As summer travel begins all over the tri-state many will be hitting the road. For people visiting, what roads have bad potholes we should warn them about? As we discuss Owensboro roads, how do Kentucky roads rank overall with other states? We found some interesting answers.

Harsh Winter Creates High Number Of Potholes On New York City's Roads
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When I drive down South Frederica Street, I feel like I'm back in Michigan. Each year Michigan roads are ranked in the Top 10 for having the worst road conditions in the country. As soon as you cross the Indiana/Michigan border the fun begins. I use the word "fun" loosely, but it does feel like a carnival ride. It comes as a surprise since Michigan is a state known for tourism. In their defense, they endure hard winters with constant freezing and thawing. This affects the roads in a big way, but enough about Michigan roads, now let's talk about Kentucky roads.

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How Do Kentucky Roads Rank?

As Michigan roads rank at the bottom, Kentucky roads rank toward the top. According to a report from the Reason Foundation, Kentucky ranks 4th in the nation for many reasons. Kentucky ranks in the top 30 of all states in 11 of the 13 categories.

Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report measures the condition and cost-effectiveness of state-controlled highways in 13 categories, including pavement condition, traffic congestion, structurally deficient bridges, traffic fatalities, and spending (capital, maintenance, administrative, total) per mile.

Year after year, Kentucky ranks at the top.

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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How Dangerous are Roads in Kentucky?

In the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report, Kentucky ranks 47th in the overall fatality rate. I wanted to find out why and ran across a great report from 1-800-Injured that explains more. This study ranks Kentucky 6th worst for having the most dangerous roads in the country.

In the report, the company compared many key factors.  One of the best ways to determine how dangerous a state’s roads are is to look at the number of fatalities seen as a result of vehicle-related accidents. However, as states vary in terms of population, vehicle miles traveled, and the number of drivers, a simple death toll can be misleading. Therefore, we went and calculated the road fatality rates for the aforementioned factors and combined them into a single Road Danger Rating. We then address each individual fatality rate in the subsequent tables.

According to the research, the Commonwealth of Kentucky has 17.31 fatalities per 100,000 people, and 26.84 fatalities per 100,000 drivers. The state has 1.68 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles traveled per the report.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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What are the Worst Roads in Owensboro?

Have you noticed more potholes than normal in Owensboro lately?  Potholes are hard on your vehicle's tires, they can damage your rims, and can mess with the alignment. They're a real hazard to everyone on the road. It also gets expensive to repair your vehicle from the damage they cause, making potholes just so frustrating. I know city road crews are doing their best to "patch potholes". I'm sure it's a big job to keep up with. If you see dangerous potholes you can report those to City Action at 270-687-4444 or by e-mail at cityaction@owensboro.org.

What roads would you report because of potholes? Which road is the worst in Owensboro?

Almost need a 4wd to navigate south Frederica. - Wesley Gaynor

Pleasant valley before the last curve to Reid road. There's a dip in the road that's gonna tear up someone's car. - William Bradley Early

South Frederica is No 1. - Vicki Mattingly Howard

See the Must-Drive Roads in Every State

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