1997 Status of the Nation's Surface Transportation System, is a bi-annual report to Congress that provides information on the physical and operating characteristics of the highway, bridge and transit portions of the nation's surface transportation system. The report finds that national public road mileage has increased 1.3 percent since 1985, while highway travel has increased 36.5 percent. Congestion has increased as a result.
Highway safety continues to improve, but at a decreasing rate.
The report finds that the pavement condition of the nation's urban and rural highways has improved overall between 1993 and 1995. The percent of poor pavement on urban Interstates increased very slightly from 9.5 percent to 9.8 percent. The percentage of poor pavement on rural Interstates declined more dramatically from 6.9 percent to 5.1 percent. The report also finds that the condition of the nation's bridges has improved since 1990, with the percentage of deficient bridges on Interstate systems declining from 28.6 percent in 1990 to 24.8 percent in 1996. Deficient bridges are not necessarily unsafe, but in many cases are not built to meet current traffic demands.