There’s a county road I often take home from Sacramento to Placer County; the scenery is idyllic – farm houses, horses, geese heading south, the Sierra Nevada on the horizon. And then I begin hitting teeth-jarring potholes, one after another. It’s not a well-traveled road and I know it’s not a priority. But I also know that I am not alone – not when you take a look at the backlog on road maintenance our counties and cities are facing.

The 2012 California Statewide Local Streets and Roads Needs Assessment Study was released this week and the figures are startling.