[Vision2020] States with the Worst Roads

[Kenneth Marcy]

States with the Worst Roads

By Steven Peters <http://247wallst.com/author/steven-peters/> October 
21, 2016 6:00 am EDT


*http://tinyurl.com/ztvq44b*


In its most recent assessment, the American Society of Civil Engineers 
gave the United States a failing grade for its infrastructure. According 
to the group, $3.6 trillion would be needed to raise the standard of 
America’s roads to acceptable levels before 2020.

To determine the states with the worst roads, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 
statistics from the Federal Highway Administration. The worst roads are 
in Rhode Island, where 52% of major roadways are in poor condition. By 
contrast, less than 5% of the roads tested in Idaho are in need of 
repair, the lowest share of any state.

Driving on rough, damaged roads can be unpleasant, dangerous, and often 
leads to additional vehicle operating and repair costs, including flat 
tires and general tire wear, deterioration of a vehicle’s shock 
absorption, extra fuel costs, and so on. These additional costs are 
highest in New Jersey, where on average each motorist spends an extra 
$601 annually on vehicle operating and repair costs. Nationwide, roads 
in disrepair cost motorists an extra $66.6 billion, or $324 per motorist 
each year.

*Click here to see the states with the worst roads.* 
<http://247wallst.com/special-report/2016/10/21/states-with-the-worst-roads/2/>

Bridges are another way to assess a state’s public road system. Nearly 
one in four bridges in America do not meet the standards set by the 
federal government. While the vast majority of these bridges are still 
safe to use, they must be monitored and eventually repaired or 
modernized. Travel on some are restricted to certain weight limits. 
States with more roads in poor condition tend to have a higher share of 
bridges that are deficient. Rhode Island, the state with the worst 
roads, also has the highest share of deficient bridges, at 56%.

Geographical features and weather conditions can make road construction 
and maintenance much more challenging. It is both cheaper and easier to 
build and maintain roads in a flat state like Kansas than in neighboring 
mountainous Colorado. In states such as Wisconsin, road pavement expands 
and contracts due to large temperature differences in winter and summer. 
Because this expansion and contraction damages the pavement, extra 
maintenance costs are required — costs not required in states with more 
even temperatures.

To identify the states with the worst roads, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed 
pavement roughness data from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration’s 
2014 Highway Statistics report. Also from the report are the share of 
deficient bridges and total lane-miles. The share of deficient bridges 
is the sum of bridges categorized as either structurally deficient or 
functionally obsolete. Extra vehicle operating and repair costs are from 
the American Society of Civil Engineers 2013 Report Card for America’s 
Infrastructure. Because 2014 pavement roughness data was unavailable for 
Massachusetts, 2013 data was used. All data is from the most recent 
period available.


*50. Idaho*
*> Public roads in poor condition:* 4.7% (the lowest)
*> Deficient bridges:* 19.8% (16th lowest)
*> Added vehicle costs:* $305 per motorist (21st highest)
*> Size of road system:* 100,317 lane-miles (16th smallest)


*http://tinyurl.com/ztvq44b


Ken

P.S.: I think this rating is prima facie evidence that the authors of 
this report have never been on Idaho roads, especially in the winter 
time. Despite the fact that I saw an 80 MPH speed limit sign on an Idaho 
freeway this summer, the fact that 25 MPH single-lane roadways still 
exist on the main north-south route in this state is not indicative of 
roadways ready for contemporary carriage and commerce.  --KM

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