Posted on: Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Bad roads add extra $549 cost to drivers
By Mike Leidemann
Advertiser Transportation Writer
Honolulu motorists pay an extra $549 every year because of the poor condition of roads, according to a new national study.
While Honolulu is far from the worst city when it comes to extra repair, wear and reduced mileage expenses, the costs are still well above the $369-per-motorist national average.
The study, based on federal highway statistics, was released yesterday by The Road Information Project, a research group financed by road builders, construction workers and other transportation interests.
The group took statistics measuring the bumpiness of roads, provided by states to the Federal Highway Administration in 2001. It then applied a federal formula that uses average miles driven in different cities, road conditions and other factors to calculate the cost to drivers.
According to the report, 32 percent of the 160 miles of surveyed roads in Honolulu were rated unacceptable; the national median for 38 similar-sized cities was 20 percent. Only 11 percent of roads were rated good.
Nationwide, the highest costs were in Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, San Diego, Detroit, New Orleans, Boston and Baltimore. Sun Belt cities, especially in Florida, ranked among the best. Among cities such as Honolulu with population between 500,000 and 1 million, Bakersfield, Calif., had the highest extra expenses, $647.
The study found that 25 percent of the nation's major urban roads — interstates, freeways and other principal arterial routes — provided an unacceptable ride quality. Only three large urban areas — Atlanta, Orlando and Phoenix — had 75 percent of their roads in good condition.
The study is one of several expected in the next several weeks as industry and government groups prepare to lobby for more highway money in Congress.
Last week, the Bush administration released its version of the financing bill, which allotted more than $900 million for road and transit projects in the state over the next six years.
