With nearly half the bridges in the Commonwealth rated as deficient and 42 percent of roads poor or mediocre, it’s not just Massachusetts drivers that make motoring here a challenge. Of the 4,976 bridges in the state, 668 are structurally defiecient, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers and The Road Information Program (TRIP), a nonprofit organization that studies highways, based on state reports to the Federal Highway Administration. Another 1,810 are functionally obsolete–that is, they do not meet modern standards. Bad road conditions also take their toll on our cars and trucks–a nationwide average of 422 a year extra, including reapeir, fuel and tire costs, according to TRIP. But they cost us even more in the Bay State, where drivers average $254 per year in extra vehicle-operating costs because of road disrepair. The grand total to Massachusetts auto owners last year: $1.1 billion.
Bridge Conditions
Rank | State | Number of Bridges | Structurally Deficient | Functionally Obsolete | Total Deficient | Percent Deficient |
1. |
Arizona
|
6,418 | 192 | 446 | 638 | 9.9 % |
2. |
Minnesota
|
12,736 | 1,331 | 648 | 1,979 | 15.5 % |
3. | Delaware | 811 | 51 | 78 | 129 | 15.9 % |
4. | Nevada | 1,388 | 78 | 151 | 229 | 16.5 % |
5. | New Mexico | 3,666 | 290 | 359 | 649 | 17.7 % |
6. | Colorado | 7,915 | 621 | 858 | 1,479 | 18.7 % |
7. | Idaho | 4,027 | 319 | 436 | 755 | 18.7 % |
8. | Illinois | 25,385 | 3,069 | 2,137 | 5,206 | 20.5 % |
9. | Florida | 11,094 | 325 | 2,015 | 2,340 | 21.1 % |
10. | Utah | 2,731 | 328 | 255 | 583 | 21.3 % |
11. | South Carolina | 9,068 | 1,059 | 892 | 1,951 | 21.5 % |
12. | Wisconsin | 13,299 | 1,881 | 994 | 2,875 | 21.6 % |
13. | Wyoming | 3,103 | 405 | 271 | 676 | 21.8 % |
14. | Oregon | 7,245 | 338 | 1,251 | 1,589 | 21.9 % |
15. | Texas | 47,575 | 3,637 | 6,945 | 10,582 | 22.2 % |
16. | Montana | 4,985 | 622 | 565 | 1,187 | 23.8 % |
17. | Indiana | 17,987 | 2,580 | 1,982 | 4,562 | 25.4 % |
18. | North Dakota | 4,535 | 889 | 291 | 1,180 | 26.0 % |
19. | Washington | 7,820 | 545 | 1,498 | 2,043 | 26.1 % |
20. | Ohio | 27,806 | 3,504 | 3,793 | 7,297 | 26.2 % |
21. | Tennessee | 19,356 | 2,006 | 3,074 | 5,080 | 26.2 % |
22. | Kansas | 25,919 | 3,608 | 3,240 | 6,848 | 26.4 % |
23. | Georgia | 14,358 | 1,882 | 2,037 | 3,919 | 27.3 % |
24. | Alaska | 1,403 | 161 | 236 | 397 | 28.3 % |
25. | California | 23,469 | 1,991 | 4,661 | 6,652 | 28.3 % |
26. | Arkansas | 12,495 | 1,535 | 2,053 | 3,588 | 28.7 % |
27. | Iowa | 24,689 | 4,894 | 2,234 | 7,128 | 28.9 % |
28. | Virginia | 12,645 | 1,222 | 2,464 | 3,686 | 29.1 % |
29. | South Dakota | 6,035 | 1,402 | 377 | 1,779 | 29.5 % |
30. | Connecticut | 4,164 | 382 | 851 | 1,233 | 29.6 % |
31. | Maryland | 4,892 | 456 | 995 | 1,451 | 29.7 % |
32. | Nebraska | 15,526 | 2,825 | 1,787 | 4,612 | 29.7 % |
33. | Kentucky | 13,336 | 1,241 | 2,900 | 4,141 | 31.1 % |
34. | Alabama | 15,636 | 2,863 | 2,223 | 5,086 | 32.5 % |
35. | Michigan | 10,626 | 2,109 | 1,377 | 3,486 | 32.8 % |
36. | North Carolina | 16,672 | 2,715 | 2,768 | 5,483 | 32.9 % |
37. | Mississippi | 16,677 | 3,910 | 1,591 | 5,501 | 33.0 % |
38. | New Hampshire | 2,349 | 389 | 409 | 798 | 34.0 % |
39. | Louisiana | 13,497 | 2,679 | 2,179 | 4,858 | 36.0 % |
40. | Maine | 2,357 | 384 | 495 | 879 | 37.3 % |
41. | Vermont | 2,703 | 572 | 437 | 1,009 | 37.3 % |
42. | New Jersey | 6,341 | 997 | 1,398 | 2,395 | 37.8 % |
43. | Oklahoma | 22,801 | 7,594 | 1,509 | 9,103 | 39.9 % |
44. | Missouri | 23,206 | 6,629 | 2,700 | 9,329 | 40.2 % |
45. | Pennsylvania | 21,778 | 5,448 | 3,640 | 9,088 | 41.7 % |
46. | New York | 17,238 | 3,621 | 3,581 | 7,202 | 41.8 % |
47. | West Virginia | 6,675 | 1,273 | 1,547 | 2,820 | 42.2 % |
48. | Massachusetts | 4,976 | 668 | 1,810 | 2,478 | 49.8 % |
49. | Rhode Island | 748 | 179 | 195 | 374 | 50.0 % |
50. | Hawaii | 1,065 | 172 | 373 | 545 | 51.2 % |
U.S. Average
|
585,542 | 88,150 | 81,900 | 170,050 | 29.0 % |
Extra Vehicle-Operating Costs
Rank | State | Extra Costs Per Motorist | Total Extra Costs (millions) |
1. | Georgia | $23 | $124 |
2. | Florida | $53 | $662 |
3. | Alabama | $91 | $313 |
4. | Wyoming | $101 | $37 |
5. | North Dakota | $107 | $49 |
6. | Washington | $116 | $479 |
7. | Arizona | $119 | $392 |
8. | Kansas | $133 | $253 |
9. | Minnesota | $148 | $430 |
10. | Hawaii | $151 | $114 |
11. | Montana | $152 | $100 |
12. | Ohio | $153 | $1,228 |
13. | Tennessee | $157 | $656 |
14. | Nevada | $160 | $212 |
15. | Maine | $165 | $150 |
16. | New Hampshire | $174 | $159 |
17. | Alaska | $177 | $81 |
18. | South Carolina | $178 | $501 |
19. | Kentucky | $192 | $511 |
20. | Utah | $192 | $276 |
21. | Idaho | $193 | $168 |
22. | Rhode Island | $201 | $139 |
23. | Colorado | $215 | $643 |
24. | New York | $218 | $2,315 |
25. | Pennsylvania | $219 | $1,858 |
26. | Illinois | $224 | $1,779 |
27. | Nebraska | $230 | $276 |
28. | Indiana | $236 | $912 |
29. | West Virginia | $240 | $306 |
30. | New Jersey | $245 | $1,359 |
31. | Delaware | $247 | $136 |
32. | Texas | $251 | $3,349 |
33. | Massachusetts | $254 | $1,124 |
34. | Michigan | $259 | $1,779 |
35. | North Carolina | $259 | $1,423 |
36. | Connecticut | $268 | $637 |
37. | Iowa | $275 | $532 |
38. | Virginia | $275 | $1,300 |
39. | Oregon | $277 | $683 |
40. | Maryland | $278 | $887 |
41. | Mississippi | $278 | $498 |
42. | Vermont | $297 | $147 |
43. | Wisconsin | $319 | $1,189 |
44. | Arkansas | $325 | $626 |
45. | South Dakota | $325 | $177 |
46. | Oklahoma | $351 | $812 |
47. | California | $354 | $7,369 |
48. | Louisiana | $387 | $1,069 |
49. | Missouri | $388 | $1,488 |
50. | New Mexico | $432 | $527 |
U.S. Average | $222 | $41,518 |
Source: ASCE 2001 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure and The Road Information Program analysis of Federal Highway Administration and other data, 1999 and 2000.