SANTA ANA : Prop. 111 Backers List Worst Streets

Supporters of Proposition 111, a transportation improvement initiative, held a press conference Thursday at the intersection of one of Santa Ana’s most pothole-ridden streets to illustrate what they say is a severe lack of money for proper road maintenance in Orange County.

Passage of the proposition Tuesday would raise a total of $18.5 billion over the next 10 years for road maintenance by creating a 9-cents-per-gallon gasoline tax increase to be phased in over four years, said Manuel Puentes, transportation engineer of the Automobile Club of Southern California.

Puentes revealed what he said are considered the worst streets in the county. Besides the stretch of Grand Avenue between Edinger and Warner avenues, other streets listed as priority projects include portions of Ball Road, Katella Avenue, Brookhurst Street, Euclid Street, Fairview Road, MacArthur Boulevard, El Camino Real, Marguerite Parkway, Crown Valley Parkway and Irvine Boulevard.

“There just aren’t enough existing funds to meet maintenance requirements,” said William Zaun, director of public works for the county. “In many cases, it’s more than 20 years before a road gets any kind of attention. . . . It’s much more cost-effective to maintain a street on a routine basis rather than waiting until a street falls apart.”