SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today's Why Guy question comes from Barbara Hina-Vergara, who asks, "Why are the roads not getting repaired? Why do the repair crews just keep patching over the roads (potholes) instead of fixing them correctly??"
Barbara, thanks for the question. Most Why Guy inquiries are about road issues. I'd say 9 out of 10 questions I get are what's up with gas taxes for roads, road signs, or fixing roads.
Here's what I know. People are upset about paying 81 cents per gallon in taxes to fix roads because they think the money isn't being used for that. Then when roads are fixed, which I see plenty of, people are upset traffic is slow or rerouted.
It's the quintessential damned if you do, damned if you don't.
California has 394,383 miles of state roads and bridges. So, while California does have the highest gas tax in the nation, we also have the most miles of roads.
And you know California loves a good tax. In spite of what we already get dinged with, Caltrans says it may need an extra $123 billion over the next 10 years to maintain existing infrastructure due to cost and age.
"Considering these expanding needs, the available funding will address about 45% of the total identified needs," a representative for Caltrans said in a statement.
That drew a negative response from at least one Republican lawmaker.
"It's an insult to California's drivers to force them to pay the nation's highest gas taxes and then say it's not enough, especially at a time when Sacramento is supposedly enjoying a budget surplus" State Sen Patricia Bates (R-Laguna Niguel), said.
One thing that can be blamed on slower road repair is COVID-19, with people travelling less over the past two years it's obviously generated less in gas tax revenue.
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Why are California gas prices so high? | Why Guy