By Geoff Page
On Monday, September 30, 2024, a little more than a month before the election, the mayor’s office issued a press release:
“City of San Diego Marks 1,650 Miles of Road Repair Under Mayor Gloria”
“MILESTONE FOLLOWS RECORD INVESTMENTS FOR STREET PAVING BY CITY LEADERS IN RECENT YEARS’ (This was in all caps.)
Having worked in the construction industry for many years, including for a grading and paving company, this kind of statement makes me see red because it is so deceptive.
Start with the word “repair.” In most people’s minds, this means to fix something that is damaged. For street work, this usually means things like filling potholes, something substantial.
Then look at the word “paving.” What this conjures up for most people is the laying down of an asphalt structure like full depth replacement of asphalt or perhaps an overly of 1.5 to 2.0 inches.
Neither word refers to surface treatments like slurry seal, that makes a road look nicer but is not a “repair” or “paving.” Surface treatments are maintenance.
This writer challenged the Faulconer administration on this same thing. It was like pulling teeth to get the actual detail of what the big number represented. To learn what the mayor’s new figure consisted of, this writer went directly to the Communications Department , specifically to Senior Public Information Officer Anthony Santacroce, because it was impossible to find an email for Bethany Bezak, head of the Transportation Department.
In my email dated October 3, these questions were asked:
1. How much was non-structural surface treatment such as slurry and chip seal.
2. How much was milling and overlay of structural asphalt.
3. How much was full depth remove and replace asphalt repair.
4. Of the 1650 miles, how many miles are “lane miles.”
Santacroce replied the same day:
I’ll get those figures for you, call you up on the phone and let you know.
Despite follow up emails on October 24, November 1, and January 27, Santacroce never again responded. Why are my tax dollars paying for this kind of treatment by a city employee?
The next step was a Public Records Request that netted the information.
Of the claimed 1,650 miles:
- 1,298 miles was surface treatments = 79%
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- 1,185 slurry seal – 91% of all surface treatments – 72% of the claimed 1,650 miles
- 89 miles Cape seal
- 24 miles scrub seal
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- 350 miles was overlay, actual paving structure, not surface treatments – 21% of the 1,650 miles
- 2.5 miles concrete
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To get the overlay total, the city grabbed a few miles everywhere and totaled them up. This was not a concerted effort to overlay 350 miles. Miles were taken here and there from the following 38 sources to reach that total. This shows that trench repair was counted. Very deceptive.
Overlay Sources
Surface treatments are maintenance operations, they are not “repairs” and they are not considered to be “paving.”
And, the use of the word miles, means “lane miles” not just linear miles. This means that work done on both sides of a street will be counted twice, as lane miles, on each side. This makes the figure of 1,650 miles deliberately deceiving.
That’s what the mayor told everyone just before the election. Unfortunately, most people do not understand paving work because they have no involvement in it. They see recently covered with slurry as new pavement because it looks so good. But, it is only cosmetic. Slurry is good for pavement but it is not intended to hide actual repairs the streets really need.
Too many people take the mayor at his word and that is a losing proposition.
To make matters worse, this writer recently discovered the city’s own crews are doing much of the work. That will be the subject of another story about how to save some money in the budget.
Interesting informative, Geoff. Thank you.
My pleasure, thanks.
Thanks for the information!
I have a related question – Are there any environmental implications to the Slurry Seal coating? I’ve noticed in our neighborhood that after the recent rain there was a strong asphalt-type smell from the streets that had been coated last summer. It made me wonder if any toxic residue went out to the ocean? Thanks!
That’s a good question and it is my understanding that seal coats do contain hazardous materials although I can’t say to what extent. Coal tar is used in slurry and it is hazardous. Using any of this near the ocean or where it might drain into the ocean is a bad idea.
Turns out there are even two levels of slurry seal, one for busy roads and one for less busy roads. My cul-de-sac, a very unbusy road, got the slurry “lite” treatment and all the cracks and marks appeared again in 3 days. A total waste. Maybe chocolate milk next time ?
The city used to report street repair miles in the annual budget.
This practice was discontinued in the FY 2025 budget.
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/fy24ab_v2transportation.pdf
https://www.sandiego.gov/sites/default/files/2024-08/fy25ab_v2transportation.pdf
It is pretty obvious that the City is using low cost methods rather than doing the job using the correct materials and processes when streets crack and holes show up is a matter of months. That was a great piece of investigation.
That is correct, Gary. Instead of crack-sealing before applying, they are incorrectly using it to seal cracks. Does not work.
This is not just lack of transparency or clarity, this is lack of honesty- unfortunately the hall mark of this Mayor. Thank you so much for this clear and informative piece.
I concur, Kathy. This Mayor is a master at non-transparency – Non-Transparency ForAllOfUs
Excellent article, well researched and presented. When I first read his claims, I looked at the road budget and expenses. now I have to admit not knowing if this is correct or not: it appears that the road ‘repairs’ cost in the neighborhood of 1,000,000 per mile, yes from my math a million dollars a mile. looks like a bottomless slush fund for certain politicians. The same ones that have corrupted the sales tax scheme in San Diego. There is a $4.00 per pack state tax on cigarettes but the stores are allowed to charge sales tax on the state tax. Since the boston tea party, there has not been a more wrong commited. I dont smoke, but I do think the city and the state should have ‘some’ integrity on taxation of the peasants.
I fully agree with the author’s assessment of Mayor Gloria’s recent claims regarding the city’s road repair milestones. The mayor’s press release on September 30, 2024, is nothing more than an exercise in deception. By using vague terms like “repair” and “paving,” Gloria misrepresents what’s actually happening on our streets. As pointed out in the article, slurry seal treatments are being counted as “repairs” when they are, in fact, merely cosmetic surface treatments. They don’t fix the underlying damage to our roads—these are routine maintenance measures, not the real repair work that residents need and deserve.
It’s outrageous that the mayor’s office would inflate these figures, counting surface treatments as part of the 1,650 miles of “road repair” to make it sound like they’ve done far more than they really have. The truth is, 79% of that total is simply surface treatments, which have little to no effect on the actual infrastructure of our roads. Meanwhile, vital repairs—like full-depth asphalt removal and replacement—make up a minuscule portion of the reported work. This is clearly an attempt to mislead the public.
Furthermore, Mayor Gloria’s blatant refusal to provide transparency on the actual breakdown of this work after multiple attempts to get answers is appalling. The lack of response from his office and the city’s failure to release clear details, despite a public records request, speaks volumes about the mayor’s unwillingness to be accountable for his actions—or lack thereof. The fact that much of the work is being done by city crews further reveals that Gloria’s “record investments” are a smokescreen, meant to obscure his failure to effectively manage the city’s resources.
In my opinion, Mayor Gloria’s dishonest approach to this issue is an insult to the hardworking taxpayers of San Diego. By taking credit for superficial work, he is downplaying the severe need for actual infrastructure repairs in our city. Voters deserve the truth about the state of our streets, not politically motivated spin that only serves to protect his image and not our city’s future.
Well said, John, thanks for adding to the discussion.
The story on the City of San Diego street infrastructure con job is thorough and fascinating, but the real issue is the impossible ability of the City Council to fund city-wife street reconstruction infrastructure when Development Services Department and Mayor Toad Gloria are waiving developer fees, all of which are absolutely necessary for longterm infrastructure planning and maintenance. Past land developers built streets completely differently, for thin concrete layers with little metal rebar to thin asphalt not paved over gravel bed and then constant trenching for utilities that disrupt the streets followed by slapping thin layers of entirely different asphalt mixes that continually break down and allow water intrusion that further breaks down the streets.
Not to sound like a broken record, but the Mayor and entire City Council ignored major long term infrastructure issues and diverted tens of millions of dollars to rent motels, hotels, and then used Golden Hall to house homeless people for short periods of time. Now all that money that should have been applied to libraries, parks, and street infrastructure is gone and we still have pretty close to 12,000 homeless people living in canyons, under park bushes, and along our streets. I see this is complete and gross incompetence.
You hit the nail on the head, Ron. Water. If the streets aren’t repaired to prevent the intrusion of water, the problem just gets worse, not better.
Thank you. I worked for the County of San Diego for 24-years and understand how funding of infrastructure works. The pots ripped off tor renting hotels, motels, and containing people in Golden Hall were the ones intended for longterm streets, sidewalks, lights, etc.
Apologies to the OB Rag and public for my typos in the last posting.
I would love to see this info on a Ch8 or 39 piece.
Thanks Geoff for your insight and for all the investigative reporting you do.
One of the biggest problem with any city road work is the woeful lack of city inspection during the performance of the work. Any the results of the lack of critical inspections can be seen in every community in San Diego – slurry seals de-laminating on our roadways after just a few weeks. This “repair” is a total waste of taxpayer money.
I was really surprised to see all of the sudden the city started “repaving” some streets. I though, wow, finally, our Mayor Ted Gloria suddenly woke up and started doing something besides photo shops. I did suspect that this was just an election stunt. Boy, wasn’t that suspicion correct? The very next day after he was reelected, the work has stopped.
We definitely need DOGE coming to San Diego and to California.