(PHOTO AND STORY: KHQ.COM)
A new study by the American Society of Civil Engineers ranks Washington state roads as some of the worst in the country. How bad? The report card found that more than 30% of Washington's roads, equaling 14,252 miles of roadway, are in poor condition.This put Washington as 7th worst in the country for the condition of our roads. The 6 states ranked with road conditions worse than ours included:
- Pennsylvania with 32% of rads listed in poor condition.
- New Jersey with 38% of roads listed in poor condition.
- Hawaii with 39% of roads listed in poor condition.
- California with 50% of roads listed in poor condition.
- Rhode Island with 54% of roads listed in poor condition.
- Connecticut had the worst roads with 57% listed in poor condition.
The study estimates that our poor road conditions are costing Washington drivers about $656 annually. The full report on Washington states infrastructure, which looked at more than just the condition of our roads, gave the state an overall grade of "C." The report concludes that "while Washington has many types of infrastructure and many great facilities across the state, a lack of planned and guaranteed funding and inadequate maintenance are reported across all nine categories -Aviation, Bridges, Dams, Drinking Water, Rail, Roads, Schools, Solid and Hazardous Waste, and Transit."