Here’s How Much Indiana’s Bad Roads Cost You Per Year
Indiana has quite a few unmaintained roads all throughout the state, but do you have any idea how much these roads cost you per year to fix up?
Indiana is known as "The Crossroads of America," mainly because the city of Indianapolis is the hub for several major Interstate highways that crisscross the state, connecting Hoosiers to the rest of the United States. Recently, the state of Indiana was named one of the best states in the entire country to drive in. However, I think we all can agree that some of these roads that we use on a daily basis need a little bit of fixing. Whether it be due to way too many potholes, cracking roadways, or any other reason a road might be unmaintained, we understand that it costs money, quite a bit of it, to fix.
A recent article from the website RateGenius found what unmaintained roads cost the average driver in every state. Indiana ranks as the 17th highest state in the country in terms of how much it costs the average driver to fix these roadways. According to the website:
<a href="https://www.rategenius.com/" rel="noopener">RateGenius</a>, an <a href="https://www.rategenius.com/auto-refinance-rates/">auto refinance</a> platform, used data from state fact sheets released by the <a href="https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/usdot-releases-state-state-fact-sheets-highlighting-benefits-bipartisan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">U.S. Department of Transportation</a> to rank all states based on the cost of unmaintained roads to an average driver in each state. Bridge condition data was sourced from the Federal Highway Administration’s breakdown of the <a href="https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/nbi/no10/condition21.cfm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Bridge Inventory</a> as of September 2021, the most current data available.
How Much Indiana's Bad Roads Cost You Per Year
When it comes to the cost of unmaintained roads per person in Indiana, you might be surprised that we all spend $638 annually to pay for these roads to be fixed. RateGenius says:
Multiple bridges in the Hoosier State have been closed due to disrepair, including the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/02/us/infrastructure-projects-joe-biden.html#:~:text=The%20New%20Harmony%20Toll%20Bridge" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New Harmony Toll Bridge</a> — which connects Indiana to Illinois — and the historic <a href="https://www.fwbusiness.com/news/article_5ce8d3de-caa5-53de-8777-7e66dcebdee5.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Spencerville Covered Bridge</a>, which was opened back up in June 2021 after being closed since 2018. Aging roads are also a big concern for Indiana residents as nearly a quarter of the state’s roads are in poor condition, costing drivers $638 annually. In response to such conditions and in light of the federal infrastructure bill, the Indiana Department of Transportation has updated its <a href="https://www.tribstar.com/news/local_news/indot-updating-its-5-year-plan-for-road-projects/article_edb2956d-3204-50d4-a7b9-21f5b9f1e513.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">five-year plan</a> for road projects.
The report also gives an infrastructure report card grade to each state based on eight criteria, including capacity, condition, and public safety, that come from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Indiana's grade was a C-. More stats from this report indicate that Indiana has 5,478 miles of road in poor condition and 1,082 bridges in poor condition. Does this come as any surprise to you at all?
You can find out more about this report, and see where other states fall on the list by clicking here.
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