How Terrible Really Are The Roads In New York State?

We drive on them every day, and every day we say they're the worst.  But when we compare them to the rest of the country, are the roads in New York as bad as we think they are?

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Now, before we go too far, it should be said that this study is not a reflection of the work put in by our road crews.  They work their butts off day in and day out to give us safe, smooth roadways.  Unfortunately, though, there are other factors that could contribute to what this study shows.

How Bad Are New York's Roads?

In a nutshell, they really are pretty bad.

There was a study done recently that says New York has the 6th worst roads in the entire country.  It was done by Construction Coverage.  The states that came up worse on this list were Hawaii (5th), Massachusetts (4th), California (3rd), New Jersey (2nd), and Rhode Island (worst roads in the country).

What Factors Did They Consider?

The study was pretty simple.  It factored in the shape of the major roadways, then the daily vehicle miles traveled per capita.  So in New York's case, the daily vehicle miles traveled per capita was just over 14, and the major roadways had 24% in "Poor" condition, 36.7% in "Fair" condition, and 39.3% in "Good" condition.  Major roadways are defined as interstates, other freeways and expressways, other principal arterials, and minor arterials.

Again, remember, this only takes into consideration the shape of major roadways.  Some of the roadways in rural areas could be in even worse shape.

Is There Any Good News?

The good news is that there should be more money coming to fix our roadways soon.  Funds dedicated to fixing our roads have grown over the past 20 years and are still being dedicated to fixing them.  They were at $87.4 billion in 2000 and grew to $127.7 billion in 2020.