When it comes to our roads and highways, Georgia has a lot of room for improvement.

A recent report rates 20% of Georgia's interstates in poor or worse condition, and the roads we're driving on are highly congested.

Atlanta ranks anywhere from 9th to 13th, among the most congested metro areas in the country.

The American Society of Civil Engineers, which issues "report cards" on infrastructure in each of the 50 states, has given Georgia grade of "C-" for its transportation infrastructure. Georgia grades out just ahead of the national average of "D."

Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Russell McMurry tells WSB, "When you think about poor or worse conditions, that's things where you see rough pavement, you've got potholes, you may have cracking in pavement that ultimately increase the wear and tear on your vehicle."

The report goes beyond Georgia's major highways. The condition of smaller roads and bridges also aren't up to par in many cases.

McMurry says "The C-minus is not really where you want to be. You want to strive for A in this category."

He says the DOT is in the process of making many improvements through "strategic investments." McMurry says the state has invested up to $400 million a year to get infrastructure back into the condition it needs to be, which is fair or better.

One goal for the DOT is to lessen the effects of congestion. The "Major Mobility Improvement Program" is a list of 11 projects across the state, with most of them in metro Atlanta.

It includes adding more express lanes around 285 and up 400, as well as widening some existing interstates like I-85 going northeast into Gwinnett and Jackson Counties.

Other projects on the list include replacing some very congested interchanges such as I-20 on the east side at 285 and I-20 on the west side at 285.

McMurry says "private investors will help finance those projects" to get them done sooner.

At the end of the day McMurry says "The metro Atlanta region is really taking a bold step forward" to make improvements in our transportation infrastructure, but McMurry reminds weary drivers "It takes time. None of this happens as quick as anybody would want it to, but I would say that we're definitely heading on the right track."