27th Annual Highway Report: Urban Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition

Urban other principal arterials (UOPA) are four- to eight-lane highways connecting different parts of an urban region. Overall, about 14.19% of the UOPA system—9,105 miles out of 64,183—was reported to be in poor condition (Table 13, Percent Urban Other Principal Arterial Mileage in Poor Condition, 2020, Figure 9). This is a 0.33-point decrease from 2019 when 14.52% or 8,660 miles out of 64,054 miles were in poor condition. Overall, urban arterials are in much worse condition than rural arterials, rural Interstates, or urban Interstates with the percentage in poor condition at 1.13%, 2.09%, and 4.77% respectively.  

The percent UOPA mileage in poor condition varies drastically by state, from Minnesota with 1.85% to California at 39.80%. Ten states reported less than 5% of UOPA miles in poor condition. On the other hand, five states (California, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Massachusetts, and New York) reported more than 20% of their UOPA mileage to be in poor condition. These five states have 18.36% of the U.S. ROPA mileage, but 41.99% of the mileage that is in poor condition. 

Urban Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition — Percent in Poor Condition