During the early Reagan years, the highway administration rescinded the rule.

The highway administration, however, insists that it has said no such thing.

But an agency spokesman said the highway administration had "made no internal estimates on the number of lives saved by Operation Lifesaver."

The highway administration, some safety experts say, lacks the resources to enforce the regulations.

An official of the local highway administration said that the situation would have been even more worse if the highways were not blocked.

Andrea Ferster, the lawyer for the plaintiffs, said the highway administration would have to consider other designs.

Neither the highway administration nor the state transportation department would comment on the judge's decision.

Nationwide, the highway administration estimates that 57.3 percent of 1.07 million miles of primary and secondary roads are deficient.

Nationally, the highway administration said, 39.1 percent of the more than half a million highway bridges were below standard.

The average household is making 47 trips to doctors and dentists each year, up from 18 in 1990, according to the highway administration's surveys.