According to TRIP, a national transportation research organization, in 2014, 49 percent of our major roads and highways are in mediocre condition (Hernandez). In just two years, our city went from having 27 percent, an already significant number, to nearly half of our roads in mediocre condition - ridiculous (Schmitt)! It doesn’t make sense for such a colossal and prosperous city to have anything other than great roadways when the resources are there to be utilized. I personally drive to and from Houston daily experiencing these mediocre conditions, which affect how I drive, when I drive and what to expect from not only the roads but other drivers. …show more content…
The stressful financial burden placed on drivers stands on a mighty pedestal of $1850 yearly, which will certainly make even Bill Gates cringe (Hernandez). My fraternity brothers alone have spent well into their pockets with costly body repairs from unintended consequences that lurk while driving on the Houston roads; some events being thousands of dollars in repairs! As if that number weren’t enough, TRIP estimates that a $9.9B is necessary to maintain all Texas roads while only $2.6B is diverted from the budget for such maintenance. It doesn’t look great for us drivers, but there may be hope. In November 2014, the Texas Transportation Funding Amendment was passed which will allocate an additional $1.2B to the road maintenance and repair aspect of the state budget ("Texas