OK so this example is from Texas and won’t match your situation at all.
But the inner working of the transportation system in your state may not be so different. So when TRIP reports that deficient roads are costing Texas motorists $23 billion a year via traffic crashes, congestion related delays and costs, and additional vehicle operating costs, we can reasonably assume that deficient roads are also costing your state’s motorist a whole lot of money.
TRIP is a national transportation research group and regularly dives into data from all over the country to come up with eye-opening reports on the state (and consequences) of aging transportation systems, just as it has in this case. TRIP’s report methodology and data are worth studying here if you are looking into the efficiencies and costs of your own state’s roadways.
For transportation writers in the daily press the report may be a solid basis for a little bit of not-too-difficult investigative work. Bet you TRIP would even help you do it.
While we may be knee-jerked to point to state agencies in looking for the core problems behind our transportation infrastructure, remember we are — and have been for some time — spending way too little on it. So in this TRIP report, entitled Future Mobility in Texas, you see not only today, but shadows of tomorrow. And maybe you see some of the chickens from all those SAFETA-LU extensions coming home to roost.
