Eric Lundelius of Stockton took ABC10 on a tour of his neighborhood.
“If you are doing the speed limit and catch it at the last minute it kind of hurts," said Lundelius, as he drove around.
It didn't take Lundelius long to point out a pothole on a street.
“We’ve lost a hub cap, we’ve taken some gouges out of my wife’s tire. You can feel the bumps. It’s really bad," he said.
Lundelius lives in Stockton’s Mid Town area of the Pacific Avenue’s Miracle Mile. It’s one of the neighborhoods the city of Stockton is targeting when it comes to improving and repairing the roads.
“We have a $200 million back log in our roads alone," said Mike Selling, Deputy Director of Engineering for San Joaquin County Public Works.
He said the 12 cent per gallon gas tax increase will simply mean “catch up” when it comes to fixing roads.
“Where we will be doing a lot of different types of maintenance treatments from slurry seals to chip seals to resurfacing, basically putting a couple inches of asphalt down on some of the more heavily traveled roads," said Selling.
Some of the major road projects San Joaquin County is looking at include, Highway 4 from Navy Drive to the San Joaquin County line, the 11th Street Corridor near Banta, Escalon Bellota Road near Escalon and Mariposa Road from Jack Tone to Austin Roads.
In Stanislaus County, improvements include Gates Road, Dakota Avenue, Hickman Road, Keyes Road, Del Puerto Canyon Road,Montpelier Road and Albers Road.
The city of Modesto has yet to identify specific streets or projects funded by the new gas tax. Right now, Modesto has $300 million in deferred maintenance costs.
The roads are no laughing matter to Jerry Lewis.
Living in Stockton 18 years, his alignment is off on his 2001 Rodeo.
“I just had my vehicle realigned about less than six months ago and it already pulls to the right. There are bumps everywhere," said Lewis.
For drivers like Lewis and Lundelius, the hope is the gas tax a cure for the bumps in the road leading to safer travels everywhere.