Los Angeles

Report: LA's Terrible Roads Cost Drivers About $2,500 A Year

September 11, 2014 / 11:52 AM PDT / KCAL News

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — The horrific roads Angelenos are driving on cost an average of about $2,500 a year in higher vehicle costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays, according to a national transportation group.

According to TRIP, poor road and bridge conditions in the state cost drivers a total of $44 billion a year across the state, but Los Angeles area drivers are getting hit the hardest because we sit in delayed traffic for an average of 61 hours a year.

The report, "California Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the State's Need for Safe and Efficient Mobility," found that 34 percent of the state's major urban roads and highways are in poor condition, and more than one-fourth of bridges are "structurally deficient or functionally obsolete."

The report found that 65 percent of major roads in the Los Angeles area are in poor condition, and 24 percent are considered mediocre.

These poor conditions are costing Los Angeles-area drivers an extra $2,458 a year in costs such as vehicle repairs and lost time and fuel thanks to congestion-related delays. The report also found that the 61 annual hours of sitting in traffic equates to about $1,300 in lost time and wasted fuel.

Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty said the report shows the value in investing in the state's aging infrastructure.

"Our goal is to responsibly manage the state's valuable infrastructure -- starting with our new 'fix it first' policy -- because every dollar invested in maintenance saves taxpayers from future repairs that are 10 times more expensive," he said.

According to the report, 14,878 people died on California roadways between 2008 and 2012. Non-interstate, rural roads had a fatality rate of 2.61 traffic deaths per 100 million vehicle miles of travel in 2012 -- four times higher than other roads and highways in the state.