Which state has the best Freeways?

[flith]

Here are the results of a survey I found at www.etrucker.com

HIGHWAY REPORT CARD 2005

WORST ROADS

Pennsylvania

Missouri

Louisiana

Michigan

California

BEST ROADS

Texas

Florida

Tennessee

Georgia, Ohio (tie)

Nevada, Virginia (tie)

WORST HIGHWAYS

I-10 Louisiana

I-44 Missouri

I-95 New York

BEST HIGHWAYS

I-75 Florida

I-40 Tennessee

I-10 Texas

MOST IMPROVED HIGHWAYS

I-40 Arkansas

I-80 Pennsylvania

I-30 Arkansas

[dimebag1980]

Texas spends more on maintenance of its highways' shoulders than most states spend on the actual road surface.

Texas wins this for me, but I have to be honest and say I haven't visited all the listed states.

When you drive across the Louisiana state line into Texas (which I do a lot, since Texas is only about 15 miles from the city limits) you notice an immediate difference in the road surface. It's very nice.

[satalac]

i went with tennessee on this one. the roads are very well maintained even though there is always construction. i can't say much about texas's roads because the only experience i've had is driving on I-40 in 2001. it was pretty rough. but there were in the middle of fixing it. and truckers probably do just a tad bit more driving than me, so i'm sure the roads out there are very nice also. arkansas was horrible though. if you blindfolded me i could tell you when i left memphis and then left ft. smith. it was like a washboard.

[codyg1985]

satalac: Arkansas has dramatically improved its highways from a decade ago. I-40 is now a smooth ride from one end of the state to another. When was the last time you drove I-40 west of Memphis?

Alabama's interstates were originally built with concrete in a lot of places, and now those roads are extremely worn. In some places, people avoid the right lane beacuse the road surface is so cracked and rutted. Some of these sections are being repaired, but it is not happening fast enough.

My vote goes for Tennessee. Nearly every portion of interstate I have driven on in that state is smooth and well-maintained.

[Jerseyman4]

I am biased but im voting for NC.

Out of state wuold definatly be Florida.

[satalac]

satalac: Arkansas has dramatically improved its highways from a decade ago. I-40 is now a smooth ride from one end of the state to another. When was the last time you drove I-40 west of Memphis?

Alabama's interstates were originally built with concrete in a lot of places, and now those roads are extremely worn. In some places, people avoid the right lane beacuse the road surface is so cracked and rutted. Some of these sections are being repaired, but it is not happening fast enough.

My vote goes for Tennessee. Nearly every portion of interstate I have driven on in that state is smooth and well-maintained.

i said it was 2001. i know that they have improved it now.

[nashvol85]

BEST HIGHWAYS

I-75 Florida

I-40 Tennessee

I-10 Texas

lol, maybe if the Nashville and Knoxville portions are excluded.

[NCB]

I-10 through most of Louisiana is absolutely horrible, especially the stretch between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. You're lucky if your head hasn't gone through the roof of your car by the time you reach New Orleans if you're headed eastbound. The long stretch between Lafayette and Lake Charles is very bad as well, and when you eventually hit Texas, the improvement in road quality is extremely high.

Anyway, I think I would have to go with Texas as having the best roads. Though from my experience, Mississippi, Tennessee, and parts of Florida have very good roads as well, and Arkansas' roads have been improving greatly over the last few years.

[Trae]

I go to Lake Charles a lot, and crossing over the Texas/Louisiana bridge is smooth going on into Louisiana. But once you are of of the bridge, the bumpy ride starts until you get a little past Vinton into Sulphur.

[Greens!]

They just raised the speed limit in west Texas to 80mph. This will take 90 minutes off the trip from Kerrville (west of SA) to El Paso.

[NCB]

I go to Lake Charles a lot, and crossing over the Texas/Louisiana bridge is smooth going on into Louisiana. But once you are of of the bridge, the bumpy ride starts until you get a little past Vinton into Sulphur.

Yea, the bridge is fine, and so is the next mile or two(after some recent upgrades) but after that it's horrible.

[Rural King]

I'd voted for Tennessee, but it would be followed by Florida and Mississippi. Never been to Texas, but I have heard it has very good roads comparable to other top tier states.

[Aporkalypse]

Texas and Tennessee have great freeways and I remember them always being rather good.

Florida does as well with a caveat, there need to be a lot MORE of them.

Arkansas was mentioned and no doubt had some of the worst freeways in the country 5 years ago. Now they're baby's butt smooth.

[johnnydr87]

Arkansas was mentioned and no doubt had some of the worst freeways in the country 5 years ago. Now they're baby's butt smooth.

Once a millenia, once a millenia.

[ironchapman]

From my experience, Georgia and Tennessee have the best.

Alabama and Louisiana have the worst.

[Pillsbury]

Outside of Atlanta, I don't really think the roads in Georgia are that great, though they are much better than a lot of other Southern states. I"d have to go with North Carolina though....haven't been to Tennessee....

[Jerseyman4]

Outside of Atlanta, I don't really think the roads in Georgia are that great, though they are much better than a lot of other Southern states. I"d have to go with North Carolina though....haven't been to Tennessee....

With Georgia, as long as your on the state highway system, the roads are generally very good. The county highways are hit or miss but are mostly substandard in comparison to the state level. The GA coastline has one of the best roads in the entire east coast at the state and county level. Through my travels not in the Atlanta metro area, US Hwys 1, 17 and 301 were all in very good shape from SC to FL.

[thedude26]

Actually, I would say the roads outside of Atlanta are the better ones in GA. All of the truck traffic on the interstates around the city leads to rough surfaces and potholes quite frequently.

[Lady Celeste]

Actually, I would say the roads outside of Atlanta are the better ones in GA. All of the truck traffic on the interstates around the city leads to rough surfaces and potholes quite frequently.

I'm curious thedude26....where are these quite frequent potholes and rough spots you mention? It seems to me like the roads here are resurfaced quote often so I would be hard pressed to know where in metro Atlanta there seems to be a plethora of potholes.

Anyway, I didn't vote....I figured that since a study and results were already released (etrucker.com) then my vote would vote an opinion not soley based on fact. Especially since I never have to occassion to drive all over the southeast....like say a trucker would.

[thedude26]

Well, not to long ago I-85 near Union City was in real bad shape, but they fixed it up recently. Areas of I-20 were fairly rough as well. When they do get around to fixing them, the roads are not too bad, I'm just saying they get rough faster because of all the big trucks. Also surface streets like West Paces Ferry were like mine fields the last time I was on them. I don't know if they have been fixed, that was about a year ago.

[Spades]

Louisiana has improved greatly. I remember driving on I-20 in Shreveport was the same as driving on a bunch of speed bumps. I-10 wasn't that much better but both are better. I-10 in Florida use to be pretty bad but they fixed that.

In Texas, the roads are great but that little stretch between Beaumont and the TX/LA border is pretty bad.

[jaz82]

The two states I have dealings in (My Home, GA and Well, everything else..Fla) have some of the best kept roads of the states I've traveled in. Tenn aren't bad, and Both Carolina's keep theirs pretty maintained. Alabama however, needs to get with the program. I-20 between the GA State Line and Birmingham is pretty bad, however this is based on Travels about 3-4 years ago, so I'm not sure now, and the state highways outside of Carrollton, GA near the line are in terrible shape.

[Charleston native]

I have to say that Florida has the best maintained roads and highways in the Southeast. Georgia would be a distant second, since there are still unimproved parts of I-95 that need to be fixed as well as other interstates and roads. However, GA is pretty good in comparison to my homestate of SC, unfortunately. Did you know that SC ranks 48th in the amount of money it spends on its roads and highways? And yet, SC is considered to have the 2nd most extensive highway system in the Southeast next to TX.

[RiverwoodCLT]

I voted Texas.

I lived in Texas for 12 years and I know they have good road systems.

[codyg1985]

I-20 between the GA State Line and Birmingham is pretty bad, however this is based on Travels about 3-4 years ago, so I'm not sure now, and the state highways outside of Carrollton, GA near the line are in terrible shape.

Portions of it that have not been touched by road widening and median barrier installation (east of the Talladega Superspeedway) have the original concrete in place for the most part, and as I said for most Alabama interstates, the ride is really unpleasant. However, the entire portion of I-20 to at least Oxford is slated to be widened to six lanes, so that should provide some much needed pavement rehab for I-20. When it happens is pretty much a mystery.