Roads play a vital role in the nation's economy and in our everyday lives. The more than 4 million miles of roadways in the United States have facilitated the movement of goods and public services and have been bringing our loved ones safely home.But as communities grow and vehicle traffic increases, what is the state of America's roads?Roads are measured by pavement smoothness using a metric called the International Roughness Index or IRI. The IRI is a standardized measure of road roughness that uses a mathematical model to simulate a vehicle's suspension movement over a road, which is then translated into a numerical value. The lower the IRI, the smoother the road, while a higher IRI indicates worse road conditions.The Hearst Television Data Team analyzed 2022 road condition data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and found that the majority of U.S. roads are in acceptable condition.Out of the more than 786,000 miles of roads in the 2022 road condition dataset, 81.7% of roads were in acceptable condition and 18.3% were poor. Road conditions have steadily improved over the past five years, and the percentage of poor roads in the U.S. has remained below 25% since 1994.These figures were further classified into good, fair, and poor roads following the IRI ratings set by the World Bank:IRI MetricsIRI less than 95 is considered good.IRI between 95 and 170 is considered fair.IRI greater than 170 is considered poor.However, not all roads in each state were created equal; some are rougher than others. The Hearst Television Data Team then ranked the states, including the District of Columbia, by the percentage of roads considered "good." The states with the best roads are Alabama, Indiana, Wyoming, Kansas, Idaho, Tennessee, North Dakota, West Virginia, Arkansas and Nebraska. More than half of the total miles assessed in the road condition dataset have an IRI below 95 and can be considered good.Meanwhile, states with the highest percentage of roads considered in 'poor' condition are the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Connecticut, Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana and Washington. Around a third of the roads in these states have an IRI score above 170, indicating significant roughness, with the exception of the District of Columbia, where 89.3% of the roads are in poor condition.This dataset reflects conditions as of 2022, and additional improvements may have been made to these roads since then. Road conditions in this dataset account for urban and rural roads, which have been further broken down into local roads, collectors and arterials. The dataset categorizes these roads by IRI ranges, such as less than 60, 60鈥�94, and so on, and calculates the total number of miles for each category. To see the road conditions in your state, refer to this chart:PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4K
NEW YORK — Roads play a vital role in the nation's economy and in our everyday lives. The more than 4 million miles of roadways in the United States have facilitated the movement of goods and public services and have been bringing our loved ones safely home.
But as communities grow and vehicle traffic increases, what is the state of America's roads?
Roads are measured by pavement smoothness using a metric called the International Roughness Index or IRI. The IRI is a standardized measure of road roughness that uses a mathematical model to simulate a vehicle's suspension movement over a road, which is then translated into a numerical value. The lower the IRI, the smoother the road, while a higher IRI indicates worse road conditions.
The Hearst Television Data Team analyzed 2022 from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and found that the majority of U.S. roads are in acceptable condition.
Out of the more than 786,000 miles of roads in the 2022 road condition dataset, 81.7% of roads were in acceptable condition and 18.3% were poor. Road conditions have steadily improved over the past five years, and the percentage of poor roads in the U.S. has remained below 25% since 1994.
These figures were further classified into good, fair, and poor roads following the IRI ratings set by the World Bank:
IRI Metrics
- IRI less than 95 is considered good.
- IRI between 95 and 170 is considered fair.
- IRI greater than 170 is considered poor.
However, not all roads in each state were created equal; some are rougher than others. The Hearst Television Data Team then ranked the states, including the District of Columbia, by the percentage of roads considered "good." The states with the best roads are Alabama, Indiana, Wyoming, Kansas, Idaho, Tennessee, North Dakota, West Virginia, Arkansas and Nebraska.
More than half of the total miles assessed in the road condition dataset have an IRI below 95 and can be considered good.
Meanwhile, states with the highest percentage of roads considered in 'poor' condition are the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Rhode Island, New Mexico, Connecticut, Mississippi, Maryland, Louisiana and Washington.
Around a third of the roads in these states have an IRI score above 170, indicating significant roughness, with the exception of the District of Columbia, where 89.3% of the roads are in poor condition.
This dataset reflects conditions as of 2022, and additional improvements may have been made to these roads since then. Road conditions in this dataset account for urban and rural roads, which have been further broken down into local roads, collectors and arterials.
The dataset categorizes these roads by IRI ranges, such as less than 60, 60鈥�94, and so on, and calculates the total number of miles for each category. To see the road conditions in your state, refer to this chart:
