A new report recently released by TRIP examines pavement and bridge conditions, congestion, safety, and travel trends on Missouri’s interstate system.
The report is titled “Restoring Missouri’s Interstate Highway System: Meeting Missouri’s Transportation Needs with a Reliable, Safe & Well-Maintained National Highway Network".
At 65 years old, Missouri’s 1,380-mile Interstate Highway System remains the workhorse of the state’s surface transportation network: heavily traveled and providing the most important link in the supply chain, and the primary connection between and within urban communities, according to a press release from TRIP. The transportation research nonprofit says many interstate highways are wearing out and showing signs of their advanced age, often heavily congested, and in need of significant reconstruction, modernization, and expansion.
While Missouri’s Interstate Highway System accounts for 2% of all roadway lane miles in the state, it carries 27% of the state’s vehicle travel—21.5 million vehicle miles of travel annually, according to TRIP.
The TRIP report finds that 47% of Missouri’s urban interstate highways are considered congested because they carry traffic levels that result in significant delays during peak travel hours.
According to TRIP’s report, 5% of Missouri’s interstate bridges are rated in poor/structurally deficient condition, the tenth highest rate in the nation. Seventy-one percent of the state’s interstate bridges are rated in fair condition and the remaining 25% are in good condition.
More information about the Missouri Interstate Highway System can be found on TRIP's website.
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SOURCE: TRIP