Roads and bridges that are deteriorated, congested, or lack some safety features cost North Carolina motorists a total of $10.3 billion statewide annually –as much as $1,976 per driver in some urban areas–due to higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes, and congestion-related delays.
Increased investment in transportation improvements at the local, state, and federal levels could relieve traffic congestion, improve road, bridge and transit conditions, boost safety, and support long-term economic growth in North Carolina, according to a new report released today by TRIP, a Washington, DC-based national transportation research nonprofit .
The TRIP report, “North Carolina Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe, Smooth and Efficient Mobility,” finds that throughout North Carolina, one-third of major locally and state-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition, nine percent of locally and state-maintained bridges (20 feet or more in length) are rated poor/structurally deficient, and 7,051 people lost their lives on the state’s roads from 2015-2019.
North Carolina’s major urban roads are becoming increasingly congested, causing significant delays and choking commuting and commerce.
Driving on deficient North Carolina roads costs the state’s drivers $10.3 billion per year in the form of extra vehicle operating costs as a result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time, and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and the costs of traffic crashes in which the lack of adequate roadway features likely were a contributing factor. The report includes regional pavement and bridge conditions, a list of the most congested corridors, highway safety data, and cost breakdowns for the Asheville, Charlotte Metro, Raleigh-Durham, Triad, and Wilmington urban areas and statewide.
The TRIP report finds that 14 percent of major locally and state-maintained roads in North Carolina are in poor condition and another 23 percent are in mediocre condition, costing the state’s motorists an additional $3.8 billion each year in extra vehicle operating costs, including accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs, and increased fuel consumption and tire wear. Twenty-four percent of North Carolina’s major roads are in fair condition and the remaining 40 percent are in good condition.
Nine percent of North Carolina’s bridges are rated poor/structurally deficient, with significant deterioration to the bridge deck, supports, or other major components. Fifty-two percent are rated in fair condition and the remaining 39 percent are in good condition.
