Miles SmithThe United States is facing a $198 billion backlog in funding for needed repairs and improvements to a rural transportation system plagued by high traffic fatality rates, according to a report recently released by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit.
That issue is compounded by needs that include immediate improvements to address deficient roads and bridges, high crash rates and inadequate connectivity and capacity, TRIP concluded in its report, Rural Connections: Examining the Safety, Connectivity, Condition and Funding Needs of America’s Rural Roads & Bridges, which was released on Sept. 19.
An analysis of the Status of the Nation’s Highways, Bridges and Transit Conditions and Performance Report, 25th Edition report, submitted by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to Congress in 2024, indicates that the U.S. backlog includes a $97 billion backlog for rural road and highway rehabilitation, a $53 billion backlog for needed rural bridge rehabilitation and a $48 billion backlog for needed rural roadway expansions and enhancements.
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According to TRIP’s report, 12% of U.S. rural roads are rated in poor condition and 19% are in mediocre condition. 8% of rural bridges in the U.S. are rated in poor/structurally deficient condition and 48% are rated in fair condition.
Rhode Island tops the list for rural pavements in poor condition (32%), and Iowa has the largest percentage of rural bridges that are poor or structurally deficient (21%). South Carolina’s ratio of rural road fatalities to non-rural road fatalities is the highest in the nation at a nearly 3:1 ratio.
Vehicle travel in rural communities averaging approximately 50% higher than in urban communities, TRIP said.
While rural roads and bridges are often the first and last pieces of the supply chain, they have problems with connectivity as well as significant deficiencies and deterioration. Rural non-interstate roads also experience fatal traffic crashes at a rate far higher than all other roads and highways.
In 2022, the rate of traffic fatalities on rural roads was nearly double the fatality rate on all other roads – 2.01 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles of travel vs. 1.12.
Nationwide, there were 15,121 fatalities on non-interstate, rural roads in 2022, TRIP said.
Safety concerns with rural roads include narrow lanes, limited shoulders, sharp curves, exposed hazards, pavement drop-offs, steep slopes and limited clear zones along roadsides.
Federal action is being taken to address transportation infrastructure. Signed into law in 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) has committed $454 billion through 2026, including a $2 billion Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program.
Photo by Chris Greninger on Unsplash
