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Officials warn rising costs could leave nearly half of state roads in poor condition within a decade
Summary
AOT modeling presented to the Senate Transportation Committee shows that, under a $103 million annual paving program and current forecasts, pavement conditions could decline sharply by 2035 as construction costs outpace revenue; the agency urged prioritization and a town‑level study to clarify local impacts.
Jeremy Mead, the agency’s chief engineer, told the Senate Transportation Committee that construction costs have climbed sharply and that AOT’s modeling shows pavement conditions could fall substantially if funding and buying power don’t change.
“It's three times more expensive to do a project in 2025 than it was in 2003,” Mead said as he summarized the Federal Highway Administration’s National Highway Construction Cost Index and AOT simulations. Using a FY26 paving program set at $103,000,000, Mead said the models project a marked deterioration of the network over the…
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