The cost of repairing storm-damaged state highways in California has reached $85 million and is expected to climb, Caltrans officials said Saturday.
The new figure comes before winter has reached its midpoint, with the possibility that more storms could further overwhelm roads across the state, particularly Interstate 5 north of Santa Clarita, which is open but threatened by an area prone to landslides.
At least $43 million in road repairs is needed in Southern California, where some key mountain highways remained closed this weekend.
These include California 33 north of Ojai, California 150 east of Santa Paula, California 39 in the San Gabriel Mountains north of Glendora, and Topanga Canyon Boulevard through Topanga Canyon, according to Caltrans.
For now, the money to fix state roads is expected to come from Caltrans' existing budget. Caltrans officials say they have received preliminary word that the Federal Highway Administration will reimburse most of those costs.
"At this point, no funds have been diverted from other transportation projects. We have to wait and see the amount of money forthcoming from the federal government," said David Anderson, a Caltrans spokesman. "Once we have the figure, we'll know where we stand."
Cities and counties across the state are grappling with the cost of repairing their own roads and could benefit from federal disaster assistance -- if it comes through.
Transportation advocates have complained in recent years that funds for road and other transit projects have increasingly been diverted to other uses during the state's fiscal crisis, resulting in reduced road maintenance in the state.
"We seem to have our fair share of natural disasters year in and year out, be it floods, earthquakes and landslides, and we have neglected roads for such a long period of time," said Michael Lawson, executive director of Transportation California, a Sacramento-based coalition of business, labor and local government officials.
"Our transportation system resembles more that of a Third World country than a state-of-the-art system that we had in the 1960s."
The state has admitted there are problems.
"California's transportation program is in crisis and on the verge of collapse," began a December report by the California Transportation Commission.
" ... Meanwhile, the backlog of pavement and other rehabilitation needs on the state highway system is growing, and the cost to meet those needs is increasing and more and more work is deferred."
