First, we look at just how bad our roads are. Next, we\u2019ll tell you the 5 reasons our roads are so beat up. And finally what that means for your car, your pocketbook, and your safety.<\/p>\n
Also, share your road story<\/a>. So, How Bad Are New Hampshire Roads?<\/strong><\/p>\n Valerie and Berthold Horn say one road they drive on in Conway could win a \u201cworst road in New Hampshire\u201d contest, hands down.<\/p>\n We have had literally thousands of dollars of car repairs as a result of driving on East Conway Rd. and Green Hill Rd. during the last three years. Unfortunately for us, there is no other way to get to work, or shopping, or anything else for that matter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n NHDOT<\/p> This graph shows the average price for one ton of asphalt, from 1992-2012.<\/p><\/div>\n StateImpact NH has heard from a lot of disgruntled Granite Staters, who say the roads they drive on are terrible. And it\u2019s true: the quality of New Hampshire\u2019s roads has been steadily declining. Oil prices are pushing paving costs up, fuel-efficient cars mean fewer gas tax dollars for the state\u2019s Highway Fund, and inflation means those dollars buy less, too.<\/p>\n Today, 37 percent of state-maintained roads and highways are deemed \u201cin poor condition\u201d by the state\u2019s Department of Transportation. Under current funding, that will increase to 43 percent by 2016. And bad roads are getting worse. That\u2019s because it costs twenty times as much to reconstruct a badly maintained road than to resurface one in decent condition. \u201cFixing worst first,\u201d says Bill Boynton at NHDOT, \u201cyou\u2019ll never catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n Transportation<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>That\u2019s why people like the Horns say they\u2019re baffled that public workers are repaving the part of the roads that are \u201cactually in reasonable shape.\u201d It costs $50,000 to repave a decently maintained road, and $1 million to reconstruct a failed road.<\/p>\n On top of that, the state prioritizes road repair projects based on traffic patterns. So while interstates may stay in excellent condition, roads less travelled are likely to fall deeper and deeper into disrepair.<\/p>\n Check out this NHDOT graphic, which compares road conditions from 2000 and 2012.<\/p>\n NHDOT<\/p> Miles of roads in poor condition have increased throughout the state. Red lines indicate poor condition, yellow indicate fair, and green indicate good condition roads. All roads are state roads.<\/p><\/div>\n Including funding for the I-93 expansion, Boynton says New Hampshire would need $74 million each year just to maintain current road and bridge conditions. To fix all state-owned roads and bridges would cost $1.3 billion dollars.<\/p>\n
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