Date:  Thursday, September 23, 2010

Contact: Steve Pierce, WSDOT Communications Director, 360-705-7076 (Olympia)

OLYMPIA – You won’t find Washington on the Rough Roads list (pdf) released today by the national transportation research group TRIP. That’s because 94 percent of Washington’s roads were graded as good or fair this year.

“We’re glad we’re not on the list,” said Paula Hammond, secretary of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). “We have an excellent pavement-preservation program and it’s working.”

The report identifies the top 20 urban regions (population greater than 500,000) with poor pavement conditions, as well as the top 20 urban regions with motorists paying the highest vehicle operating cost because of poor road conditions.

While WSDOT’s long-term, strategic approach to protecting its highways has helped keep Washington off the Rough Roads list, Hammond warns that additional investments are needed.

“Without additional investments, the percent of our roads graded as good or fair will drop from 94 percent to 60 percent by 2025,” said Hammond.

WSDOT repaves roads at the optimum time in an effort to maximize their lifespan. (More information is available on WSDOT’s Pavement Management Program.)

“For quite some time, the Legislature has invested in preservation and supported our system’s needs for good preservation programs,” Hammond said. “However, our revenues are falling off and our purchasing power from the gas tax has declined. That’s why we will go from 94 to 60 percent.”

Only six percent of the highway construction program is directed toward preservation in 2009-2011. Hammond said Washington was fortunate the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provided more funding this biennium. WSDOT used the funding for high-priority highway preservation needs.

Hammond said the state’s economy depends on a strong transportation system. Each day, nearly $650 million in freight moves on Washington’s roadways and 46 percent of the state’s jobs are in freight-dependent industries.

“We will need additional revenue soon to invest in our roads, help our economy and protect jobs,” Hammond said.

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WSDOT keeps people, businesses and the economy moving by operating and improving the state's transportation systems. To learn more about what we're doing, go to www.wsdot.wa.gov/news for pictures, videos, news and blogs. Real time traffic information is available at www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic or by dialing 5-1-1.

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