It’s this simple. Good roads cost us less.

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John Latta

Here is a very simple observation made by a newspaperman after the release of a new report. He points out that it costs us more to have bad roads than to keep good ones in good shape.

Pennsylvanians are spending more to have lousy roads and bridges than it would cost to keep them in good condition, a new study suggests.

The study, released Tuesday by TRIP, a national transportation research group, estimated that poor roads, congestion and crashes cost the average Pittsburgh driver $892 per year in damage, maintenance costs and time lost to traffic delays.

Inadequate capacity and rough roads cost Pennsylvania drivers $8.2 billion annually — far more than the roughly $1.5 billion the state spends in a typical year on highway and bridge projects, and more than the $3.5 billion a year that a state advisory panel said was necessary to catch up on road and bridge repairs.

It will enjoyable to see this one spun. But in its simplicity it offers ammunition for at least taking a shot at a bi-partisan reauthorization bill because the report doesn’t say it costs Republicans more than Democrats or vice-versa. Bad roads are apparently like the flu. No favorite. we need shots.

Check out the report which is from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette or get the entire TRIP report by clicking back to our news section.