Closing the Gap: Road to Ruin
22% Louisiana roads in poor condition.
13% Roads in poor condition nationwide.
25% Louisiana roads in mediocre condition.
20% Roads in mediocre condition nationwide.
55% Increase in total miles traveled by vehicles in Louisiana, 1990-2005
39% Increase in total miles traveled by vehicles nationwide, 1990-2005
Bridges
15% Louisiana bridges rated structurally deficient.
13% Bridges rated structurally deficient nationwide.
17% Louisiana bridges rated obsolete.
14% Bridges rated obsolete nationwide.
35% Louisiana bridges that are more than 40 years old.
Traffic fatalities, 2001-2005
2.1 Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles in Louisiana.
1.5 Fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles nationwide.
76% Traffic fatalities in U.S. that take place on two-lane roads.
State gasoline tax
20 cents La. tax per gallon.
27.4 cents National average state tax per gallon.
Miles of road
65,000 Total miles in Louisiana.
16,000 Miles that are the state’s responsibility.
Sources: TRIP, Washington, D. C., transportation research group; Driving Louisiana Forward, advocacy group; Baton Rouge Area Chamber report “Solving Louisiana’s Transportation Crisis;” Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development.
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By most any measure, Louisiana roads and bridges are a mess.
“Our roads are crumbling,” Gov. Kathleen Blanco told lawmakers earlier this year.
A national transportation research group, TRIP, panned the state’s system in a report issued last January.
Some states have problems with traffic congestion and bridge conditions, Frank Moretti, spokesman for the group, said in a recent interview. Other states are plagued by funding shortages, highways riddled with potholes and increasing road fatalities.
“But I would be hard-pressed to find a state that is facing all of those challenges,” Moretti said.
He did note one exception — Louisiana.
The TRIP report gave the state an “F” for its roads and a “D-minus” for bridge conditions. The group said that:
- 47 percent of state roads are in poor or mediocre condition, compared to 33 percent nationally.
- Traffic fatalities in Louisiana are 40 percent higher than the national average, partly because of road conditions.
- 17 percent of state bridges are rated as obsolete because of small lanes and other problems, compared to 14 percent nationally.
“Louisiana really faces challenges on all fronts in terms of upgrading its transportation system,” said Moretti, whose group began in the 1970s.
Kam Movassaghi, a former secretary of the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, agreed.
“Look at the statistics, look at the percentage of deficient bridges, look at the miles that are not in good condition,” he said. “The statistics speak for themselves.”
Some effects of inadequate roads are obvious. There’s the time-killing crawl along interstates incapable of handling the volume of vehicles. And bad roads are unforgiving — people die where curves are too tight, shoulders are too narrow or traffic backs up unexpectedly.
A collapsing bridge — as seen recently in Minneapolis — can kill on a massive scale.
But another reason roads are important is economic development. An insufficient transportation system discourages businesses from moving into the state. The ability to cheaply move raw materials and finished goods is something companies look for.
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