TRIP Report: Bumpy Roads Ahead: America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother

Nation’s urban roads are increasingly deteriorated, costing drivers as much as $800 each year. Road conditions expected to decline further if federal and state lawmakers fail to act. Federal funding for region’s highways set to be slashed in October 2014 unless congress approves additional revenues.

Rank	Urban Area	VOC	Rank	Urban Area	Poor
1	LA–Long Beach–Santa Ana, CA	$832	1	LA–Long Beach–Santa Ana, CA	64%
2	Tulsa, OK	$784	2	San Francisco—Oakland, CA	60%
3	San Francisco—Oakland, CA	$782	3	San Jose, CA	56%
4	Oklahoma City, OK	$782	4	San Diego, CA	55%
5	San Diego, CA	$758	5	Tucson,  AZ	53%
6	San Jose, CA	$737	6	New York, NY — Newark, NJ	51%
7	Tucson, AZ	$723	7	Bridgeport—Stamford, CT	51%
8	Milwaukee, WI	$700	8	Milwaukee, WI	48%
9	New Orleans, LA	$687	9	New Orleans, LA	47%
10	New York, NY –Newark, NJ	$673	10	Oklahoma City, OK	47%
11	Bridgeport—Stamford, CT	$669	11	Tulsa, OK	46%
12	Sacramento, CA	$658	12	Seattle, WA	45%
13	Riverside–San Bernardino, CA	$638	13	Honolulu, HI	43%
14	Seattle, WA	$625	14	Sacramento, CA	43%
15	Concord, CA	$623	15	Concord, CA	42%
16	Denver—Aurora, CO	$615	16	New Haven, CT	42%
17	Dallas–Fort Worth –Arlington, TX	$615	17	Riverside–San Bernardino, CA	39%
18	Birmingham, AL	$601	18	Springfield, MA	39%
19	Honolulu, HI	$598	19	Boston, MA	39%
20	Colorado Springs, CO	$589	20	Hartford, CT	38%

 

The TRIP report contains pavement condition data and driver costs for U.S. urban areas with a population of 250,000 or greater.

 

More than one-quarter (27 percent) of the nation’s major urban roads– Interstates, freeways and other arterial routes – have pavements that are in substandard condition and provide an unacceptably rough ride to motorists, costing the average urban driver $377 annually, a total of $80 billion nationwide.  In some areas, driving on deteriorated roadways costs the average driver more than $800 each year. Driving on roads in disrepair increases consumer costs by accelerating vehicle deterioration and depreciation and increasing needed maintenance, fuel consumption and tire wear.

These findings were released today by TRIP, a national transportation research group based in Washington, D.C. The report, “Bumpy Roads Ahead: America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother,” examines urban pavement conditions, transportation funding and economic development. Additional pavement condition and vehicle operating costs for urban areas with populations of 250,000 or greater can be found in the full report and appendices. The chart below details the 20 large cities (500,000+ population) with the highest percentage of pavements in poor condition and the highest vehicle operating cost.

 

The chart below details the 20 mid-sized urban areas (250,000 to 500,000 in population) with the highest percentage of pavements in poor condition and the highest vehicle operating cost.

Rank	Urban Area	VOC	Rank	Urban Area	Poor
1	Antioch, CA	$793	1	Antioch, CA	64%
2	Reno, NV	$771	2	Reno, NV	55%
3	Jackson, MS	$741	3	Santa Rosa, CA	51%
4	Hemet, CA	$738	4	Trenton, NJ	48%
5	Santa Rosa, CA	$709	5	Hemet, CA	48%
6	Temecula-Murrieta, CA	$664	6	Spokane, WA	45%
7	Trenton, NJ	$636	7	Jackson, MS	45%
8	Spokane, WA	$619	8	Temecula-Murrieta	43%
9	Madison, WI	$615	9	Worcester, MA	41%
10	Corpus Christi, TX	$614	10	Stockton, CA	40%
11	Worcester, MA	$600	11	Corpus Christi, TX	40%
12	Des Moines, IA	$591	12	Des Moines, IA	38%
13	Stockton, CA	$584	13	Madison, WI	37%
14	Baton Rouge, LA	$581	14	South Bend, IN	34%
15	Modesto, CA	$560	15	Davenport, IA	34%
16	Shreveport, LA	$549	16	Baton Rouge, LA	32%
17	Davenport, IA	$548	17	Scranton, PA	32%
18	Scranton, PA	$539	18	Fort Wayne, IN	32%
19	Oxnard, CA	$534	19	Modesto, CA	31%
20	Fort Wayne, IN	$530	20	Anchorage, AK	29%

 

Pavement conditions are likely to worsen under current funding by all levels of government. Through 2032, the U.S. faces a $156 billion shortfall in the amount needed to maintain roadways in their current condition, a $374 billion shortfall to make modest improvements in pavement conditions and a $670 billion shortfall to make significant improvements to roadway conditions.

A 2010 U.S. Department of Transportation report found that the nation would need to increase annual funding for road and highway improvements by 21 percent to keep them in their current condition, by 51 percent to make a modest improvement in overall conditions and by 91 percent to make significant improvement to their condition.

“States depend on investment from the Highway Trust Fund to help preserve and maintain the roads and bridges that carry our families and our economy. We cannot continue to ignore the very real crisis facing our national transportation system without a long-term, sustainable funding source for the Highway Trust Fund,” said Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Federal dollars are a key source of transportation funding in many states.   But the lack of adequate funding beyond the expiration of the MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act) federal surface transportation legislation on September 30, 2014, threatens the future condition and performance of the nation’s roads and highways. In the fall of 2014, nationwide federal funding for highways is expected to be cut back by almost 100 percent from the current $40 billion investment level unless additional revenues are provided to the federal Highway Trust Fund. This is due to a cash shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund as projected by the Congressional Budget Office.

Making improvements to the transportation system can have a significant economic impact. A 2007 analysis by the Federal Highway Administration found that every $1 billion invested in highway construction would support approximately 27,800 jobs, including approximately 9,500 in the construction sector, approximately 4,300 jobs in industries supporting the construction sector, and approximately 14,000 other jobs induced in non-construction related sectors of the economy.

“With state and local governments struggling to fund needed road repairs and with federal surface transportation funding set to be slashed next year, road conditions are projected to get even worse,” said Will Wilkins, TRIP’s executive director.  “Congress could reduce the extra costs borne by motorists driving on rough roads by approving funding that will support a federal transportation program that improves road conditions on the nation’s major roads and highways.”

Executive Summary

These days, potholes and pavement deterioration make it a challenge to keep the wheel steady on America’s roads and highways. More than a quarter of the nation’s major urban roadways – highways and major streets that are the main routes for commuters and commerce – are in poor condition.  These critical links in the nation’s transportation system carry 78 percent of the approximately 2 trillion miles driven annually in urban America.

With state and local governments unable to adequately fund road repairs and with the current federal surface transportation program set to expire on September 30, 2014, road conditions could get even worse in the future.

In this report, TRIP examines the condition of the nation’s major urban roads, including pavement condition data for America’s most populous urban areas, recent trends in travel, the latest developments in repairing roads and building them to last longer, and the funding levels needed to adequately address America’s deteriorated roadways.

For the purposes of this report, an urban area includes the major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas.  Pavement condition data are the latest available and are derived from the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) 2011 annual survey of state transportation officials on the condition of major state and locally maintained roads and highways, based on a uniform pavement rating index.  The pavement rating index measures the level of smoothness of pavement surfaces, supplying information on the ride quality provided by road and highway surfaces.  The major findings of the TRIP report are:

More than a quarter of the nation’s major urban roads are rated in substandard or poor condition, providing motorists with a rough ride and increasing the cost of operating a vehicle. 

• More than one-quarter (27 percent) of the nation’s major urban roads – Interstates, freeways and other arterial routes – have pavements that are in substandard condition and provide an unacceptably rough ride to motorists.
• An additional 27 percent of the nation’s major urban roads and highways have pavements that are in mediocre condition, 15 percent are in fair condition and 31 percent are in good condition.
• Including major rural roads, 14 percent of the nation’s major roads are in poor condition, 19 percent are in mediocre condition, 17 percent are in fair condition and 50 percent are in good condition.
• The twenty urban regions with a population of 500,000 or greater with the greatest share of major roads and highways with pavements that are in poor condition and provide a rough ride are:

* An urban area includes the major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas.

• The twenty urban regions with a population between 250,000 and  500,000 with the greatest share of major roads and highways with pavements that are in poor condition and provide a rough ride are: 

• An urban area includes the major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas.

• A listing of road conditions for each urban area with a population of 500,000 or more can be found in Appendix A. Pavement condition data for urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 500,000 can be found in Appendix B.
• The average motorist in the U.S. is losing $377 annually –$80 billion nationally –in additional vehicle operating costs as a result of driving on roads in need of repair.  Driving on roads in disrepair increases consumer costs by accelerating vehicle deterioration and depreciation, increasing the frequency of needed maintenance and requiring additional fuel consumption.
• The twenty urban regions with at least 500,000 people, where motorists pay the most annually in additional vehicle maintenance because of roads in poor condition are:

* An urban area includes the major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas.

• • The twenty urban regions with a population between 250,000 and 500,000  where motorists pay the most annually in additional vehicle maintenance because of roads in poor condition are:

* An urban area includes the major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas.

• A listing of additional vehicle operating costs due to driving on roads in substandard condition for urban areas with populations over 500,000 can be found in Appendix C. Additional vehicle operating costs for urban areas with a population between 250,000 and 500,000 can be found in Appendix D.

Significant increases in travel in the years ahead will put additional stress on roads and make it even more costly to improve and maintain them.

• Overall vehicle travel increased by 37 percent from 1990 to 2011.  Travel by large commercial trucks grew at an even faster rate, increasing by 49 percent from 1990 to 2011.  Large trucks place significant stress on road surfaces.
• Vehicle travel is expected to increase approximately 25 percent by 2030, and the level of heavy truck travel nationally is anticipated to increase by approximately 64 percent by 2030, putting greater stress on our nation’s roadways.

Pavement conditions are likely to worsen under current funding by all levels of government. Through 2032, the U.S. faces a $156 billion shortfall in the cost to maintain roadways in their current condition, a $374 billion shortfall to make modest improvements in pavement conditions and a $670 billion shortfall in the cost to make significant improvements to roadway conditions.

• A 2010 U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) study prepared for Congress found that road and highway pavement conditions are likely to worsen at current funding levels, largely because numerous roadways currently or soon will require significant rehabilitation or reconstruction to extend their service life.
• All levels of government (local, state and federal) are currently spending $36.5 billion annually on the rehabilitation and preservation of the physical condition of roads and highways (excluding bridge repairs).
• The DOT study estimates that the annual investment needed to maintain roads and highways (excluding bridges) in their current condition is $44.3 billion annually -a 21 percent increase from current levels of annual funding.
• The DOT study estimates that the annual investment needed to make a modest improvement in the condition of roads and highways (excluding bridges) is $55.2 billion annually -a 51 percent increase in annual funding.
• Needed annual investment to significantly improve the condition of roads and highways (excluding bridges) is $70 billion annually -a 91 percent increase in annual funding.

The federal government is a critical source of funding for road and highway repairs.  But the lack of adequate funding beyond the expiration of the current federal surface transportation program, MAP-21(Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act), which expires on September 30, 2014, threatens the future condition of the nation’s roads and highways.

• Signed into law in July 2012, MAP-21 will provide approximately $38 billion annually for road, highway and bridge improvements annually in fiscal years 2013 and 2014.
• The MAP-21 program, approved by Congress in 2012, greatly increased funding flexibility for states and streamlined project approval processes to improve the efficiency of state and local transportation agencies in providing needed transportation improvements.
• MAP-21 does not provide sufficient long-term revenues to support the current level of federal surface transportation investment. Nationwide federal funding for highways is expected to be cut back by almost 100 percent from the current investment level for the fiscal year starting on October 1, 2014 (FY 2015) unless Congress provides additional transportation revenues.  This is due to a cash shortfall in the Highway Trust Fund as projected by the Congressional Budget Office.

Projects to improve the condition of the nation’s roads and bridges could boost the nation’s economic growth by providing significant short-and long-term economic benefits.

• Highway preservation projects provide significant economic benefits by improving travel speeds, capacity, load-carrying abilities and safety, and by reducing operating costs for people and businesses.  Roadway repairs also extend the service life of a road, highway or bridge, which saves money by either postponing or eliminating the need for more expensive future repairs.
• A 2007 analysis by the Federal Highway Administration found that every $1 billion invested in highway construction would support approximately 27,800 jobs, including approximately 9,500 in the construction sector, approximately 4,300 jobs in industries supporting the construction sector, and approximately 14,000 other jobs induced in non-construction related sectors of the economy.
• The Federal Highway Administration estimates that each dollar spent on road, highway and bridge improvements results in an average benefit of $5.20 in the form of reduced vehicle maintenance costs, reduced delays, reduced fuel consumption, improved safety, reduced road and bridge maintenance costs and reduced emissions as a result of improved traffic flow.

Transportation agencies can reduce pavement life cycle costs by adopting a pavement preservation approach that emphasizes making early initial repairs to pavement surfaces while they are still in good condition and using higher-quality paving materials, reducing the cost of keeping roads smooth by delaying the need for costly reconstruction.

• There are five life-cycle stages of a paved surface:  design, construction, initial deterioration, visible deterioration and pavement disintegration and failure.
• A 2010 Federal Highway Administration report found that an over­reliance on short-term pavement repairs will fail to provide the long-term structural integrity needed in a roadway surface to guarantee the future performance of a paved road or highway.
• The 2010 Federal Highway Administration report warned that transportation agencies that focus only on current pavement surface conditions will eventually face a highway network with an overwhelming backlog of pavement rehabilitation and replacement needs.
• A preventive maintenance approach to keeping pavements in good condition has been found to reduce overall pavement life cycle costs by approximately one-third over a 25-year period.
• Initial pavement preservation can only be done on road surfaces that are structurally sound.  Roads that have significant deterioration must be maintained with surface repairs until sufficient funds are available to reconstruct the road, at which time a pavement preservation strategy can be adopted.
• The use of thicker pavements and more durable designs and materials for a particular roadway are being used to increase the life span of road and highway surfaces and delay the need for significant repairs.  These new pavements include high performance concrete pavements and perpetual hot mix asphalt pavements.

Adequate funding would allow transportation agencies to adopt the following recommendations for insuring a smooth ride.

• Implement and adequately fund a pavement preservation program that performs initial maintenance on road surfaces while they are still in good condition, postponing the need for significant rehabilitation.
• Consider using pavement materials and designs that will provide a longer-lasting surface when critical routes are constructed or reconstructed.
• Resurface roads in a timely fashion using pavement materials that are designed to be the most durable, given local climate and the level and mix of traffic on the road.
• Invest adequately to insure that 75 percent of local road surfaces are in good condition.

All data used in the report are the latest available. Sources of information for this report include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT), the AAA, the Texas Transportation Institute, the Transportation Research Board and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.