FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, September 19, 2024
Contact:
Rocky Moretti (202) 262-0714
Carolyn Bonifas Kelly (703) 801-9212
NEW MEXICO’S RURAL ROADS AMONG MOST DETERIORATED IN U.S.; BACKLOG OF NEEDED REPAIRS & IMPROVEMENTS TO U.S. RURAL ROADS & BRIDGES TOTALS $198 BILLION
Eds: TRIP’s report and appendices include data for all 50 states for the percentage of rural roads in poor condition, the percent of deficient rural bridges, rural traffic fatality rates and the number of rural traffic fatalities.
Click here for the full report, appendices and infographics.
Washington, D.C. –America’s rural transportation system is in need of repairs and modernization to support economic growth and improve traffic safety, but the US faces a $198 billion backlog in funding for needed repairs and improvements to its rural transportation system. This is according to a new report released today by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit. The report, Rural Connections: Examining the Safety, Connectivity, Condition and Funding Needs of America’s Rural Roads & Bridges, evaluates the safety and condition of the nation’s rural roads and bridges and finds that the nation’s rural transportation system is in need of immediate improvements to address deficient roads and bridges, high crash rates, and inadequate connectivity and capacity.
Roads, highways, rails and bridges in the nation’s rural areas face significant challenges: they lack adequate capacity, they fail to provide needed levels of connectivity to many communities, and they cannot adequately support growing freight travel in many corridors. Rural roads and bridges have significant deficiencies and deterioration, they lack many desirable safety features, and rural non-Interstate roads experience fatal traffic crashes at a rate far higher than all other roads and highways. The chart below ranks states with the highest share of rural pavements in poor condition, rural bridges rated poor/structurally deficient, and fatality rates on non-Interstate, rural roads. Data for all 50 states is included in the report Appendices.