States Ranked on Quality of Road Infrastructure

12/17/2009

When it comes to reducing auto accidents and controlling insurance prices, states have a certain level of responsibility to keep roads in compliance with basic maintenance standards.

With that in mind, the Reason Foundation recently ranked all 50 states by the quality of their roads and the efficiency of their infrastructure investments, weighing factors like traffic congestion and the current quality of their bridges. Nationwide, 25 percent of all bridges are said to be deficient or obsolete, while more than half of all state-run roads were said to suffer from traffic congestion.

"Urban interstate conditions are worsening again. And real progress in reducing urban congestion has slowed to a crawl," noted David Hartgen of the Reason Foundation.

The report said that North Dakota, New Mexico and Kansas had the best-performing road systems, while Alaska, Rhode Island and California were at the bottom of the list. Other populous states, such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York, were also very close to the bottom of the rankings.

Also cited in the report was rising administrative costs and their potential threat to the safety of motorists. According to the Reason Foundation, administrative costs have risen about 13 percent in 2007, meaning that $8 billion in highway funds never actually ended up going to infrastructure improvements.

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