Policy Study

26th Annual Highway Report: Urban Arterial Pavement Condition

Urban Other Principal Arterials (UOPA) are four- to eight-lane roadways connecting different parts of an urban region. Overall, about 13.52% of the UOPA system—8,660 miles out of 64,054—was reported to be in poor condition (Table 14, Percent Urban Other Principal Arterial Mileage in Poor Condition, 2019, Figure 9). This is a 0.54-point decrease from 2018 where 14.06% or 8,985 miles out of 63,903 miles were in poor condition. Overall urban arterials are in much worse condition than rural arterials, rural Interstates, or urban Interstates with the percent in poor condition at 1.15%, 2.00% and 4.97% respectively.

The percent UOPA mileage in poor condition varies drastically by state, from Georgia with 1.70% to Rhode Island at 30.82%. Ten states reported less than 5% of UOPA miles in poor condition. On the other hand, six states (Rhode Island, California, Nebraska, Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey) reported more than 20% of their UOPA mileage to be in poor condition. These six states have 21.3% of the U.S. UOPA mileage, but 42.7% of the mileage that is in poor condition.

Between 2018 and 2019, most states saw minor changes in UOPA pavement condition. Twenty-eight states saw decreases/increases of poor condition mileage of one percentage point or less, with 12 states seeing decreases and 16 states seeing increases. On the other hand, eight states had changes of more than 2% in their mileage in poor condition. The percentage of the UOPA system in poor condition in West Virginia, Indiana, and California increased (by 3.80, 2.46, and 2.04 points, respectively), while the poor mileage in Wyoming, Washington, and Alaska decreased (by 34.38, 4.34, and 4.33 points, respectively). Three states, Rhode Island, California, and Nebraska, have 11% of the U.S. UOPA mileage but 24% of the UOPA mileage that is in poor condition.

Urban Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition — Percent in Poor Condition
2019 RankStatePercent Urban Other Principal Arterial Mileage in Poor Condition
1Georgia1.70
2Florida1.95
3Utah3.06
4Alaska3.58
5Alabama4.02
6Kentucky4.37
7Minnesota4.62
8Tennessee4.63
9Nevada4.76
10North Carolina4.93
11South Carolina5.28
12Arizona5.54
13Delaware5.68
14Vermont5.73
15Virginia6.07
16South Dakota6.26
17Idaho6.30
18Arkansas6.50
19Oregon6.85
20Kansas6.88
21Indiana6.98
22Wyoming8.30
23New Hampshire8.50
24Missouri8.66
25West Virginia8.85
26North Dakota9.19
27Oklahoma9.34
28Mississippi10.31
29Iowa10.45
30Illinois11.88
31Connecticut11.38
32Maine11.67
33Colorado11.89
34Pennsylvania13.32
35New Mexico13.98
36Texas14.05
37Montana14.39
38Louisiana15.90
39Maryland16.29
40Ohio16.56
41Wisconsin16.84
42Michigan16.97
43Washington17.40
44Hawaii18.30
45New Jersey23.13
46New York23.31
47Massachusetts23.91
48Nebraska28.07
49California30.63
50Rhode Island30.82
Average13.52
View national trends and state-by-state performances by category:
overall
Overall
total-disbursements-per-mile
Total Disbursements Per Mile
capital-bridge-disbursements-per-mile
Capital & Bridge Disbursements Per Mile
maintenance-disbursements-per-mile
Maintenance Disbursements Per Mile
administrative-disbursements-per-mile
Administrative Disbursements Per Mile
rural-interstate-percent-poor-condition
Rural Interstate Pavement Condition
rural-other-principal-arterial-percent-narrow-lanes
Rural Arterial Pavement Condition
urban-interstate-percent-poor-condition
Urban Interstate Pavement Condition
rural-other-principal-arterial-percent-poor-condition
Urban Arterial Pavement Condition
urbanized-area-congestion-peak-hours-spent-in-congestion-per-auto-commuter
Urbanized Area Congestion
bridges-percent-deficient
Structurally Deficient Bridges
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Overall Fatality Rate
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Rural Fatality Rate
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Urban Fatality Rate