Illinois ranks 34th in overall highway infrastructure

There are different “hot topics” in every realm of public debate. When it comes to the world of traffic, infrastructure is a current issue. There many people that support and oppose the theory that the highway infrastructure in the United States is in dire need of attentive repair, that it is crumbling.

An Emeritus Transportation Professor named David Hartgen works at the University of North Carolina Charlotte and studies data relating to the public highway system. In fact, he wrote the Reason Foundation’s 2013 Annual Highway Report. While he falls on the side that the situation is not as bad as some report, he said that some cities still need some work — and Illinois falls into the top 20 but not in a good way.

In order to make the determinations, this author and his team of researchers had to study data that was a couple of years old. Using state reports from 2009, the rankings were developed by looking not only at how much money was spent on highway repairs and the overall condition of roads and bridges but also on the congestion and accident fatality rates.

Illinois landed with a safety ranking of 34 out of all 50 states with every factor combined. The positive news is that the ranking in 2013’s report was a six-slot jump from the 2012 report based on 2008 data.

Another positive factor is that the state ranks 6th in fatality rate, but for those families who have suffered the loss of a loved one it doesn’t matter whether it has the 6th lowest fatality rate or the 1st. For these families the only number that matters is the life that was lost in the car accident, and for these families a wrongful death lawsuit can be a way to hold a negligent party responsible.

Source: The Huffington Post, “2013 Highway Report Reveals Worst State Highway Systems In U.S.” Anna Almendrala, July 3, 2013