Concord Disputes Low Federal Ratings Of Its Roads

CONCORD (KCBS) - A national report that ranks road conditions in U.S. cities does not give a true picture of the ride through Concord, local transportation officials said.

Concord has the fourth worst roads in the country, according to The Road Information Program, known as TRIP. That listing, however, ignores high marks the city has gotten from regional transportation planners, countered Theresa Rommell, a senior engineer with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

"They are not in great condition. But they are not the worst in the nation as far as anybody can tell, because nobody's done that analysis yet," Rommell said.

KCBS Dave Padilla Reporting:

In 2009, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission gave Concord city streets a rating of 78 or "good." Compare that to the "fair" rating the MTC gave to San Jose, the city at the top of the TRIP's list, said Concord city engineer Danea Gammell.

The national report makes it look like the city has "potholes on every street," she said.

The TRIP survey measures only state-owned highways and not streets whose maintenance is under local supervision.

Despite that limitation, Rommell saw in the federal numbers an urgent need for greater investment in Bay Area roadways.

"We don't continue pumping more money into infrastructure, we're going to see a pretty rapid decline in the next five to ten years," she said.

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