Report: Florida Among Best Bridges And Roads In Nation
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Florida is getting props for having above par roads and bridges.
According to the Washington Post, twenty-five percent of the nation's roads and bridges are not in good shape rated deficient or obsolete. Fourteen percent of roads are in poor condition.
However, Florida ranks higher than most states in nearly every measure of road transportation.
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, four percent of Florida's roads are in disrepair.
Seventeen percent of the bridges in Florida are obsolete or deficient.
Only a few states rank higher, Utah and Nevada are among those.
With higher quality roads, drivers pay fewer dollars each year to maintain their vehicles – about $181 per year, compared to other states.
Transportation experts said it is the toll system, user fees and taxes that boost infrastructure.
Gas taxes in Florida, the 11th-highest in the country, add about 36 cents to the cost of a gallon of fuel, the American Petroleum Institute reports.
Florida gets most transportation money, 68.8 percent, not from a general fund but from dedicated revenue streams.
Delaware and Hawaii are the only two other states that get higher shares of transportation revenue from dedicated funding.
Ruth Steiner, a transportation specialist in the University of Florida's department of urban and regional planning said the warmer winters in Florida are not as harsh on concrete and asphalt leading to fewer cracks.
The states with the worst roads are Rhode Island, Connecticut with a status of poor with 40 percent in bad shape.
At least 20 percent are in bad shape in Maryland, Michigan, Wisconsin, Washington, New York and New Jersey.
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