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Rough Roads Cost Alabamans $5.3 Billion per Year

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According to a study by TRIP, a nonprofit transportation research organization, deteriorating Alabama roads collectively cost residents $5.3 billion dollars per year in extra vehicle operating costs. In other words, that’s as much as $1,846 per driver. Here’s a deeper look at those costs — and what can be done to fix the problems.


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Infrastructure issues

The report, entitled “Alabama Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the State’s Need for Safe, Smooth and Efficient Mobility,” found that about 14 percent of the Yellowhammer State’s locally and state-maintained roads are in poor condition, while 16 percent earn a mediocre rating. Worse yet, about 7 percent of locally and state-maintained bridges are structurally deficient. Nearly half of Alabama’s bridges are over 50 years old and suffer from significant deterioration.

How it costs motorists

Bad roads cause extra vehicle operating costs due to vehicle damage and depreciation, tire wear, lost time, wasted fuel, and traffic crashes in which roadways played a significant role. For instance, traffic congestion in urban areas caused 37 annual hours of delay, costing each driver as much as $990 in lost time and wasted gasoline. Roadway-related traffic accidents cost Alabama motorists a total of $1.8 billion statewide and contributed to the state’s relatively high fatality rate on non-interstate rural roads. Alabama clocks in at 2.38 fatalities per 100 million miles travel, versus a national average of 0.87.

Gasoline taxes

Much of the state’s annual transportation budget is put towards preserving the existing roadways, with only $150 million available for projects. However, in March, Gov. Kay Ivey signed into law a 10-cent-per-gallon tax increase on gasoline — the first increase in 27 years. The previous gas tax was at 18 cents per gallon, but lost its purchasing power due to inflation and increased fuel economy. The increase will phase in over a three-year period. It’s meant to give the state more money to put towards road improvements.

Fenn Church, a board chairman of the Alabama Trucking Association, strongly supports the increase. With trucks hauling $432 billion in goods to and from Alabama every year, road quality is a major factor for trucking companies. Congested and poorly maintained roads drive trucking companies away and could hamper related industries, like retail, agriculture, and manufacturing. He believes that the trucking industry will save three to four times as much for paying the tax.


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Only time will tell if Alabama’s roads will see significant improvement. Here’s to hoping that Alabamans will soon enjoy smoother, safer roads.

Sources: AL.com, Construction Equipment Guide