If you feel like some roads here in the Texas panhandle are bad, when it comes to the entire state, you are not alone. While I think our officials have the best of intent when they try to fix what is wrong, I don't believe that they go about the best plan for the residents they serve. Statistics from the Federal Highway Administration and through a study on CoPilotSearch.com, show that 21.3% of all major urban roads across Texas are in poor shape. With that being the case in major urban areas, you can imagine that the number maybe much higher when you take the entire state into consideration.

A year or so ago, I expressed my frustration with the paving that was happening along Soncy and the method the contractors were using. They ended up resurfacing the road with a tar and chip type material. If you are not family with this, it is like laying down a thin layer of stone and then gluing it to the roadway. I know that is not the most scientific way to explain it, but you get the idea. The problem with that method is that some tar can come off and get on your vehicle and the stones become easily loosened. I ended up having to have my car professionally cleaned to remove the tar and have numerous chips and cracks from stones being kicked up along that route. Right now, I am seeing on social media that the same practice is being used along the section of Soncy from Hollywood down towards Canyon.

The Federal Highway Administration has also released a limited set of data for the Amarillo area. In their report, they say that 5.6% of major roads in the area are in poor shape. 2.9% of highways and 6.9% of arterial are also marked as in poor shape around Amarillo. When ranking major cities across the country, Dallas / Fort Worth / Arlington ranks #12 with the worst roads in the country.

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