Poor pavement costs Md. residents about $6.2 billion per year – report
More than two-fifths of Maryland’s major locally and state-maintained roads are in either poor or mediocre condition, one-quarter of bridges are in need of repair or replacement, and the state’s drivers experience increasingly worsening congestion, according to the report, Maryland Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility, released Feb. 28 by TRIP, the Washington, D.C.-based national transportation organization
In addition to deteriorated roads and bridges, Maryland’s rural roads have a significantly higher traffic fatality rate than all other roads in the state, the report states.
TRIP says, in the report, that increased investment in transportation improvements could “improve road and bridge conditions, ease congestion, boost safety, and support long-term economic growth in Maryland.”
The report provides data on the following key transportation facts and figures in the state:
| $6.2 billion |
TRIP estimates that Maryland roadways that lack some desirable safety features, have inadequate capacity to meet travel demands, or have poor pavement conditions cost the state’s residents about $6.2 billion annually in the form of additional vehicle operating costs,lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion, and traffic crashes. |
| $1,781$2,195 |
Driving on roads that are congested, deteriorated, and lack some desirable safety features costs the average Baltimore area driver $1,781 annually due to deficient roads, while deficient roads cost the average Washington, D.C.-area driver $2,195 annually. |
| 41%66%
62% |
Forty-one percent of Maryland’s major locally and state-maintained roads and highways are either in poor or mediocre condition. Sixty-six percent of Baltimore-area major locally and state-maintained urban roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and 62 percent of Washington-area major locally and state-maintained urban roads are in poor or mediocre condition. |
| 5792,897 |
From 2006 to 2010, an average of 579 people were killed annually in Maryland traffic crashes, a total of 2,897 fatalities over the five year period. |
| 2 1/2 |
The fatality rate on Maryland’s non-interstate rural roads is nearly two-and-a-half times higher than on all other roads in the state (1.67 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel vs. 0.69).
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