Keeping the wheel steady on America's roads and highways has become increasingly challenging as drivers encounter potholes and pavement deterioration. One-third 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 70 percent of the approximately 3.2 trillion miles driven annually in America. Road conditions could deteriorate even further as the rate of vehicle travel continues to increase and local and state governments find they are unable to adequately fund road repairs.
This report by TRIP examines the condition of the nation’s major 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.
California as a whole did not fare well in TRIP’s findings. The three large urban areas with the poorest road quality in the nation, as well as six of the 20 worst, can be found in the Golden State. The list is topped by the San Francisco/Oakland area, where 71 percent of roads are reportedly in poor shape, followed by San Jose at 64 percent, the greater Los Angeles area at 57 percent, and Sacramento at 41 percent.
And for mid-sized urban areas (200,000 to 500,000 people), California fared even worse with eight cities in the Top 20. Antioch (57 percent in poor shape), Concord (56), Stockton (41) and Modesto (37) are among other notable bumpy regions.