Drivers, Cars Beware!

Raise your hand if you’ve ever clipped a pothole too hard and ended up with a flat tire! Chances are you aren’t alone, according to The Road Information Program (TRIP), which just released a report on the sad state of the nation’s roads.

On its list of major metropolitan areas with poor road conditions, Philadelphia ranked #15, with the report noting that while 37% of our roads are in disrepair, only 12% are in good shape.

More frustrating than being stuck in rush-hour traffic is discovering that Philadelphians pay an average of $548 a year in car repairs and increased fuel consumption because of these problems. We remember getting a new tire after busting one of ours on the highway—they don’t come cheap.

The report predicted this to be a problem with no easy solutions, mentioning that by 2020, TRIP expects a 30% increase in traffic volume—a high percentage of which is made up of heavy trucks that rank up there with weather and time as major road ravagers. They also point out that state and federal funding isn’t keeping pace with national infrastructure repair needs and that increased costs for materials make those funds stretch even less.

Harriburg’s Patriot-News, who gleefully headlined their story “Bad road? At least we’re not in Philly,” talked to PennDOT about the issue. Their suggestions included charging tolls on Interstate 80 and leasing the Turnpike, in addition to the 25% increase in tolls already planned for 2009 to subsidize repair costs.

Sound all-around dismal? Well, at least we’re not Los Angeles. 65% of their roads were ranked likely to really piss you off.

Image courtesy of Stacy Lynn Baum at Flickr