The average driver in the metro New Orleans area loses roughly $3,000 per year as a result of poor road conditions, according to a new report by TRIP, a national transportation research non-profit based in Washington D.C.
Rocky Moretti, Director of Policy and Research at TRIP, held a press conference earlier today discussing the group’s findings. He defined those “poor road conditions” noted in the report as “roads that are congested, deteriorated, and in some cases lacking adequate roadway safety features”.
In the Baton Rouge area, the cost per driver due to bad road conditions is even higher than that of New Orleanians, coming in at $3,500 annually.
Their new report, called “Keeping Louisiana Mobile: Providing a Modern, Sustainable Transportation System in the Pelican State,” included some eye-popping stats. It found that many key roadways and bridges, while not in need of being shut down, are in poor condition. That leads to car repairs and wasted fuel from traffic congestion.
In the New Orleans area, the study’s findings noted the average motorist is spending an additional 52 hours stuck in traffic annually and is wasting 30 gallons of fuel due to those conditions as well.
Moretti also pointed out that $590 billion of goods are currently being transported in Louisiana, mainly via trucks on our roadways. That means the state is very reliant on its transportation system and needs to make steps to modernize and improve the roads in order to keep the economy thriving.
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