A new reports shows that bad roads in Oklahoma are costing taxpayers $5 billion annually.
As News 9 reports,the study by the national transportation group TRIP finds that Oklahomans currently spend almost $2 billion dollars on fixing their cars. Another billion is spent on traffic accidents, and the state sees yet another $2 billion in lost productivity yearly, due to traffic jams and delays.
The study suggested a number of remedies, but none of them will be easy given the state’s budget gap of almost $900 billion. Oklahoma has already put a dozen state highway projects on hold due to lack of funding. Lawmakers may have to delay as many as 80 more.
Over the last year, Oklahoma has seen a six percent rise in road fatalities. In 2016, more than 680 people died on Oklahoma roadways.