What percentage of all miles of roadways in the United States are rural?

• A. 60%
• B. 80%
• C. 40%
• D. 20%

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that rural roadways make up the vast majority of all road miles in the United States. Across the country there are extensive networks of rural highways, county roads, farm-to-market routes, and other rural streets that cover a huge geographic area. Urban areas, while heavily trafficked, occupy a smaller overall footprint, so the total miles of road in cities and towns are fewer than the miles in rural areas. That’s why the option describing rural roads as the larger share is the best fit. The other choices would suggest urban roads account for most of the road miles, which isn’t how the road network is distributed.