Rhode Island has had the worst state roads in the country for at least a decade, even as the R.I. Department of Transportation’s budget has doubled to over $1 billion, a Target 12 investigation has found.

Target 12 reviewed 10 years of mandatory reports on road conditions that RIDOT submitted to the Federal Highway Administration. The data shows 32% of Rhode Island’s state roads were classified as in poor condition as of 2024, the most recent year available, using a standard measurement called the International Roughness Index (IRI).

Rhode Island ranked dead last among all 50 states, the analysis found. In second-worst California, only 27% of state roads were in poor condition. Massachusetts ranked third-worst, at 25%. Connecticut’s state roads were in far better shape, at just 11% poor — close to the 8% national average.

The situation is nothing new for Rhode Island. Target 12’s analysis shows the state had already been in last place 10 years before, in 2014, when 35% of state roads were in poor condition. The state was last in 2019, as well, when the share of poor roads rose to 37%.

See more at wpri.com.