Poor pavement costs Md. residents about $6.2 billion per year – report

25%

A total of 25 percent of Maryland bridges are in need of repair, improvement, or replacement. Seven percent of the state’s bridges are structurally deficient and 18 percent are functionally obsolete.

39%20%

Vehicle miles of travel in Maryland increased 39 percent from 1990 to 2011 and are expected to increase another 20 percent by 2030.

3,856,604

There are 3,856,604 licensed drivers in Maryland.

81%

Eighty-one percent of goods shipped annually from sites in Maryland travel by truck.

$1.00 = $5.20

The Federal Highway Administration estimates that each dollar spent on road, highway, and bridge improvements results in an average benefit of $5.20 in the form of reduced vehicle maintenance costs, reduced delays, reduced fuel consumption, improved safety, reduced road and bridge maintenance costs, and reduced emissions as a result of improved traffic flow.

“Today we face traffic gridlock — the worst in the nation. Tomorrow, without sufficient funding to support our infrastructure needs, we may face economic gridlock that will cost us far more,” said Douglas M. Duncan, chair of the Suburban Maryland Transportation Alliance, in a written statement.

Maryland roadways that lack some desirable safety features have inadequate capacity to meet travel demands or have poor pavement conditions that cost the state’s residents nearly $6.2 billion each year in the form of additional vehicle operating costs, the cost of lost time and wasted fuel due to traffic congestion, and traffic crashes. Driving on roads that are congested, deteriorated, and that lack some desirable safety features costs the average Washington, D.C.-area driver $2,195 annually due to deficient roads.

According to the TRIP report, 41 percent of Maryland’s major locally and state-maintained roads are in either poor or mediocre condition. In the Washington, D.C. metro area, 62 percent of roads are in poor or mediocre condition, according to the report.