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Does Michigan Have The Worst Roads In America?

Author Kayla Morgan
An empty street through an old Detroit city neighborhood with downtown buildings in the background

Throughout Michigan, one can find many areas with road construction, detours, traffic, and potholes. But does Michigan have the worst roads in America? Michigan roads rank among the worst in the nation when compared to other states.

A study by MoneyGeek.com analyzed road quality and infrastructure spending by every state to rank their roadways. Their study includes the percentage of good roads, and bad roads and the amount of money state governments allocate to their roadways. Also found in the study was that the amount of money states spent on roadways didn’t impact the overall roughness score.

The Federal Highway Administration indicates that an international roughness index (IRI) measure of less than 95 indicates a road in good condition, between 95 and 170 is acceptable, and greater than 170 is poor condition.

According to the rankings, the states with the top five “roughest” roads in the country include California, Rhode Island, Nebraska, Wisconsin, and New York. California has a roughness index score of 160 which means that the state’s road conditions are borderline acceptable.

Meanwhile, the top five best-ranked roads listed are New Hampshire, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Minnesota. New Hampshire has a roughness index score of 79.9.

Where does Michigan rank when it comes to worst roads?

Michigan ranked number nine on the list with a road roughness index of 127.6 percent. However, 38 percent of Michigan roads are in good condition. That’s significantly better than the percentage of poor roads at 24 percent.

Bad roads and potholes are a nuisance and are often unavoidable. Road quality can deteriorate over time due to rain, freezing temperatures, and weight from all the traffic. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has started several road projects across the state. According to MDOT, some of the major road and bridge construction projects can last several months or longer. Other projects may even involve significant delays.

See MoneyGeek.com’s full list here.

Kayla is the midday host on Detroit’s 105.1 The Bounce. She started her career in radio back in 2016 as an intern at another Detroit station and worked her way here. She's made stops in Knoxville, TN, Omaha, Ne and other places before returning to Detroit. She’s done almost everything in radio from promotions to web, creating content on social media, you name it. She’s a true Michigander, born and raised. So, you can catch her camping or vacationing up north to exploring the downtown Detroit or maybe even catching a sports game. During her free time, Kayla enjoys watching movies, roller-skating, crafting, and music festivals. She and her husband together dip into many of the great things Michigan has to offer. Together they also like to travel. A few hobbies of hers include wine and beer tastings, crafting, hiking, roller skating, movies, home improvement projects, gardening, and festivals. She’s always looking to take on more local events happening in the community. She loves connecting with the community. When writing, Kayla covers topics including lifestyle, pop culture, trending stories, hacks, and urban culture.

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Author Kayla Morgan
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