Caltrans has published its third issue of The Mile Marker, a periodic reporting of areas where the department is excelling and where further improvement is needed.

“As a government department that touches the lives of nearly everyone in the state every day, it is incumbent on us to provide factual information in a narrative that is easily understandable,” Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty wrote in the report’s welcome letter.

According to the 2015 first-quarter report, pavement rehabilitation accounts for nearly half (46 percent) of the state’s transportation upkeep needs. The next largest demand (18 percent) is for bridge reconstruction projects. Together, pavement and bridges take up almost two-thirds of upkeep needs. According to the report, while the state’s bridges are safe, Caltrans has a $19 billion 10-year unfunded need for bridge work.

The Mile Marker is one of Caltrans’ steps to improve its transparency and accountability by making the department’s work more accessible and understandable to the public. Its intention is also to quantify and measure the department’s performance – what’s working, what’s not and what could be improved – based on consistent markers.

The Mile Marker features an at-a-glance chart showing the department’s progress from the previous report, where it’s reaching its goals and where it needs to improve.

The report includes Caltrans’ progress in improving as a department; a rundown of its response to the 6.0-magnitude Napa Earthquake on Aug. 24, 2014; a close look at the planning process for San Diego’s ambitious and forward-looking North Coast Corridor Program; and an update on projects funded by the Trade Corridor Improvement Fund, a program stemming from the 2006 voter-approved Proposition 1B.

The Mile Marker is distributed to the Legislature, local government agencies and transportation professionals statewide and around the country.

Copies of this issue of The Mile Marker are available at: http://www.dot.ca.gov/ctjournal/MileMarker/2015-1/index.html (online).

Caltrans also releases 23 statutorily required reports on a periodic basis on subjects including project delivery, finance, fish passage, state rail and highway maintenance. These reports are located at: http://dot.ca.gov/reports-legislature.htm.