Fresno launches $100M road repair bond to tackle deferred maintenance

The city of Fresno in California is incurring debt to fund various new road infrastructure and deferred maintenance projects. When the Fresno City Council adopted a $2.36 billion budget last month, it also determined it could no longer delay repaving major thoroughfares across the city’s seven districts.

The council agreed to tackle approximately $100 million in road repairs now, financed through the “Pave Now, Pay Later” bond initiative, which addresses part of the $1.2 billion deferred street maintenance backlog. Instead of funding the project through the general budget, the city will issue bonds so the work can begin immediately.

The urgency stems from several factors, including the cost to repair the roads now is lower than if the pavement continues to deteriorate. Another factor, construction costs have already increased substantially—by as much as 65 percent over the past three years—and further rises are anticipated. Additionally, as Fresno grows, the city must assume responsibility for more roads to accommodate larger populations.

Of the $100 million bond, $75 million will be dedicated to repaving. The city will issue a lease-revenue bond that does not require voter approval. Repayment is scheduled to begin in June 2029, when Fresno’s $12.8 million annual pension bond obligation ends, effectively replacing that debt.

Although the bond covers just under 10 percent of the backlog, it allows each district to repair some of its worst roads within the next two to three years.

Among the projects selected for funding, the highest-funded road and repaving projects are below:

• District One – $5.77 million for a 1.5-mile stretch of the Shaw Blythe to Brawley/Marks project.
• District Two – $4.13 million for the Figarden – Santa Fe to Valentine.
• District Three – $3 million for a project south of the downtown industrial district.
• District Four – $2.14 million for a 1.33-mile portion of the Santa Ana – First – Gettysburg – Augusta project.
• District Five – $5.2 million for the Belmont – Fowler – Illinois – Fordham project.
• District Six – $4.76 million for the Perrin – Champlain to Sommerville project.
• District Seven – $7.47 million for a nearly five-mile project across Belmont, Sixth, Tulare and First.

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