Cars drove through cities with smartphones taped to their windshields.

As workers across the country prepare to return to offices, the U.S. Chamber Of Commerce Foundation, in a new AI-powered study titled AI For Infrastructure, ranks the cities where drivers may encounter fewer problems—and notes the places where headaches may be the worst. Philadelphia led the rankings. (Philly Voice).

Philly roads the best

For the study, analysts from RoadBotics, Pittsburgh, identified major US cities and drove about 75 miles through each with smartphones mounted on the windshields of their cars.

The cameras of the phones captured videos of the road and pavement as the car passed over them. These video images were artificial intelligence trained to detect surface faults such as cracks, potholes and other problems.

“The detailed rankings, outlined later in this report, shine a light on the connection between infrastructure investments and economic health—and warn of the long-term impacts that poorly maintained roads and long commutes have on the country’s business community, already hard hit by pandemic losses and worker shortages,” said the report from the Chamber of Commerce.

In Philly, as in other cities, the cars’ routes were chosen with a focus on downtown areas. Therefore, the measures of road quality may not “reflect the entirety of any city.”

The report said: “Philadelphia’s transportation infrastructure is critical to the movement of people and goods in the mid-Atlantic region. The analysis of 71 road miles in Philadelphia scored the highest of all cities in our analysis with an overall score of 1.74, indicating the well-maintained street surfaces. This score may be attributed to a high average revenue per capita value of $1,145.”

The rankings of the 20-city survey:

1) Philadelphia

2) Jacksonville

3) New York City, Denver

5) Nashville

6) San Francisco

7) Chicago

8) Charlotte

9) San Antonio

10) Washington DC, Boston

12) Minneapolis

13) Houston

14) Seattle, Columbus

16) St Paul

17) Los Angeles, Oklahoma City

19) Phoenix, Detroit

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