-Horatio_Alger_Jr- t1_j1aaaw7 wrote on December 22, 2022 at 8:41 PM

Reply to comment by Clollin in Are suburbs in Massachusetts dying? / Low investment in suburbs by Clollin

>But most of the US that I've seen has much better roads and sidewalks.

Yet we pay the second highest rate for road work in the country (140k a mile).

Clollin OP t1_j1bq2u2 wrote on December 23, 2022 at 3:01 AM

I believe that's due to higher labor wages. Which are probably a good thing. But may also be one of the reasons the roads can't get repaved.

-Horatio_Alger_Jr- t1_j1cww2q wrote on December 23, 2022 at 10:53 AM

There was a study done that I read earlier this year that showed that we do have higher than nation average wages, but it wasn't that much higher than the national average. One of the states (in the Midwest I think) pay around 20k a mile and have wages sitting 7-17% higher than the national average.

The 3 highest cost per mile states are NJ at 200k, MA at 145k, and HI at 86k (i think that was the number).

I will have to look for the article again (I will link it to you if I have time to find it), but worker labor costs are not the reason our roads cost so much to maintain.