Poor, Congested Roads Cost NYS $40.3B;
Annual Price Tag for NYC Drivers is $3,755.
NEW YORK—The case being made by transportation leaders and public advocates for significantly increasing highway and bridge capital funding this year by New York State was dramatically reinforced by new hard and unsettling data from the Washington, DC-based national transportation non-profit TRIP.
Roads and bridges that are deteriorated, congested or beg for certain safety features cost New York State motorists a total of $40.3 billion statewide annually. This translates to approximately $3,755. per driver in some urban areas, measured by higher vehicle operating costs, traffic crashes and congestion-related delays, according to a series of new reports released by TRIP late last month.
A lack of adequate investment in transportation and increasing inflation in construction costs could hamper New York’s ability to make needed improvements to its transportation network, the report stated.
The TRIP report, “New York Transportation by the Numbers: Providing a Modern, Sustainable Transportation System in the Empire State,” found that throughout New York, nearly half of major locally and state-maintained roads are in poor or mediocre condition, 10% of locally and state-maintained bridges (20 feet or more in length) are rated poor/structurally deficient, traffic congestion is choking commuting and commerce, and the state’s traffic fatality rate has increased significantly since 2019. As part of the TRIP report released Jan. 29 were details of two major markets downstate, New York City metro and Mid-Hudson regions.
Driving on New York roads that are deteriorated, congested and that lack some desirable safety features costs New York drivers a total of $40.3 billion each year—Translating to as much as $3,755. per driver in some areas. TRIP has calculated the cost to the average motorist in the state’s largest urban areas in the form of additional vehicle operating costs (VOC) as a result of driving on rough roads, the cost of lost time and wasted fuel due to congestion, and the financial cost of traffic crashes. The statewide cost to drivers has increased 44% since 2022, when it totaled $28 billion.
Due to a lack of funding, 45% of major state and locally owned roads in New York are in poor or mediocre condition. Driving on rough roads costs the average New York driver $718 annually in extra vehicle operating costs—a total of $8.8 million statewide. Extra vehicle operating costs include accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional repair costs, increased fuel consumption and tire wear.
“New York’s transportation dollars are already being stretched thin by increased inflation in construction costs, and declining capital investments in the state and local transportation networks will make it harder to complete needed improvements,” said Dave Kearby, TRIP’s executive director. “It will be critical that the state adequately invest in its transportation network in order to provide a system that is smooth, safe and efficient.”
Meanwhile, nearly half of locally-state maintained roads in Mid-Hudson region are in poor or mediocre condition, and the cost is significant. Driving on roads in the Mid-Hudson region (Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area) costs the average driver $2,156 per year in the form of extra vehicle operating costs as a result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and the costs of traffic crashes in which the lack of adequate roadway safety features, while not the primary factor, likely were a contributing factor.
By John Jordan, with TRIP data.
For the full TRIP Report, see the February 2026 editon of CONSTRUCTION NEWS, www.cicnys.org
Published:
February 3, 2026
