Louisiana's rural roads are for more than gazing at nature and farmland. They act as a vital line for food, manufactured resources and products that end up in households and businesses across the country.
But a recent report by TRIP, a national transportation research nonprofit, showed that Louisiana's rural roadways are the sixth-worst in the country and rank in the top 10 in terms of fatalities. The conditions of Louisiana roads are part of a $198 billion backlog of funding to bring the country's rural roadways back to standard, the report says.
According to the report, 21% of Louisiana's rural pavement conditions were considered poor compared to the U.S. average of 12%. Of the state's rural bridges, 14% were poor or structurally deficient, compared to an national average of 8%.
Bridges rated as poor or structurally deficient have significant deterioration to major components, according to the report, and can lead to lower weight ratings that can close off traffic to larger vehicles, agricultural equipment, school buses, or emergency service vehicles.
In 2022, Louisiana's non-interstate and rural roads were nearly twice as deadly as all other roads in the state, with 2.57 fatalities per 100 million miles of travel, putting the state in ninth worst in the nation, the report said. For all other Louisiana roads, there are 1.29 traffic deaths per 100 million miles.
Mississippi ranked fifth worst for rural pavement conditions. To the west, Texas ranked 11th worst for rural roadway fatalities.
"Rural roads, highways and bridges connect farms to the pantries of every family in America," said American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall in the report. "Transportation delays and poorly maintained roads put the safety of rural Americans at risk and undermine farmers' ability to contribute to a stable food supply. While the IIJA offers an opportunity to improve the reliability and condition of America's transportation system, we must increase funding in the National Highway Trust Fund to ensure our roads continue to bring agriculture products to market."
Included in the country's backlog is $97 billion for rural road and highway rehabilitation, $53 billion for rural bridges and $48 billion for rural roadway expansion and enhancements, the report says.