"Rough Ride In The City," a study is based upon data the Federal Highway Administration requires states to collect, finds that Sacramento has the seventh worst roads among urban areas with at least 500,000 residents.

"In the case of Sacramento, 50 percent of the roads provided motorists with a rough ride. These roads are not only shaking up motorists, but are shaking up the vehicles increasing operating costs," said Frank Moretti, author of the study.

California cities don't show well in this study. Here are the worst 10 cities in the 500,000 resident category:
San Jose, Los Angeles, San Francisco – Oakland, Kansas City, San Diego, Sacramento, New Orleans (pre-Katrina) , Oklahoma City, Omaha and St. Louis.

The best roads according to the study are in Atlanta. A desirable goal for state and local governments is to maintain 75 percent of its roads in good condition, but only three of the nation's urban areas of 500,000 people or more – Atlanta, Orlando and Phoenix –
achieve this goal.

And things aren't likely to improve any time soon. Through 2022, the U.S. faces a $76 billion shortfall in the cost to maintain urban roadways in their current condition and a $138 billion shortfall in the cost to make significant improvements to urban roadways, according
to the study.

Like I said, fasten your seat belts.....

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive