San Bernardino gets $9 million to repair and upgrade neighborhood roads

With many of its roads crumbling into disrepair, San Bernardino is finally getting some help to fix them. 

For the past four years, the city studied the areas that needed the most repairs, many of which are littered with dips and potholes that damage people's cars. 

"Pothole on, what is that 13th and Wall? Cracked that bad boy right there, but my husband Levell got it fixed," resident Victoria Perez said. "They should just step their game up a little more ... If you got all this money, do something for San Bernardino."

The road where Perez's car suffered an unfortunate dinger will soon be fixed after the San Bernardino City Council approved a $9 million plan to repave 21 streets stretching over 5.5 miles. 

"We are very excited to be able to say, 'OK, residents of San Bernardino, we've got 5.5 miles of road we're rehabbing to make your drive smoother and improve the quality of life,''" city spokesperson Jeff Kraus said. 

Kraus added that historic rainfall further eroded pavement that was already falling apart. The deferred maintenance got delayed even further when the city went bankrupt. 

However, now that San Bernardino has recovered financially, city leaders are more willing to invest in their community. 

"The City Council and the mayor are making sure our investments are making up for some of that deferred maintenance because our residents have been extremely patient," Kraus said.

Residents said it's nice to feel like the city is putting effort into improvement projects. 

"It's something good, something that will benefit the whole community," resident Jose Munoz said. 

The work will last six months between May and September before a new study will decided which roads to fix next.