Country and Local Roads

Country and Local Roads:

            In the 2800 countries of the United States there are 2.3 million mi of rural roads, not in the state highway systems. A relatively small portion of this mileage is in the federal-aid secondary system. These are commonly classified as local rural roads. Not all of them are administered at the country level, for there are some 15,000 rural towns, townships, and other jurisdictions that have distinct and separate road systems.

            Although these local rural road systems constitute 71% of the nation’s road mileage, the vehicle-miles accumulated on them are less than 20% of the total. Their function is largely that of land service, and average daily traffic is about 150 vehicles per day. Improvements are often of a low order; 75% have only soil, gravel, slag, or stone surfacing. Land-use studies by highway planning surveys have revealed that many countries have mileage in excess of that needed for proper land service and that money is wasted in maintaining these roads.

City Streets:

            As noted, some important city streets have been incorporated into the federal-aid or state highway systems. There remains 490,000 mi of streets and alleys in 16,000 urban communities that are under local control. Some serve primarily as arteries for local traffic and others mainly provide access to property.