Report: R.I.’s poor roads cost motorists $467 a year

THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SAID that driving on Rhode Island's poor roads will cost motorists an extra $467 a year in repairs.
THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION SAID that driving on Rhode Island's poor roads will cost motorists an extra $467 a year in repairs.

PROVIDENCE – Driving on Rhode Island’s poor roads will cost drivers an extra $467 a year in repairs, the highest amount among the New England states and third highest in the nation, according to a federal Department of Transportation report released this week.
Rhode Island also has the highest number of structurally deficient or functionally obsolete bridges in the nation, and the second-highest number of roads in poor or mediocre condition in New England, the DOT said.
Nearly 57 percent of the state’s bridges – 433 out of 766 – are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and 70 percent of Rhode Island’s roads are in poor or mediocre condition, behind only Connecticut, where 73 percent of roads are in bad shape. Rhode Island’s percentage of poor roads is the third worst in the nation, the DOT said.

The DOT also said that Rhode Island motorists pay $467 extra a year in extra vehicle repairs due to driving on poor roads. The total cost to Rhode Island motorists was pegged at $350 million a year.
The data was released as a reminder that the Highway Trust Fund is set to expire on July 31.
“Without action from Congress, federal funding for transportation will come to a screeching halt – and with it, so will traffic in many places. Over the last six years, Congress has passed 33 short-term measures rather than funding transportation for the long term. And our transportation system – our roads and bridges, especially – is in a dire state of disrepair because of it,” according to the DOT.

In Massachusetts, 53 percent of bridges – 2,694 out of 5,136 – are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, and 42 percent of roads are in poor or mediocre condition. The cost of driving on poor roads in the Bay State is $313 per year.
Here is information for other New England states:

  • Connecticut: 35 percent of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, while 73 percent of roads are in poor or mediocre condition; the cost of driving on poor roads per motorist is $294
  • Maine: 33 percent of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, while 53 percent of roads are in poor or mediocre condition; the cost of driving on poor roads per motorist is $245
  • New Hampshire: 32.4 percent of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, while 54 percent of roads are in poor or mediocre condition the cost of driving on poor roads per motorist is $259
  • Vermont: 33 percent of bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, while 45 percent of roads are in poor or mediocre condition; the cost of driving on poor roads per motorist is $242

California and Hawaii drivers pay the most per year on car repairs due to poor roads at $586 and $515, respectively.

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