Louisiana travels down road of neglect

Last edited Mon May 11, 2015, 12:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Crumbling and congested roads cost the average Louisiana driver hundreds of dollars a year, and there are no easy answers on how to fix them.

Calling any state’s roads “the worst” definitively is difficult, since different ranking bodies use different methodologies. But by any measure, road and bridge conditions in Louisiana rank poorly, putting them on the legislature’s radar once again this session.

A 2013 report from the Reason Foundation ranked Louisiana 41st in the country in rural interstate pavement condition (4.07 percent of mileage in poor condition, more than double the national average), 44th in rural arterial pavement condition (3.06 percent in poor condition, more than three times the national average) and 48th in urban interstate pavement condition (15.31 percent, more than three times the national average).

In the same report, Louisiana ranked 39th in deficient or obsolete bridges (27.8 percent, compared to 21.5 percent nationally). It also ranked 44th in fatality rate, which many rankings consider to have a strong connection with road conditions.

Read more: http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/2015/05/11/louisiana-travels-down-road-of-neglect/27107865/