Hawaii has worst roads in USA

Which states have the worst roads?

We chose the states with the worst roads based on the roughness of the pavement and highway maintenance and safety budgets. Scroll down to check out the full ranked list and see where your state lands.

1. Hawaii

Hawaii received a D-plus on the most recent Infrastructure Report Card from the American Society of Civil Engineers (released in 2019). More than a quarter of Hawaii’s urban roads come in at more than 170 inches per mile on the International Roughness Index (IRI), a measure of how much a vehicle vibrates based on the roughness of the road and how the wheel hits it. (Roads with an IRI at or above 170 inches per mile are considered in poor condition.)

Other Americans have come to know these rough spots in the pavement well — in 2022, Hawaii saw more than 70 million visitors from other states bumping along the islands’ twisty roads in buses and rental cars.

According to TRIP, a nonprofit that researches surface transportation, 69% of Hawaii’s major roads are in “poor or mediocre” condition, and its drivers spend an average of $818 per person — $772 million total — a year on wear, additional fuel and repairs caused by driving on deteriorated roads.

What do Hawaiians say about their roads?

One of our respondents from Wai`anae, on Oahu, said many of the town’s roads “are in need of repair,” and a driver in Ewa Beach, in Honolulu, mentioned one road in particular “where the asphalt forms mounds around the manhole covers that jar the vehicle terribly.”

FULL REPORT