The State : ‘Dismal’ Highway Picture

California’s highway system, once considered the best in the nation, is disintegrating and traffic congestion is growing worse, the state Transportation Commission said in its annual report. “It’s dismal, very dismal,” Executive Director Robert Nielsen said, “and the current funding level (for new road construction) is woefully inadequate.” The report, issued in Sacramento, said Los Angeles motorists spend 100,000 hours a day fuming in traffic tie-ups--which cost $2 million daily in lost wages and other expenses, and there is no relief in sight. The report also rated 25% of the state’s highways as deficient.