Just How Bad Are Arkansas Roads? The Answer May Surprise You

How bad are the roads in Arkansas? You will be surprised at the ranking that Arkansas has with the number of potholes in the Natural state's roads.

We drive to work and school every day and we have seen them, the potholes in almost every road. But just how bad are the roads in Arkansas? There is actually a site that tracks the number of potholes in every state and Arkansas actually ranks very well.

The website stacker has a complete list of all 50 states and the number of complaints they receive from potholes on the roads. Potholes are a costly expense to all drivers.

A January 2022 summary report from national transportation research nonprofit TRIP found that 40% of U.S. roadways—encompassing highways, arterials, and local roads—are in poor or mediocre condition, and the result of this is an average cost to the single driver of $621 per year for vehicle repair and maintenance.

That is some pretty staggering information that almost half of the United States roadways are in that horrible of a condition. But when I think about all of the roads I travel every day it seems about right. I especially try to stay out of the right lane on Jefferson from Arkansas Blvd. to the interstate. That lane is horrible and it is not all potholes. It is the nasty lumps and bumps that make any car want to get back into the left lane.

So Arkansas ranks pretty low on the ratings of this website. It is ranked 44th out of 50 states in terms of the number of potholes with 1.4 complaints per 1000 km. Coming in at 50 is Idaho with less than one pothole complaint per 100 kilometers or 621 miles. Who was first? Rhode Island took the top spot with 23.4 pothole complaints. Texas comes in 21st with 5.8 complaints of potholes per 1000 km.

Can you believe that Arkansas did so well in this study?