The US Chamber of Commerce Foundation and Pittsburgh-based tech startup RoadBotics today released a new study that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to assess road conditions in 20 of the country’s major metropolitan areas. As millions of Americans prepare to return to downtown offices and business districts since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the study ranked the cities where commuters have fewer problems and where headaches may be worst. Phoenix streets joined Detroit for the worst of the areas surveyed on Jan.
“Stronger road systems bring people to jobs, connect companies to markets, and serve major business arteries,” said Michael Carney, senior vice president of emerging issues at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “This innovative look at America’s roads underscores the urgent need to improve infrastructure in some of the country’s most dynamic metropolitan areas and why it is important to keep our roads in good condition as the economy picks up.”
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The study evaluated 120 kilometers of streets in 20 cities, which were selected to represent a cross-section of the main metropolitan areas. Philadelphia’s streets performed best in terms of road infrastructure, followed by Jacksonville, Florida, and New York City. Other populous and overcrowded cities like Washington and Los Angeles ranked 10th and 17th, respectively. Sprawling Houston took 13th place.
Here is an interactive map that analyzes each city.
According to TRIP, a national nonprofit transportation research organization, driving on roads in need of repair costs each driver about $ 600 a year, and the longer we put off infrastructure investments the longer we get the bill for repairing the country’s roads. The challenge in monitoring the health of the infrastructure is twofold. Road networks are massive and require countless hours for people to physically observe and assess conditions.
For the 20-city survey, RoadBotics collected visual data from smartphone cameras mounted on vehicle windshields and used AI to analyze it. The collected videos of the roadway identified surface damage such as potholes and cracks and repeated this analysis for the next section until a high-resolution map of a pattern of the road system was created. The practice not only speeds up the road assessment process, it also provides actionable data that can be used to make other infrastructure decisions.
“The great thing about objective, visual results is that you know what you have and what condition it is in, so you can create a digital twin of your road infrastructure. You can start planning short term repairs, new builds or long term maintenance, ”said Benjamin Schmidt, Co-Founder and CEO of RoadBotics.
Here’s what researchers said about Phoenix: “Phoenix is by far the largest city in Arizona with 1.6 million residents in 2019 and 4.7 million residents from MSA. It also has a moderate sales growth rate of 5.7% with city sales of just under $ 2.6 billion in 2019, resulting in average sales per capita of $ 520. The evaluation of 75 road miles in Phoenix resulted in a score of 2.57, equivalent to 19th place with Detroit. “
As America prepares for one of its largest infrastructure investments to date, private sector technology-enabled innovations can play a key role in meeting our critical needs while avoiding wasteful spending by providing government agencies with better management of transportation personnel, road improvement projects, and the overall cost of valuation.
This study complements the growing body of research showing the critical relationship between infrastructure investment and economic health. The ability to move goods and services safely and efficiently has a direct impact on America’s growth and competitiveness. Poorly maintained roads threaten our nation’s business world, which is already badly hit by pandemic losses. When Americans return to offices and city centers and businesses enter a new phase of recovery, one thing is clear: infrastructure investments have never been more important.
To see the full report and 20 city ranking, visit this link.
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