Andrew Gimpel

The poor quality of Pennsylvanian roads frequently places the commonwealth on lists of “Worst States to Drive In.” Construction Coverage, a company that provides support to builders, places Pennsylvania at number 15 on its list of U.S. states with the worst roads in 2023. U.S. News and World Report ranked Pennsylvania 41 out of 50 states for road quality. In April 2024, Pennsylvania ranked 40th on Autoblog’s list of the nation’s best roads.  

Every driver has an acquired pet peeve. For some, it’s finding the road they regularly use to commute to work is suddenly being repaved, forcing them to find a shortcut. For others, it’s the endless dodging of three-foot-wide potholes after the snowing season. For still others, it’s making a dangerous turn on a curved slope that renders upcoming vehicles nearly invisible until the last fatal second. These pains are felt by Abington commuters, who have to pass through the busiest neighborhoods to get to college. Why, exactly, is this the case? Is there any discernible reason why Pennsylvania is burdened by unreliable highways and byways?

According to a spokesperson for PEnnDOT, as quoted in The Daily American, the simplest explanation is because of Pennsylvania’s climate and geography. Pennsylvania is a northern state of steep hills and crevices. At times of cold, wet weather, it’s common for rainwater to flow downhill and pool around the bottoms of inclines, which seep into cracks to erode them. At even lower temperatures, the water can freeze and put pressure on solid material, creating potholes. The state government spends up to $10 billion in road repair and restructuring, to varied success. 

In the end, Pennsylvania’s road problems are not easily rectified. Citizens can’t simply move the state’s physical location. It simply becomes a matter of tolerating nature’s mercurial moods and hoping that it will be more merciful this season.