Paving Our City's Roadways

The preservation of our streets is a perpetual priority for our Public Works Department. Taking care of the quality of our roads is much like the regular maintenance of any asset, like a home or a car, where preventative maintenance can keep costs lower. Public Works manages the care of all of our roads and prioritizes their upkeep annually. Coordination between the engineering, traffic and maintenance divisions, along with utility companies, ensures an ongoing process of assessment, project prioritization and project management.

Pavement Management Overview City of San Mateo Good Graph

We maintain approximately 200 miles of streets, 2/3 are resident streets and the other 1/3 are collectors and arterials. Our current Citywide average PCI is 70.

Public Works staff surveys the quality of our roads every two to three years to determine their condition. The road is then assigned a Pavement Condition Index (PCI) score. The PCI of a street is a numerical rating from 1 to 100 that indicates the general condition of the pavement.


Pavement Maintenance

For the regular upkeep of our roads, we employ preventative maintenance solutions based on the level of need.

Just like the upkeep of your home, preventative maintenance extends your home’s life and is less expensive than major reconstruction. For instance, minor maintenance can include Crack Seal or Slurry Seal treatment. While major maintenance includes pavement rehabilitations (grind and overlay). 

Pavement Budget

Our annual budget for road maintenance is about $8.1 million and is funded through the General Fund, State funding, Gas Tax and Measures A, S and W.

In 2015, voters in San Mateo passed Measure S. It’s thanks to the support of the measure that the City could act on those roads that need more extensive work. 

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