Bay Bridge pothole creates rainy commute headache

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- We need the rain we have been getting, but there is a downside to the wet weather on Bay Area roadways and highways. Steady rain often helps potholes surface. A big pothole was found Wednesday on the new span of the Bay Bridge that is barely a year old.

Morning commuters traveling from Oakland to San Francisco were not only greeted by the rain, but also the good sized pothole that developed on the eastern span.

"I think if you think about like a new car, over the course of some time you will have normal wear and tear on a new car. It won't take several years for that to happen, so this is normal wear and tear," said Leah Robinson-Leach of Caltrans.

So even a new bridge isn't immune to what Bay Area drivers have been experiencing for years.

"Your pothole really starts as a seemingly innocuous crack," said John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.

In fact, according to the MTC, many local cities rank way below average when it comes to the quality of their pavement.

"It often has to do with competing priorities. Local streets and roads, for the most part, in most cities and most counties, they've got to fight for funding with public safety, with parks and rec, with libraries," said Goodwin.

Some low-ranking cities like Orinda and El Cerrito have even resorted to ballot measures calling for increases in local sales taxes to pay for improvements to their pockmarked roadways.

As part of the MTC's ongoing battle for better roads and pavements, they reveal the worst pavements in the Bay Area in a report called "Street Fight".