase in the County of Marin's road network PCI represents a step in the right direction and is a result of a strategic approach including a robust plate of projects, targeting 13 percent of the road network over the course of the 2022 and 2023 paving seasons, as well as ongoing extensive maintenance work," the county said in a news release. "The accomplishment is even more significant given that a considerable amount of staffing and funding resources had to be reallocated to emergency repair efforts across the county following the significant storms in January 2023."

Marin's Road and Bridge Program was developed as a "hybrid strategy" to address pavement preservation and rehabilitation efforts along with road construction work. The program is paid for through a mix of the general fund, regional tax measures, Senate Bill 1 and grant money.