Georgia’s road conditions
As of 2008, 82% of Georgia’s state-owned major roads were in “good” condition, meaning they were smooth and without potholes. 17% of Georgia’s roads had fallen out of good condition, meaning they will now be increasingly expensive to repair and maintain. The condition of 1% of Georgia’s roads was not reported.
Georgia’s highway spending priorities
Between 2004 and 2008, Georgia spent 24% of its highway capital expenditures on road expansion – $424 million each year on average – and 48% on repair and maintenance of existing roads – $865 million. That 24% of spending went to expand Georgia’s road network by 713 lane-miles.
Georgia would need to spend $1.1 billion annually for the next twenty years to get the current backlog of poor-condition major roads into a state of good repair and maintain all state-owned roads in good condition. Shifting more funds toward repair would go a long way toward addressing the state’s maintenance needs.
Georgia’s road condition goals
Georgia uses the Pavement Condition Evaluation System to measure road conditions and aims to maintain the entire state-owned major road network at an average rating of 75 (scale description not available) on a 0 to 100 scale between fiscal years 2014 and 2016.
For more information about Georgia’s pavement management program, including the source and methodology for the above information, see the appendices of Repair Priorities.
Read more about Georgia’s transportation spending
Smart Transportation Georgia: Save Money and Growth the Economy
This Smart Growth America report provides more extensive analysis of Georgia’s transportation spending priorities and recommendations for how state leaders can make the most of Georgia’s transportation funds.
