Winter storms have combined with bad road engineering, geography, funding shortfalls and inequities in Sonoma County, California. drivers and cyclists can expect an unusually rough ride this year and more to come.
For six years the county has received the dubious transportation title of having the worst of the Bay Area's (9-county-region) roads. This year, funding shortfalls have caused the Board of Supervisors to fund "paving upgrades for 150 miles of the most traveled roads and leaving the rest to degrade." It is in charge of a "1,384-mile network of rural roads, the Bay Area's largest."
The reason for the county's bad roads lie "partly with the weather. So far this winter, Sonoma County has received more than double last year's rainfall, leaving soaked roads vulnerable to hydraulic eruptions."
Additionally, "...officials say the perennial rash of potholes results from poor historic design." Many of the roads went from "cow paths to wagon trails to paved roads without ever receiving the kind of engineered base that gives a road strength."
Thanks to MTC Library
Read the full story: Get ready for more potholes; Heavy rainfall expected to erode Sonoma County's ailing roads
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