Rough Ride in the City: Metro Areas with the Roughest Rides and Strategies to Make Our Roads Smoother (PDF; 91 KB)
Source: TRIP
From press release (PDF; 33 KB):

In a report released today, TRIP, a national transportation research group, found that among large urban regions (500,000+ population), the areas with the greatest share of major roads and highways with pavements in poor condition are: San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, Kansas City, New Orleans (pre-Katrina), San Diego, Sacramento, St. Louis, Omaha and New York City.

TRIP found that a quarter of the nation’s major metropolitan roads – interstates, freeways and other critical local routes – have pavements in poor condition, resulting in rough rides. By contrast, in California cities on the top 10 list, one-half to two-thirds of pavements are rated poor.

These poor roads create additional vehicle operating costs (accelerated vehicle deterioration, additional maintenance needs and increased fuel consumption). In California’s biggest urban areas, poor roads cost the average motorist more than $600 a year, and approximately $700 a year in the San Jose and Los Angeles areas. That compares with a $383 national average. Five California urban areas ranked in the top six costliest: San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco-Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, Sacramento, New Orleans (pre-Katrina), Oklahoma City, Omaha and St. Louis.

+ Appendix A: Cities 500K+ (PDF; 8 KB)
+ Appendix B: Additional Vehicle Operating Costs (PDF; 10 KB)

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