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As our recent collection of the fifteen funniest/most painful pothole memes makes clear, Denver-area drivers have been lamenting what many see as the terrible condition of local roads.
But according to a new report from TRIP, a national transportation research group based in Washington, D.C., things could be worse.
A lot worse.
Among the data gathered in “Bumpy Roads Ahead America’s Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make our Roads Smoother,” on view below, is a list of the 25 large urban regions (defined as the “major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas” with a population of 500,000 or more) that have the highest percentage of poor roads. And while Denver makes the list, it’s not anywhere near the top.
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No reason to celebrate this achievement, though. As you’ll see, the percentage of poor roads in and around Denver is still frightfully high, albeit only a little more than half the total in the area determined to have the most problematic roads in the country.
See the photo-illustrated top 25 below, followed by the complete TRIP study, which also includes suggestions to improve the current situation.
Number 1: San Francisco-Oakland, California
Percentage of poor roads: 74 percent
Number 2: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, California
Percentage of poor roads: 73 percent
Number 3: Concord, California
Percentage of poor roads: 62 percent
Number 4: Detroit, Michigan
Percentage of poor roads: 56 percent
Number 5: San Jose, California
Percentage of poor roads: 53 percent
Number 6: Cleveland, Ohio
Percentage of poor roads: 52 percent
Number 7: New York, New York-Newark, New Jersey
Percentage of poor roads: 51 percent
Number 8: San Diego, California
Percentage of poor roads: 51 percent
Number 9: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Percentage of poor roads: 51 percent
Number 10: Honolulu, Hawaii
Percentage of poor roads: 51 percent
Number 11: Akron, Ohio
Percentage of poor roads: 50 percent
Number 12: San Antonio, Texas
Percentage of poor roads: 49 percent
Number 13: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Percentage of poor roads: 46 percent
Number 14: Riverside-San Bernardino, California
Percentage of poor roads: 46 percent
Number 15: El Paso, Texas
Percentage of poor roads: 46 percent
Number 16: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Percentage of poor roads: 45 percent
Number 17: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Percentage of poor roads: 45 percent
Number 18: New Haven, Connecticut
Percentage of poor roads: 45 percent
Number 19: Bridgeport-Stamford, Connecticut
Percentage of poor roads: 44 percent
Number 20: Birmingham, Alabama
Percentage of poor roads: 43 percent
Number 21: Denver, Colorado
Percentage of poor roads: 43 percent
Number 22: Seattle, Washington
Percentage of poor roads: 42 percent
Number 23: Omaha, Nebraska
Percentage of poor roads: 42 percent
Number 24, Sacramento, California
Percentage of poor roads: 42 percent
Number 25: New Orleans, Louisiana
Percentage of poor roads: 42 percent
Send your story tips to the author, Michael Roberts.
