Highways From Hell: N.J. Ranks No. 1

Sept. 5, 2009— -- A new report on U.S. highways, released just as families across the country hit the road for Labor Day weekend, found that the nation's highways and bridges are in rough shape, with New Jersey having the worst roads.

For motorists living in a state with poor roads that means more travel delays, higher driving costs and a greater risk of being injured.

"It can amount to several hundreds of dollars a year in additional costs when you're driving on bad roads," said David Goldberg, a spokesperson for Transportation for America, the Washington, D.C., group that focuses on state-by-state transportation statistics.

"There is heightened elements of danger in places where you might encounter a place in the road that can cause an accident," said Goldberg.

Transportation for America analyzed data compiled by the Federal Highway Administration to compare how roads in each state stack up for quality.

The poorest road conditions "happen to be in our biggest metro areas, and the highest-traveled ones are probably the ones that are the farthest behind in their maintenance," said Goldberg.

An average of 5.8 percent of the nation's roads are in poor condition, the group found.

"If you look at why roads deteriorate it's heavy travel, volume of use, and also a variety of weather conditions," said Frank Moretti, who studies road conditions as Director of Policy and Research for the Washington, D. C. based non-profit, The Road Information Program. Here's a look at states with the worst conditions in the nation.

New Jersey

"In New Jersey we are the most congested state in the nation and have some of the busiest roads," said David Weinstein, a spokesperson for the Mid-Atlantic AAA.

New Jersey also has the worst roads in the nation, with 28.2 percent of the state's roads categorized as being in poor condition. Heavy traffic and harsh winters have damaged many of New Jersey's local roads. The state's toll roads ranked better than the streets that connect local communities.