As the fallout from losing redevelopment funds continues to unfold, the city of Pittsburg is scrambling to make up for an annual $2 million no longer available to help fix potholes and maintain roads.

The city needs about $3 million a year to keep its roadways' condition level, City Manager Joe Sbranti said. But when the city's redevelopment agency was dissolved Feb. 1 -- as Sacramento lawmakers redirect certain property taxes into the state budget -- the lion's share of that money evaporated.

Now the city is forced to find other ways to find the money, Sbranti said.

In one effort, the City Council Monday approved shifting county funds around and funneling about $820,000 to road repair projects that will target areas of West Leland and Loveridge roads and 10th Street.

Beginning that work may not be possible until April, when warmer weather allows the street patching material to chemically bond the right way, Sbranti said.

Meanwhile, he added, city staffers are searching for new grants and other creative ways to make up the money.

Road repair is generally most cost-effective when it's done early --- numerous studies recommend vigilant maintenance and pothole repair over letting streets deteriorate until they need to be replaced, and that deterioration happens at an exponential rate once potholes begin surfacing.

Pittsburg generally sticks to that ethic, with a heavy focus on using slurry seals to patch up areas that are becoming vulnerable to water, then laying a seal across the top.

"It's comparable to a wall in a house with a bunch of hole in it," Sbranti said. "You'd putty up the holes, then paint over it. That's functionally pretty similar."

Pittsburg was founded over a century ago and many of its 170 miles of road are quite old, Sbranti added, necessitating more care. On a 100-point rating scale, Pittsburg streets tend to be graded between 50 and 70, he added.

A good warning sign, he said, is what engineers call alligator cracking, or alligatoring.

"If you look at alligator skin shoes, you'll see the alligator skin tends to have a pattern on it that's kind of irregular," he said. "If you look at pavement that is starting to fail, it has a similar pattern."

Residents who notice potholes may alert city staffers at 925-252-4936. Those who want their neighborhood streets considered for full rehabilitation should call 925-252-4930.

Contact Sean Maher at 925-779-7189. Follow him on Twitter at @OneSeanMaher.