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While the city spends millions of people on repairs, internal audits have found that local streets in Long Beach still rank among the worst streets in California.
Compared to several other cities and counties, its roads rank in the bottom 3rd and are listed under several social cities, such as Los Angeles, San Diego and Santa Barbara. In a 84-page audit by city auditor Laura Dood, more than a third of Long Beach streets were rated “poor” or “very poor” in 2023.
“There are a lot of bad streets that we need to repair here in Long Beach,” said Eric Lopez, director of Long Beach Public Works.
Since 2020, the city has spent more than $300 million on improvements. The audit found that the city’s funding plan lacks the recommended one to meet pavement rating goals, falling $20 million.
The Long Beach Target Pavement Condition Index score, which is used to assess pavement conditions, is set to 60. In 2023, the city reported a score of 56, down two points from 2021.
Doud’s report called for the implementation of a centralized, citywide project management system to better manage and track street projects.
Lopez said the department is tasked with using the money to improve the city’s streets, and said change is accelerating with increased staffing, integration projects and faster crew turnarounds.
“We’re making more improvements today than we have across generations,” he said.
A man living in a residential area in Long Beach said the year-long flood problem on his street was addressed and resolved several days ago.
“When I saw that they were going to start working on it, I was skeptical, but they do a really great job,” the resident said.
According to Lopez, the public will begin to implement these improvements over the next two years.
The city’s projects are detailed on the city’s Elevate 28 website, a five-year infrastructure program totaling over $533 million across four categories of improvements in preparation for hosting 11 Olympic Summer events in 2028.
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