Taking a Look at America’s Infrastructure
From bumpy roads full of potholes to decaying railroads and bridges, there are parts of America in dire need of repair. But what do the nation’s roads and bridges actually look like? Are they past the point of simple repairs? Let’s take a quick look at the state of America’s infrastructure.
Roads
Roads and highways crisscross our entire nation. Consider that over 80% of the products Americans purchase are delivered by trucks on these roads. Whether there’s fragile cargo in the trailer or not, roads in poor condition make for a hazardous delivery route. We’re talking about more than just a bumpy ride. Millions of miles of decaying roads can cause major traffic jams, cost drivers countless dollars in vehicle damage, and even increase the risk of driving in general. Even roads that are in fair condition but lacking certain safety features like rumble strips or dividing lines can put drivers and their vehicles at risk.
But just how bad do America’s roads look? The truth is that road conditions vary from state to state. It turns out that both Illinois and Connecticut are tied for having the worst roads in the country. In each state, almost 73% of the roads are in disrepair. States such as Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Colorado, and Rhode Island are close behind in terms of the percentage of their roads in poor condition. But not every state in America has roads in such sorry conditions. In fact, Indiana has one of the lowest percentages of roads in poor condition throughout the entire nation. Only 17% of the roads in Indiana are in poor shape.
Of course, factors like road length, traffic volumes, and a number of other factors can play a role in the condition of any one state’s roads. Looking to Illinois and Rhode Island again, it’s possible to see that these two states see a lot of traffic due to travel and major work hubs.
Bridges
Broken bridges are a huge safety hazard for drivers across the nation. A shocking number of them have structural issues or are considered “functionally obsolete.” In order for a bridge to be considered functionally obsolete, it must have been constructed using outdated standards. Structurally deficient bridges are no less problematic but present the lesser danger of the two. But when you consider how many vehicles — especially freight vehicles — pass over bridges each day, and that semi engines can weigh six times more than the average car engine, the danger of a bridge collapse becomes apparent. The more weight we push across structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges, the closer the danger gets. For an idea of just how much damage a bridge collapse can cause, we can look to the 2007 I-35W collapse in Minnesota. A total of 145 people were injured and 13 people were killed in this bridge collapse.
Putting Pedestrians First
There are talks of repairing America’s roads to improve infrastructure, but experts are coming to the consensus that repaving our problematic roads isn’t a long-term solution. Instead, more and more people are rethinking how they travel, especially in a local sense. In other words, we’re starting to put pedestrians first. And considering that almost 6.8 million Americans use assistive devices to aid mobility, the sooner we can make the streets more pedestrian-friendly, the better. The changes are already taking place.
“Now you’re actually seeing not only New York but cities around the country around the world moving to a new road order, understanding that we need to flip the hierarchy of our streets: Instead of having cars at the top, putting people first,” says Sadik-Khan, now a transportation expert with Bloomberg Associates, in an interview with WCBS News Radio.
America’s roads may look fine in a few states, but overall the picture doesn’t look great. But with a change in mindset about how we travel and what we prioritize in infrastructure, we could be seeing some innovation in the nation’s roads soon.
