Highways: The good, the bad and the ugly truth

WASHINGTON — America’s highways have never been in better shape.

They’re smoother, there’s less congestion, fewer potholes mar the surfaces and not as many people are getting killed on them. Too bad it’s because of the recession.

This week, the Washington-based Reason Foundation issued its 19th annual Highway Report. 

It’s an in-depth look at all the state-owned roads across the U.S., including bridges, back roads and urban interstates. The good news is, scores for congestion, road conditions, accidents and unsafe driving conditions have all improved over the years.

The other news? Mostly it’s because people aren’t driving as much as they used to so there’s less wear and tear on the system.

The Reason Roads Study is also a lesson in economics. And here’s what it teaches us. You don’t get good roads just by pouring money into the departments that build them. You can’t pave with paper.

Exhibit A: California squanders a massive amount of money on “transportation” that never makes it onto roads, spending $545,000 per mile on state roads but almost $100 grand per mile goes into administration.

New Jersey, by comparison, spends $1.1 million per mile but only $63,000 on administration. And New Jersey’s roads are better than Schwarzenegger’s.

Here’s a taste of what else you’ll learn if you read the report:

♦ Drivers in California and Hawaii have the most potholes on urban Interstates. In those two states, a full quarter of urban interstate pavement is in poor condition.

♦ Alaska and Rhode Island have the bumpiest pavements, each with about 10 percent in poor condition. On the other hand, pavement on urban Interstates is the best it’s been since 1993 and rural primary roads are the smoothest they’ve been since 1993 also. ??

♦ More than half (53 percent) of the bridges in Rhode Island are “deficient.” Only 10 percent of Nevada’s are.

♦ Traffic fatalities have steadily fallen to the lowest levels since the 1960s. Massachusetts has the safest roads with just 0.67 fatalities per 100 million miles driven.

♦ North Dakota has the best highways of all; Rhode Island the worst.

Finally, let the record show that we here at todaystrucking.com have officially requested that the authors of the Reason Foundation study include Canadian roadways in future projects.

Don’t touch that dial.  

Enjoy the sun in California and Hawaii, ’cause
driving on each state’s roads isn’t fun.