States With The Best & Worst Roads

If you drive a lot, you already know the feeling: potholes that rattle your teeth and make you want to call your chiropractor, and stretches of highway that feel more like obstacle courses. But which states actually have the worst road conditions? A new report from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics has the answer, ranking all 50 states by road quality.

First, the good news. The state with the best roads is, surprisingly, Indiana. (Maybe they factored in the smooth track at the Indianapolis 500?)

Rounding out the Top 10 best are:

• Kansas
• South Dakota
• Wyoming
• Vermont
• Tennessee
• Idaho
• Georgia
• North Dakota
• Nebraska

Now for the bad news. The state with the worst roads is Rhode Island, which is saying something considering how small the state is.

Following closely behind are:

• Hawaii
• New Mexico
• Connecticut
• Mississippi
• Washington
• Maryland
• California
• Pennsylvania
• Oklahoma

The rankings were based on road surface data, highway conditions, and other transportation statistics.

Texas didn’t wind up on either list. Makes you wonder if the researchers ever ventured down Westheimer during rush hour. After all, you haven’t truly experienced “worst roads” until you’ve tried driving in the outside lane without busting your rims; it’s practically a rite of passage for local drivers.

Doug O’Brien