ASCE Gives U.S. Roads a D+
The American Civil Society of Engineers (ASCE) will release a report periodically about the nation’s infrastructure, ranging from aviation to wastewater. Obviously, the two that most pertain to the American trucker are bridges and roads. While bridges received a satisfactory C rating, roads have left a bit to be desired.
Details
If a C- is the bare minimum required to get a degree, then the United States just barely failed, according to ASCE.
ASCE did tout some good news, however: in analyzing data from the Federal Highway Administration, it found that the percentage of major roads in the United States that are in “poor or mediocre” condition are 39%, a decrease from 43% in 2020.
Despite this improvement, there is still a lot to go. With an estimate of 4.1 million miles of public roadway, the nation has approximately 1.6 million miles of road that need to be repaired into better condition.
The implications are staggering, with the ASCE estimating the average annual cost per driver being $750 per year. With trucks being heavier and more expensive, it is almost a certainty that commercial businesses bear the lion’s share of these maintenance and repair expenses.
Conclusion
ASCE gives a list of suggestions on how to get the nation’s roadworks to a C- grade and beyond. The most obvious one is to repair the roads, but another suggestion that they bring to the table is, “Optimize the capacity of the existing road network for the movement of people in
coordination with the development and deployment of new technologies and intelligent
transportation systems that promote an integrated, multimodal transportation network.” That might seem confusing, but the gist of it is to put up more signs that can be remotely changed to give drivers updates about traffic conditions and alternative routes they can take should an event, such as a rockslide or vehicular accident, occur. If current trends from 2020 continue, the nation should get a passing grade soon.
The full report is available free for download at the ASCE’s dedicated website for their Infrastructure Report Card, and provides for an interesting read not just for bridges and roads, but other aspects of American infrastructure such as schools and public parks.
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