Grand Rapids roads aren’t so bad according to a national report.
An analysis from car shopping website CoPilot found 25.1% of all major roads in Grand Rapids are in poor condition, which is just below the national average of 26.4%.
Overall, the study ranked Grand Rapids roads the 28th worst in the U.S. among 65 midsized urban areas. The worst roads in that category were found in Concord, California, with 76.1% of roads in poor condition. Comparatively, Cape Coral, Florida, had the best roads for a midsized city with only 5.1% of roads in poor condition.
By forcing many Americans to stay home, COVID-19 created a rare opportunity for states to accelerate much-needed road repairs without interrupting daily commutes, according to the study.
With traffic reduced, departments of transportation across the country went to work fixing bridges, highways and mass transit systems — many of which were long overdue for repair.
Summary of Grand Rapids data:
- Interstates and freeways in poor condition: 3.1% (5.8% nationally)
- Arterials in poor condition: 21.2% (26.4% nationally)
- Minor arterials in poor condition: 31.8% (34.5% nationally)
- Daily vehicle-miles per capita: 29.5 (24.9 nationally)
- Miles of road per 1,000 people: 5.2 (4.9 nationally)
Methodology
To find which urban areas have the worst roads, researchers at CoPilot analyzed road quality statistics from the Federal Highway Administration.
Using the FHA’s International Roughness Index data, they ranked each urban area based on the percentage of road-miles categorized as poor. To improve relevance, the researchers also grouped urban areas by population: small: 100,000 to 349,999; midsize: 350,000 to 999,999; and large: 1,000,000 or more.
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