It was another big year for San José’s Pavement Maintenance Program, and there’s more to look forward to in this coming year. The Pavement Maintenance team presented a summary of 2024’s accomplishments to the Transportation and Environment Committee of the City Council this week. They highlighted an improvement in the quality of pavement across the city, as well as innovations in environmental sustainability and a forecast of funding challenges in the near future.

From Good to Better

The quality of our pavement continued to improve in 2024. The Pavement Condition Index is used to rate a section of roadway. It uses a scale from 0 to 100, in which 100 is a brand-new street. Citywide, our street network improved from a score of 73 to 74. The score of 74 is unprecedented. Our modern Pavement Maintenance Program began in 2019, following voter approval of three big funding measures. Back then the score was just 66, and it was as low as 62 in 2016! Such a dramatic improvement across our 2,519-mile street network (representing nearly 400 million square feet of asphalt!) is noteworthy.

 

Grey is the New Green

In a city with a goal to be carbon-neutral by 2030, every project needs to consider its impact on the climate. One of the innovations we’ve embraced in recent years is the use of low-carbon concrete for our sidewalk curb ramps. These Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant ramps get built or upgraded with every pavement project.

We previously worked with our vendors to design a concrete mix that has 40% less global warming potential than what we traditionally used. We tested the new design through a pilot project that produced 94 new ramps. The award-winning pilot project was a success: the material performed as well as conventional concrete at a similar price. We’ve used the low-carbon mix for our ramps ever since – 4,221 of them to date.

Capturing Rainwater

One of the streets due for repaving in 2025 is Katherine Court. Katherine Court is unusual – it is made of concrete pavement instead of asphalt. Instead of repaving it with the same material, we are taking the opportunity to try interlocking concrete pavers. These sturdy pavers are more durable than asphalt, with the added benefit of letting rainwater through the joints. Underneath the pavers, layers of gravel help filter the stormwater, removing pollutants while preventing runoff. This innovative approach will be an exciting test of materials that can be used in future projects. It will also meet a requirement of the City’s Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit.

Funding Challenges on the Horizon

All this paving progress owes a debt of gratitude to the voters. They supported VTA’s Measure B, State Senate Bill 1, and San José’s Measure T between 2016 and 2018. Measure T, in particular, lets us tackle local and neighborhood streets in the worst shape. These streets were too far gone for us to prioritize in previous years, as their rehabilitation costs five times the amount we spend to maintain streets in decent shape. Before Measure T is exhausted in 2028, we will work with the City Council and our administration to come up with a new strategy. If new sources of funding can be established, we can continue providing smooth streets and innovative enhancements across the city.