In this report, TRIP examines the condition of major roads in the nation's most populous urban areas, recent trends in urban travel, and the latest developments in repairing roads and building them to last longer. An urbanized area includes the major city in a region and its neighboring or surrounding suburban areas. Pavement condition data are based on the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) 2006 annual survey of state transportation officials on the condition of major state and locally maintained roads, based on a uniform pavement rating index (latest data available). The pavement rating index measures the level of smoothness of pavement surfaces, supplying information on the ride quality provided by road and highway surfaces. Although there may be some variance in how transportation officials gather pavement condition data and apply this index, the FHWA survey is the only national source of pavement condition ratings based on a consistent criteria. (Author/publisher)
Abstract