(The Center Square) – Georgia ranked sixth among the states in a report on the condition of states’ roads, highways and bridges but received low marks for traffic congestion.
The Annual Highway Report from the Reason Foundation shows that Georgia drivers spend about 54 hours a year stuck in traffic. The state ranked 43 out of the 53 states for congestion.
“To improve in the road condition and performance categories, Georgia should prioritize reducing traffic congestion, the category dragging down the overall ranking and only category where Georgia ranks in the bottom 10,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, the lead author of the report and senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation. “Reducing the urban fatality rate, which is the safety category the state ranks in the bottom 15 in, should also be a priority.”
Georgia’s fatality rates were also listed in the lower half of the rankings at 39 for urban fatalities and 25 for rural fatalities, according to the report.
The state received its highest marks for pavement condition. Georgia is in second place for rural arterial pavement condition, with less than 1% of its roads in poor shape, and third for urban arterial pavement condition.
Less than 2% of Georgia’s bridges were ranked structurally deficient. Georgia outdid its neighbors in the category by placing fifth. Alabama was closest in the eighth spot. North Carolina ranked the lowest among surrounding states at 31st in the structurally deficient bridges category.
The state placed eighth for its funding of new bridges and roads and 15th in maintenance spending. Georgia doesn’t spend much on administrative costs, coming at 32nd nationwide, according to the report.
The Peach State earned a 22 ranking for spending on other road-related costs that go toward safety measures, law enforcement and interest and bond payments.
