Upland officials outline $76.5 million CIP, warn roads, water infrastructure face large funding and staffing gaps

Upland Assistant City Manager Damien Arula told the City Council at a special workshop that the city’s infrastructure is aging and that its current staffing model cannot keep pace with the growing capital program.

“our infrastructure is significantly aging and the need for reinvestment is urgent,” Arula said. He said a third‑party pavement assessment found a citywide Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of 57 and estimated a roughly $160,000,000 backlog to fully restore Upland’s 191 miles of roadway.

The presentation framed the problem as twofold: an annual funding shortfall for pavement preservation and a public‑works staffing gap that limits the city’s ability to design, bid and deliver projects. Arula said maintaining the current PCI of 57 would require about $15.4 million per year; improving the network to a commonly accepted target PCI of 70 would require about $26.23 million per year. He said current annual pavement funding for rehabilitation projects is about $6.38 million, producing an annual shortfall “of over $9,000,000 per year.”

Why it matters

Arula and staff warned that pavement deterioration accelerates if deferred, and that “what it costs to slurry seal today will jump to 8 times the cost or even 14 times the cost” when reconstruction becomes necessary. The council heard the larger fiscal picture alongside a proposed organizational change intended to increase the city’s capacity to deliver capital projects.

What’s in the CIP and key project examples

Staff said the CIP currently includes 134 projects totaling about $76.5 million across 21 funding sources. Major categories and selected projects noted in the presentation: - Streets and roads: 47 projects, about $33.7 million. Highlighted projects included Foothill Boulevard reconstruction (Benson to Euclid), Grove Avenue rehabilitation (Foothill to 15th), Fourteenth Street rehabilitation (Campus to Grove) and Mulberry Avenue reconstruction (Foothill to Pine). Arula said…