LOS ANGELES, Calif — Virginia, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Ohio have the best-performing, most cost-effective roads and bridge systems, according to Reason Foundation’s 29th Annual Highway Report.
Alaska, California, Washington, New York and Louisiana have the worst-performing and least cost-effective highway systems, the study published today finds.
“Four of the top five states overall, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and Ohio, rank among the 15 most populous states in the country, showing that big states with large and busy road networks can make progress and maintain good quality, cost-effective road networks,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the report.
Who is on the Bottom
Alaska ranked last overall for the second consecutive report, posting the worst rural fatality rate in the nation. California ranked 49th, with the worst urban arterial pavement condition. Washington finished 48th overall in cost-effectiveness while ranking as the highest-spending state in multiple categories.
Biggest Improvement, Biggest Drop
Massachusetts recorded the largest improvement in the nation, rising 23 spots from 40th to 17th. Arizona went in the opposite direction, falling 12 spots, from 29th to 41st, after significant declines in urban interstate and rural arterial pavement quality.
29th Annual Highway Report Performance and Cost-Effectiveness Rankings
1. Virginia
2. Georgia
3. South Carolina
4. North Carolina
5. Ohio
6. North Dakota
7. Connecticut
8. Alabama
9. Missouri
10. Utah
11. Minnesota
12. Tennessee
13. New Hampshire
14. Florida
15. Kentucky
16. Maine
17. Massachusetts
18. Indiana
19. Kansas
20. Wyoming
21. Arkansas
22. Montana
23. Michigan
24. Mississippi
25. Nevada
26. Idaho
27. Texas
28. South Dakota
29. Nebraska
30. West Virginia
31. Wisconsin
32. Delaware
33. Oregon
34. Maryland
35. Iowa
36. Pennsylvania
37. Illinois
38. Vermont
39. New Mexico
40. New Jersey
41. Arizona
42. Colorado
43. Rhode Island
44. Hawaii
45. Oklahoma
46. Louisiana
47. New York
48. Washington
49. California
50. Alaska
Traffic Fatalities
Twenty-five states recorded urban fatality rates at or above 1.0 per 100 million vehicle-miles. The states with the highest urban fatality rates were New Mexico, Wyoming, Mississippi, Tennessee and Florida. Maryland posted the nation’s lowest rural fatality rate, Alaska the highest.
Pavement Conditions
Urban interstate pavement conditions improved slightly nationwide. Hawaii and Louisiana ranked at the bottom, each reporting more than 13% of their urban interstate pavement in poor condition, followed by California (10%) and New York (9%).
Several states are failing to maintain urban arterial roads. California, Nebraska, Rhode Island and New York collectively account for nearly 40% of all urban arterial mileage rated poor nationwide, with California reporting 32.35% of its urban arterial mileage in poor condition.
Connecticut, Florida and Maine reported the best rural interstate pavement quality. Meanwhile, Alaska, California, Colorado and Arizona, account for 44% of all poor-condition rural interstate mileage despite having only about 12.5% of total rural interstate mileage.
Structurally Deficient Bridges
More than 42,000 of the nation’s 618,923 highway bridges, nearly 7%, are still structurally deficient. Arizona, Nevada and Texas reported the lowest percentages of deficient bridges.
Nine states have more than 10% of bridges rated structurally deficient: West Virginia, Iowa, South Dakota, Rhode Island, Maine, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Michigan and North Dakota.
Traffic Congestion
Commuters in New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York lose more than 60 hours a year to traffic jams, the worst in the nation. Drivers in Delaware, California, Georgia, Illinois and Maryland also lost over 40 hours to traffic congestion.
The 29th Annual Highway Report evaluates roads and bridges in all 50 states in 13 categories, including traffic fatalities, urban and rural Interstate pavement condition, traffic congestion, bridge conditions and spending. The report is primarily based on data states reported to the federal government for 2023, the most recent year for which complete data are available.
The full 29th Annual Highway Report is available here.
Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in multiple newspapers, books and magazines across the globe. She is currently based in the Atlanta, Georgia, area.
