Mar 12, 2008 11:29 pm US/Eastern
Report: Boston Roads Are In Good Condition
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
While many Massachusetts drivers may disagree, Boston has some of the best, most well-kept roads among the country's largest cities, according to a newly-released report by a national transportation research group.
TRIP conducted a study of urban cities with at least 500,000 people to determine the regions that have the best and the worst road conditions. And Boston did very well based on on data the federal government gets from state highway administrators, including Mass Highway.
Crews used an electronic device to gauge the smoothness of the roads and then report their findings to the federal government each year.
The study analyzed pavement conditions to determine which drivers have the roughest rides and the highest annual cost due to accelerated vehicle deterioration, additional maintenance needs and increased fuel consumption.
According to the TRIP report, the average urban motorist in the U.S. pays $413 annually because of poor road conditions plus the costs of extra gas and maintenance needs.
However, the report says Boston drivers pay less than that at an estimated $136 per year.
The report determined that only 6 percent of Boston's roads are in poor condition, with 76 percent actually being listed in good condition.
California appears to have the worst major roads and highways, with Los Angeles having 65 percent of its roads in poor condition, and the San Francisco-Oakland area with 62 percent, according to the report. San Jose didn't fare too well either with 60 percent of its roads being in poor condition. San Diego isn't far behind with 53 percent.
Other cities with some of the worst roads include Honolulu with 62 percent and New Orleans with 50 percent of its roads in poor condition.
The study also focused on how much motorists must pay each year for vehicle maintenance because of poor road conditions. Again, Los Angeles was the worst with motorists paying an average of $778 a year. San Francisco-Oakland drivers pay an estimated $761 per year while Honolulu drivers pay $760.
East coast drivers pay the most each year for driving in New York City -- $623. Baltimore drivers pay an estimated $586 per year while Philadelphia drivers pay about $548 each year because of poor road conditions, according to the study.
The TRIP reports says some of the reasons why drivers are paying so much these days is because of increased traffic volumes, the rising cost of pavement materials and budget cuts that face state highway revenues.
Read the
full TRIP report, and see how
Boston roads compare to other major cities.
Click here to see how much Boston drivers pay each year compared to other cities in the U.S. because of poor road conditions.
Additional findings of the TRIP report include the following:
• Federal funding for highway repairs and improvements in the fiscal year 2009, starting on October 1, 2008, may be reduced as a result of a forecast deficit of $3.2 billion in the Highway Account of the Federal Highway Trust Fund. Congress is currently considering providing additional highway funding to avoid steep cuts in federal highway funding.
• Eighteen states expect to face budget shortfalls totaling more than $14 billion during the current 2008 fiscal year. Twenty-five states expect to face budget shortfalls of at least $36 billion during fiscal year 2009, largely as a result of shrinking tax revenues. Because most states are not allowed to run a deficit or borrow to cover their expenditures, it is likely that states will have to consider drawing down reserves, cutting expenditures or raising taxes.
• Paved surfaces have five stages in their life cycle: design, construction, initial deterioration, visible deterioration and pavement disintegration and failure. Pavements deteriorate because of a combination of traffic loads, moisture and climate.
• The cost of roadway improvements is escalating because the price of key materials needed for highway and bridge construction has increased rapidly. Over the four-year period from January 2004 to January 2008 the average cost of materials used for highway construction, including asphalt, concrete, steel, lumber and diesel has increased by 46 percent.
(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
