I’ve driven through many developing countries, but Chile(which is pretty well fully developed now) has toll roads, and they are great, even up into the Andes. Other ODEC countries with tolls have good and bad roads, France has private tolls, but nice roads with 130/140 KPH roads. Germany, no tolls, amazing roads, many unrestricted parts. Japan’s roads are great, but their public transit is also amazing. I think it comes down to priorities, greed, corruption levels, and driver care. If the driving public is kind, drives safely, no over weight trucks, and the government works for the ppl, you’ll get nice roads. RI and the USA in general are not the best drivers, the politicians don’t prioritize road safety, smoothness. We also don’t have much gas tax in RI compared to most countries, which lowers the amount in the pot.