Los Angeles' damaged roads, congested traffic cost average driver nearly $3K per year, report finds

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Gridlock traffic and damaged roads are costing Los Angeles area drivers nearly $3,000 per year, according to a new report.

The report called, "Los Angeles Transportation by the Numbers: Meeting the Region's Need for Safe, Smooth and Efficient Mobility," was released Wednesday by Washington, D.C.-based group National Transportation Research Group (TRIP).

The group found that a single driver in the Los Angeles area pays $2,995 per year in order to deal with things like pot holes, cracked roads as well as fuel use, traffic congestion, loss of productivity and traffic crashes in which roadway features likely were a contributing factor. This amounts to $61 billion statewide.

Here's how the $2,995 average breaks down:

- Congestion: $1,774

- Vehicle operating costs: $921

- Safety $299

TRIP said that adequate investment in transportation improvements at the local, state and federal levels is needed to help relieve "traffic congestion, improve road, bridge and transit conditions, boost safety, and support long-term economic growth in California."

The group also found that more than two-thirds of major locally and state-maintained roads in California are in poor or mediocre condition, and 1,603 of 25,657 locally and state-maintained bridges (20 feet or longer) are structurally deficient.

The report also stated that the state's major urban roads are becoming increasingly congested, causing significant delays and choking commuting and commerce.

You can read the full report by TRIP here.

Last year, state lawmakers passed a 12-cent-per-gallon increase on the state gas tax, promising to fix California's roads. However, that can be repealed in November if Proposition 6 passes.