Here's How The Pennsylvania Highway System Ranks In The Nation

The 2019 Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report presented a troubling finding for the condition of America’s highway system — our freeways are deteriorating, and bridges, Interstates pavement, and roads are in much need of repair. Pennsylvania was below average compared to the rest of the nation, placing 35th overall in the study.

The report was based on data that states submitted to the federal government, which ranks each state’s highway system in 14 categories, including total spending per mile, urban fatality rate on the road, and congestion.

Pennsylvania also ranked 39th in total disbursements per mile, 38th in capital and bridge disbursements per mile, and 34th in maintenance disbursements per mile. The state's best ranking was 20th in the rural fatalities category, while the worst ranking was 46th for structurally deficient bridges.

North Dakota took home the top overall spot on the list for the second year in a row, whereas New Jersey ranked the 50th overall highway system in the United State. Virginia had the biggest improvement overall from last year, as it jumped 25 spots from its previous 27th ranking, all the way into second place.

Here’s how Pennsylvania did across several other metrics:

• Administrative Disbursements Per Mile: 28th
• Rural Interstate Pavement Condition: 32nd
• Urban Interstate Pavement Condition: 32nd
• Rural Arterial Pavement Condition: 41st
• Urban Arterial Pavement Condition: 31st
• Urbanized Area Congestion: 35th
• Overall Fatality Rate: 25th
• Urban Fatality Rate: 28th

The state actually improved six places from overall last year, when it placed 41st.

“To improve in the rankings, Pennsylvania needs to reduce its percentage of structurally deficient bridges and improve its rural arterial pavement condition. Pennsylvania is in the bottom 10 for structurally deficient bridges and rural arterial pavement condition," Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the Annual Highway Report and assistant director of transportation at Reason Foundation, notes in the report.

Here are the top ten overall states in highway performance and cost-effectiveness:

1. North Dakota
2. Virginia
3. Missouri
4. Maine
5. Kentucky
6. Kansas
7. Tennessee
8. Montana
9. Utah
10. Alabama

With every ranking that includes a top ten, there’s also a bottom 10 — here are the ten worst highway systems by state:

40. Florida
41. Oklahoma
42. Delaware
43. California
44. Connecticut
45. New York
46. Massachusetts
47. Hawaii
48. Rhode Island
49. Alaska
50. New Jersey