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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.
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.
