Plummeting prices at the pump could have a "catastrophic" impact on the Golden State's highways and city streets.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that Californians are paying less in gas taxes, and much less at the pump, as oil prices have plummeted. While that may pad drivers' wallets, the result could be what officials are calling a "catastrophic" impact on the Golden State's highways and city streets.

The combined loss in state transportation revenue -- more than $1.1 billion -- has put high-profile improvement projects at risk of being canceled or facing delays that could stretch for years.

About 225 shovel-ready transportation projects across the state are threatened this year, including the Interstate 680-Highway 4 widening near Antioch, the Willow Road-Highway 101 upgrade in Menlo Park and the planned Highway 1 widening in Santa Cruz.

"We're taking another whacking," spokesman John Goodwin of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission said of the decision last month to trim the State Transportation Improvement Plan by $754 million this year -- marking the largest scaling-back of that pot of money in nearly 20 years, with a $328.3 million cut likely next year.

"Big projects will be pushed back, but everybody is going to feel this, especially when the big potholes in front your house don't get filled."

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