California ranked No. 48, Nevada No. 15 for condition of roads
By David T. Hartgen, Adrian Moore, Ravi K. Karanam and M. Gregory Fields, Reason Foundation
We often hear the nation’s infrastructure is crumbling, but state highway conditions are the best they’ve been in 19 years, according to Reason Foundation’s 19th Annual Highway Report. Unfortunately, the recession is partly responsible for the improvement in road conditions: people are driving less which has helped slow pavement deterioration and reduced traffic congestion and fatalities.
The annual Reason Foundation study measures the condition and cost-effectiveness of state-owned roads in 11 categories, including deficient bridges, urban traffic congestion, fatality rates, pavement condition on urban and rural Interstates and on major rural roads, and the number of unsafe narrow rural lanes. National performance in all of those key areas improved in 2008, the most recent year with complete data available.
Drivers in California, Minnesota, Maryland, Michigan and Connecticut are stuck in the worst traffic. Over 65 percent of all urban Interstates are congested in each of those five states. But nationally, the percentage of urban Interstates that are congested fell below 50 percent for the first time since 2000, when congestion standards were revised.
Motorists in California and Hawaii have to look out for the most potholes on urban Interstates. In those two states, 25 percent of urban interstate pavement is in poor condition. Alaska and Rhode Island have the bumpiest rural pavement, each with about 10 percent in poor condition. However, nationally, pavement conditions on urban Interstates are the best they’ve been since 1993, and rural primary roads are the smoothest they’ve been since 1993 also.
The reason our roads are in some of the worst condition is that we have some of the “smartest” politicians. That’s how they hold us hostage to approving new taxes. They cut what will hurt the citizens the most.
It seems to me that the biggest factor as far as OUR local roads are concerned is the fact that in the last twenty years the snow removal equipment has become so efficient that the roads pay the price. When I moved here in the very early eighties the roads didn’t need to be repainted 3 times a year, and weren’t resurfaced every other year. I am by no means complaining about snow removal, just stating the facts as I see them.
We need a dedicated road fund that capitalizes on the tourist economy. How do tourists get here..? Roads!! Some toll or user fee specifically for Tahoe needs to be created. Someting that captializes on the traffic into and out of the basin… By implementing this we could better road condition and do water quality / environmental improvements at the same time since the roads are the source degrading the lake. Some funds could go back to business for marketing and maybe the local retailers could make a few bucks on it. Something has to happen as our roads are falling apart, funding is not available, budgets are decreasing, infrastructure maintenance costs increasing, and environmental expectations increasing. At this point its a lose lose situation.
Cracks me up,you drive down see nice new curbs in a neighborhood then feel the crummy road that’s in between.The only thing the curbs are doing is focusing the water run off into open holes in the pavement under the street for more deterioration from lack of maintenance.
Example:The loop road behind Raley’s is nice smooth coming in from Nevada but going toward Nevada it’s nothing more than dodge that bottomless pot holes. YOU REACH NEVADA, WHERE IT TURNS REAL SMOOTH,AND THEIR SNOW REMOVABLE LOOKS SO GROOMED COMPARED TO CA. MIDDLE OF THE ROAD “MONEY WASTER” NIGHMARE OF DOING THE SAME JOB TWICE..
There simply is not enough money… We cant even pass a snow removal tax.. Come on!! Its all our fault our roads suck, not just the City and County. We run heavy equipment for months removing snow, adding sands and salts, then come in later to crack seal and cold patch. Resurfacing roads is incredibly expensive. The curb and gutter I am pretty sure was paid for by Erosion Control grant projects and the road left aligatored cause the City / County simply does not have the money to fix. Maintenance, same story, no money. This problem is not going away. The fix will not be easy… Strategically placed toll roads or a fee could be the solution.. Either its a tax or something that tourists and others pay into also…
H get a job. Quit this addiction of hate that you have.
The reason the roads are better on the Nevada side: gaming tax revenue. The City of South Lake Tahoe gets none of it, yet we pay for redevelopment, the parking garage and the airport, all of which make Stateline a more attractive gambling destination. We’re losing tax revenue from the motels torn down to build a convention center that would bring more gaming tax to Douglas County.
The Nevada-based Chamber of Commerce says that the state line means nothing. Believe it when Douglas County starts helping the (poorer) taxpayers of SLT with their heavy burden of subsidies.
FROGGY
“Go jump in the lake”!
The curb and gutter I am pretty sure was paid for by Erosion Control grant projects….
Tf there’s not much anything the city pays for ,They don’t know how to save a Nickle.
If we had every dollar the city spent on unstable studies,consultants,city council members that were schooled in something besides public BS,we might have sidewalks and roads.
We’ll never have decent roads,SIDE WALKS, till we unload some the PIPE DREAMS projects that get passed but end up on the chopping block, ‘THROW IN TRASH CAN WORK OF ART OF WASTING TIME AND TAX PAYERS MONEY”.
NO PLANES,NO BUS SRVICE,BARELY HANGING ON BLUE TRANSIT, TO ANOTHER LONESOME BUS BENCH TO YESTERYEAR.
When is someone one going to finally have the b-lls to cover up that Hole, plant a “light pole”?
H – I understand your frustration… What im saying is we need a dedicated road fund that the council cant launder to other programs, regradless of lost opportutnies, projects or useless studies.
H – get up and do something…..quit whining.
“Be the change you want to see in the world.” – Gandhi
We should have had a ribbon cutting for Al Tahoe! We now have an entire mile of correctly paved, smooth new road in town. Granite – an actual construction company – did a great job taking up the old road, fixing the underpaving, and putting a new surface down. This in stark contrast to how the rest of the roads in the area are maintained.
Can’t wait for our federal government to authorize another $50B for roads – we might end up with TWO well paved streets in town!