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America's roads are a vital part of the nation's infrastructure, connecting city to city and state to state. Many roads across the U.S. have remained in poor condition for years, leaving drivers frustrated and state and local governments scrambling for funding. The Hearst Television National Investigative Unit took a closer look at the state of roads, what is being done to fix them and where the system is falling short.America's roads by the numbersIn order to analyze the conditions of America’s roads, the Hearst Television Data Team looked at the Highway Performance Monitoring System data for 2023 and the 2022 road condition data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Roads are scored using the International Roughness Index, which grades how much road mileage is rough or smooth with a mathematical model. The dataset then adds up the number of miles and groups them by their roughness scores. What this dataset does is get the percentage of roads with a poor roughness rating by dividing the total number of road miles with a poor score by the total number of miles in each state. Looking at the country as a whole, the charts below show the percentage of all U.S. roads that have been in "poor" and "acceptable" conditions throughout the years. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics classifies roads with a roughness score below 170 as "acceptable." These acceptable roads can be further broken down into the "good" and "fair" categories, in which roads with a roughness score below 95 are considered "good" while roads with a roughness score between 95 and 170 are considered "fair."Our data team compared the percentage of urban and rural interstate roads that had an International Roughness Index below 170 (which means they are considered in poor condition) for each state as well. More than 18% of all U.S. roads are in poor condition, according to a Hearst Television Data Team analysis of 2022 federal data. That translates to about 143,852 miles of rough and deteriorating roads nationwide.Paving new lanes for road fundingIn Mississippi, Brad White has an up-close view of road issues.He not only drives the roads as a citizen, but as the executive director of the Mississippi Department of Transportation.“Good infrastructure is essential to everything else we do in our daily lives,” White said. “Being able to get from point A to point B — that starts with safe roads. ... Everything that we do here is kind of a lasting legacy.” But repairing and rebuilding those roads is expensive.“It takes a lot of money to purchase the asphalt and concrete and equipment,” White said.With 33,000 miles of highways and over 5,000 bridges that MDOT is responsible for, White said that asset is valued at over $65 billion. But that budget has shortfalls that have become a challenge for MDOT, and it works to make the money that it does have go as far as possible. While many people assume their state transportation department handles all road repairs, that’s not the case. Local streets are largely funded by city and town taxes and fees. State departments often rely on a mix of state allocations, user fees and taxes, and federal money, primarily from the Highway Trust Fund, which supports key state roads and the interstate highway system.That federal fund, however, is in trouble. It’s expected to be insolvent by 2028. This isn’t a new issue, either. Since 2001, spending from the Highway Trust Fund has exceeded its revenues. To ensure the trust fund’s continued solvency, Congress has transferred a total of $275 billion from the Department of the Treasury’s General Fund to the Highway Trust Fund since 2008.The current system relies on federal gas and diesel taxes, about 18 cents per gallon, and has not been updated since 1993. And as cars become more fuel-efficient and electric vehicle sales rise, revenues have steadily declined. Meanwhile, spending from the fund has outpaced what’s being collected.Looking at all of the states, our data team compared their roads, ranked in good, fair and poor condition.Lawmakers and industry experts are coming together to discuss possible solutions. Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.“We run a very bipartisan committee. And when we move bills, we have very bipartisan bills, as well. So everybody gets an opportunity to put their two cents in, so to speak," Graves said.Graves is calling for major changes."To fill the gap, we’re using general revenue. That means everybody is paying, not just the people using the roads,” he said. It’s more like a Band-Aid rather than a solution. Graves has proposed new user fees to help stabilize the fund, including a $250 annual registration fee for electric vehicles and a $100 fee for hybrids.“This would be the first new money in the Highway Trust Fund in over 30 years,” he said.Still, he acknowledged it would not fully solve the issue, but that it will go "a long way."In 2021, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act injected $118 billion into road projects across the country, but that funding is set to expire in 2026. Graves said the current administration is working on a new infrastructure package that could be introduced as early as this fall, with hopes of passing it around the new year.Graves said the new plan will focus primarily on surface transportation, such as paving roads and re-decking bridges. Unlike the IIJA, he noted, less funding will go toward bike paths and green spaces.When asked why this conversation seems to be hard to discuss with other lawmakers, Graves responded, “When you're doing something new, like we're trying to do with the Highway Trust Fund and funding it, it's different. Different things come a little harder, and I think that's probably the reason why a lot of people don't want to talk about it.” He went on to say that funding for roads is an important topic, affecting everyone, and it’s something lawmakers need to get done. Why fixing rural roads is a rough challenge For people like Brad White, who oversee roads at the state level, a long-term fix is crucial.“Whether it’s maintenance or new construction, these projects take time to plan and build,” White said. “We need recurring revenue that we can count on.” Mississippi ranks in the top 10 of states with roads in poor condition, but White explains that many of the state's roads that weigh heavily in the data are rural roads. It’s important to note why rural roads (not just in Mississippi, but across the country) are often in poor condition. These are the top 10 states with the highest percentage of poor roads.Conversely, these are the states with the highest percentage of good roads.White also explains that when money is given at the federal level, oftentimes there are regulations on where that money can be placed, and states must invest those funds in areas that will allow them to maximize their use so no federal money is "left on the table." Rural roads often do not see federal revenue, and therefore, their conditions are left poor and their safety standards are not at the same level our interstates are in as well. “Just because we're the Mississippi Department of Transportation, we have no jurisdiction and we have no authority to take any of our money and spend it on a county road or a city street. So our money that we generate and work with the Federal Highway Administration to spend is all spent on state highways, interstate highways and the bridges on that system.” White said. Continuing to find opportunities to fund roads matters on a larger scale than just smooth, resurfaced roads, as White states in the quote below.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 America’s infrastructure continues to age, the pressure is mounting to not only find funding—but to ensure it’s spent where it’s needed most: on the crumbling roads that millions depend on every day.This story was shot and edited by National Investigative Photojournalist Reid Bolton. Data analysis and visuals by Data Visualization Journalist Katrina Ventura.PHNjcmlwdCB0eXBlPSJ0ZXh0L2phdmFzY3JpcHQiPiFmdW5jdGlvbigpeyJ1c2Ugc3RyaWN0Ijt3aW5kb3cuYWRkRXZlbnRMaXN0ZW5lcigibWVzc2FnZSIsKGZ1bmN0aW9uKGUpe2lmKHZvaWQgMCE9PWUuZGF0YVsiZGF0YXdyYXBwZXItaGVpZ2h0Il0pe3ZhciB0PWRvY3VtZW50LnF1ZXJ5U2VsZWN0b3JBbGwoImlmcmFtZSIpO2Zvcih2YXIgYSBpbiBlLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdKWZvcih2YXIgcj0wO3I8dC5sZW5ndGg7cisrKXtpZih0W3JdLmNvbnRlbnRXaW5kb3c9PT1lLnNvdXJjZSl0W3JdLnN0eWxlLmhlaWdodD1lLmRhdGFbImRhdGF3cmFwcGVyLWhlaWdodCJdW2FdKyJweCJ9fX0pKX0oKTs8L3NjcmlwdD4K