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.