According to UDSOT, the backlog breaks down to $97 billion for rural road and highway rehabilitation, $53 billion for needed rural bridge rehabilitation, and $48 billion for needed rural roadway expansions and enhancements.

The U.S. Census Bureau defines rural areas as regions outside of urban areas with a population of 2,500 or more. About 20% of the U.S. population lives in these areas.

A key concern for poor rural roads is their high rate of fatalities, which in 2022 was nearly double the rate on all other roads – 2.01 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles versus 1.12.

Nationwide, there were 15,121 fatalities on rural roads in 2022.