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ARTBA website reports on transportation impact in Idaho

ARTBA's Idaho profile (includes local systems):

Scope and condition of roads and bridges
According to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Idaho has 47,790 miles of roadway. Of the state’s 11,015 miles of roadway eligible for federal aid, 30.0 percent are rated “not acceptable” and need major repairs or replacement. This compares to 30.1 percent of roads in 2007.

Idaho also has 4,100 bridges. FHWA reports 19.2 percent of the state’s bridges are either “structurally deficient” (367 bridges) or “functionally obsolete” (420 bridges). It will cost an estimated $1.6 billion to make needed bridge repairs on 1,416 structures in the state.

Road safety
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports there were 218 fatal motor vehicle crashes, resulting in 252 fatalities in Idaho during 2008. Of these, 80.2 percent of fatalities occurred on rural roads, 37.6 percent on the National Highway System. Motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death and also permanently disabling injuries for young Americans younger than 21.

Commuting patterns
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average commute one-way to work in Idaho is 19.4 minutes. there, 76.4% drive alone, 0.8 percent take public transportation; 5.3 percent work at home.

Economic Impact of Transportation Construction in Idaho
Analysis of the latest U.S. Census Bureau data shows the design, construction and maintenance of transportation infrastructure supports the equivalent of 17,582 full-time jobs in Idaho. These employees earn a total annual payroll of $705.5 million and contribute an estimated $57.7 million in state and federal payroll tax revenue.

This employment includes the equivalent of 8,759 full-time jobs directly involved in transportation infrastructure construction and related activities and 8,823 that are sustained by transportation design and construction industry employee and company spending throughout the region’s economy.

Additionally, the existence of more than 402,858 full-time jobs in Idaho in key industries like tourism, retail sales, agriculture and manufacturing are dependent on the state’s transportation infrastructure network. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are at least 12,001 firms in Idaho that are in some way directly involved in transportation construction related work.