(The Center Square) – Georgia received high marks for the condition of its highways but low marks for traffic conditions in urban areas, according to a report from the Reason Foundation.
Georgia ranked second overall for roads and fifth for structurally deficient bridges.
“About 10 to 15 years ago, Georgia was in the middle of the pack,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, senior managing director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, in an interview with The Center Square. “They made some strategic decisions to improve things. One of them was bridges, focusing on reducing the number of structurally deficient bridges.”
State officials also focused on their pavement conditions. Georgia’s rural roads ranked second for rural pavement conditions, 14th for urban interstates and second on “other” roads, which include local streets.
The Peach State’s lowest ranking was for urban area congestion. The report not only includes the often-congested metro Atlanta area but also other parts of the state, according to Feigenbaum.
“We’ve also seen it growing in places like Savannah and Macon and I-75 between Macon and Atlanta,” Feigenbaum said. “They know it’s a problem at GDOT but it’s a challenge to fix.”
GDOT is the acronym for Georgia Department of Transportation.
Gov. Brian Kemp included $1.6 billion to build new north and south express lanes along a stretch of I-75 in Henry County between Atlanta and Macon.
Because of the high volume, between 45% to 60% of drivers can’t get into the current express lanes, Kemp said in his State of the State address.
“Nearly 200,000 vehicles a day travel this major artery that connects Georgians with key business hubs in much of our state,” the governor said in remarks provided to the media. “A quarter of those vehicles are trucks hauling goods – more than most major highways. That’s a sign of a strong and active economy… but without enough roadway capacity, it creates bottlenecks and slowdowns.”
Georgia has a high fatality rate on its urban roads, ranking 37th, according to the report. The rural fatality ranking is 23rd and 24th for other types of roads.
“The fact that Georgia’s urban fatality rate is high might be a factor of roadway design or might be a factor of just the sheer number of people in the metro Atlanta area but it is something that stood out,” Feigenbaum said.
