Business View Civil and Municipal l December 2022

6 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 12 Researchers attribute the higher fatality rate to road conditions like narrower lanes, small shoulders, and sharper curves . “Roadway safety countermeasures like median cable barriers, rumble strips and guardrails are among the most cost- effective ways to prevent traffic crashes and to save lives when they do happen,” Jake Nelson, AAA traffic safety advocacy and research director, said in a statement. “At a time when our nation is recording record high traffic deaths, transportation investments ought to prioritize curbing traffic injuries where we can make the greatest impact—rural roads.” The report also found that 8% of the country’s rural bridges are rated poor or structurally deficient, meaning they have significant deterioration. Those bridges often have lower weight limits or are closed to traffic, requiring larger vehicles, like agricultural equipment, commercial trucks, school buses and emergency services vehicles, to find alternative routes . “In some cases, the classic situation is a one-lane bridge that now is carrying States with Highest Share of Rural Pavements in Poor Condition 1 Arkansas 33% 14 Wisconsin 17% 2 Rhode Island 32% 15 Louisiana 15% 3 New Mexico 32% 16 Colorado 15% 4 West Virginia 31% 17 Michigan 13% 5 Hawaii 30% 18 New Hampshire 13% 6 Mississippi 24% 19 Indiana 13% 7 Connecticut 22% 20 Massachusetts 12% 8 Washington 22% 21 Arizona 12% 9 Missouri 20% 22 Texas 12% 10 Maine 20% 23 California 12% 11 Alaska 19% 24 South Dakota 11% 12 Vermont 19% 25 Utah 11% 13 Pennsylvania 18% U.S. Average: 12% States with Highest Fatality Rate on Rural Non-Interstate Roads, and Fatality on all Other Roads (2020) 1 South Carolina 4.13 0.99 14 Mississippi 2.45 1.40 2 Oregon 3.12 1.00 15 Virginia 2.32 0.74 3 Arizona 2.78 1.42 16 Nevada 2.30 1.11 4 Georgia 2.74 1.13 17 Kansas 2.29 1.08 5 Louisiana 2.72 1.36 18 Delaware 2.28 1.11 6 Tennessee 2.64 1.30 19 Indiana 2.23 0.77 7 California 2.62 1.08 20 Alabama 2.19 0.99 8 Montana 2.58 0.96 21 Oklahoma 2.16 1.19 9 Kentucky 2.56 1.15 22 Pennsylvania 2.02 1.04 10 West Virginia 2.54 1.09 23 South Dakota 2.01 0.93 11 North Carolina 2.52 1.01 24 Illinois 2.01 1.13 12 Florida 2.51 1.48 25 Colorado 1.99 1.08 13 Texas 2.48 1.23 U.S. Total 2.17 1.09 States with Highest Share of Rural Bridges in Poor/Structurally Deficient Condition 1 Iowa 21% 14 Illinois 9% 2 West Virginia 20% 15 New Jersey 8% 3 South Dakota 18% 16 Nebraska 8% 4 Pennsylvania 15% 17 North Carolina 8% 5 Rhode Island 15% 18 Alaska 8% 6 Maine 15% 19 New Hampshire 8% 7 Louisiana 14% 20 California 7% 8 Michigan 12% 21 Kentucky 7% 9 North Dakota 11% 22 Montana 7% 10 New York 10% 23 Massachusetts 7% 11 Oklahoma 10% 24 Wisconsin 7% 12 Missouri 10% 25 Mississippi 7% 13 Hawaii 9% U.S. Average: 8% essentially suburban-level traffic,” Moretti said. “A lot of those (bridges) are inadequate.” Although the road systems may be in sparsely populated areas, officials said, they are key economic drivers, not just to rural residents, but to the country as a whole.