Pennsylvania among worst states in nation for road infrastructure: Study

Leslie Penkunas//October 2, 2019

In a study that probably lacks surprises for Central Pennsylvania residents, the Keystone State ranks among the nation’s worst states for overall quality of road infrastructure, coming in at number 5 behind Mississippi, West Virginia, Oklahoma and, as the nation’s worst, Rhode Island.

The report from QuoteWizard analyzed data from the Federal Highway Administration to create a composite score based on a state’s percentage of poor condition roads, annual cost per motorist from roads in need of repair, and percentage of structurally deficient bridges. While analyzing FHA data, QuoteWizard found a correlation between states that use funds to maintain roads and states that rank well overall for road infrastructure. States with poor road infrastructure had higher costs per driver and typically poor road conditions across the board.

Among Pennsylvania’s bridges, 18.31 percent are structurally deficient, making it the 5th-worst state in that category behind South Dakota (18.58 percent), West Virginia (18.98 percent), Iowa (20.92 percent) and Rhode Island (23.26 percent). Overall, the study shows that 30 percent of the roads in the Keystone state are in poor condition, and that these roads cost motorists $610 each in repairs and operating costs. Oklahoma comes in at the highest — $900 per driver — and Tennessee at the lowest — $194. The national average is $533 per driver.

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