Cash Shortage Taking Toll On Yolo County Roads
CLARKSBURG, Calif. (CBS13) -- Many worn out Yolo County roadways are going unrepaired due to continuing budget problems and an unusually wet winter.
Officials say it would take $86 million to repair the 800 miles of roadway throughout the county, but public works director Panos Kokkas said the department has been cut by a third, leaving less than $4 million a year and a quarter fewer staff for the issue.
"If it's severe enough, we'll close [the road], that's our last resort," Kokkas said. "Looking at county roads versus city roads, you see two different products."
Most Yolo County roads, such as a frontage road off Interstate 80 east of Davis, were old dirt wagon trails later covered in oil, rocks and asphalt. With heavy rains and areas of flooding in recent months, stretches of roadway were washed out or heavily damaged and have remained closed ever since.
Most of the road maintenance money from the state comes from the California gas tax, which is based on the number of cars registered in the county. The state budget crisis has led to slashed funding.
Potholes are the Public Works Department's number one complaint but the last thing the county will pay for, leaving residents like Natalie Thurn driving over unstable road.
"When the wheel hits and dips and you hear the crunch, feels like a little bit of damage," Natalie said. "I had to get two new rims from it, two new tires."
