Tennessee Roads & Bridges Rank High in 20 Year Report

Reason Foundation Finds Improvement Across the Board in Tennessee

A new study by the Reason Foundation examining 20 years of highway data finds Tennessee has improved in all seven key areas studied, one of only 11 states to do so. The report, “Are Highways Crumbling? State Performance Summaries”, looked at state highway data from 1989 through 2008.

The report measures road performance in several categories: Miles of urban interstate highways in poor condition, miles of rural interstates in poor condition, congestion on urban interstates, deficient bridges, highway fatalities, rural primary roads in poor conditions, and the number of narrow rural primary roads.

“This report is a testament to the focus TDOT has placed on maintaining our infrastructure, aggressively repairing and replacing aging bridges, increasing safety, and managing congestion” said TDOT Commissioner John Schroer. “This is truly exceptional when you consider we are one of only five DOT’s in the nation with no transportation debt.”

The report found urban congestion and the proportion of deficient bridges in Tennessee were significantly improved. The study also cites Tennessee as being particularly successful in taking care of its roads, improving road conditions on rural and urban interstates. In fact, the proportion of urban interstates in poor condition fell by 16 percentage points, the fifth biggest improvement in the nation.

In addition to improving in all seven categories, Tennessee eclipsed the national average improvements in many cases, making it one of the most successful states in the U.S. in terms of highway infrastructure.