Texas leaders have a long history of bragging about the state’s highway system, from Gov. John Connolly’s eager promotion of freeway construction to Gov. Greg Abbott touting the state’s infrastructure as evidence we’re “open for business.”
But for all that talk, a new report ranks the quality of Texas’ roadways at 17th-worst in the nation.
Construction Coverage, a construction-industry research publication, found that despite increased investment nationwide, 13.1% of major U.S. roads remain in poor condition. In Texas, that number is even higher, at 15.3%.
Using statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration and the International Roughness Index, researchers analyzed the condition of major roadways, labeling them as being in poor, fair or good condition.
In Texas, 15.3% of roadways are in poor condition, 34.3% of Texas roads are fair and 50.3% are good, the analysis revealed. While that’s a lot of blacktop in poor condition, the percentage of beat-up roads is down 1% from the previous year, which researchers say suggests overall positive movement.
Looking past Texans’ pride in their roadway system, why does the state perform below the national average?
Study author Johnathon Jones pointed to the scale and intensity of the state’s transportation system as a major challenge to maintaining road quality. Texas has one of the nation’s largest highway networks, brisk population growth and high levels of vehicle travel and freight movement — all strains on roadways.
“Those factors can create substantial wear on infrastructure and make it harder for improvements to happen quickly across the entire network,” Jones told the Current via email.
Texas isn’t alone in its challenges to improving road quality. Nationally, one in every eight miles of major roadway is in disrepair, according to the report, which also notes that highway and street construction spending has reached nearly $150 billion annually.
Before we chalk up Lone Star State residents’ love for their highways as another case of overblown Texas pride, Jones said the state does appear to be making minor headway in overall road quality. Still, the state’s massive size and blend of booming metro areas with miles of open land present unique challenges for keeping roadways in top repair.
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