If you’re like us you likely escaped Minnesota for a vacation at some point this past summer.
It doesn’t matter where you traveled to: one of the first things you notice while driving around a new city or state is that their roads are in much better shape than those back home.
A new report released in May from a Washington, D.C.-based transportation research nonprofit explains that it’s not your imagination: those roads likely were in better shape than the roads in Minnesota. In fact, “poor road conditions are costing Minnesotans $1.8 billion per year” according to TRIP, the transportation research group.
According to the report, driving on these pot-holed marked roads “costs Minnesota drivers in the form of increased repairs, vehicle depreciation and fuel consumption. In fact, the average annual cost to a Minnesota driver of $543” likely due in part to the fact that 38% of Minnesota’s roads “are in poor or mediocre condition.”
Imagine the outrage if our bike trails were allowed to deteriorate and become as dangerous and costly as our Minnesota roads!