HIGHWAYS: Deep Ruts

Men with more than a passing interest in U.S. highways got together last week at an American Road Builders Association convention in Boston and an American Automobile Association highway conference in Washington. At both places they worried over some deeply rutted statistics. Items:

¶ The 664,000 miles in the U.S.'s federal-aid highway system need $32 billion worth of repair and improvement.

¶ Just to stay even, 40,000 of the 664,000 miles should be worked over each year. Last year's total rehabilitation: 20,000 miles.

¶ Most of the key 40,000-mile system connecting major cities is worn out.

¶ Of the 12,000 bridges in the national system, only 4,000 are designed to carry the heavy loads that roll across the highways. Engineers are continually amazed that the others continue to hold up.