Mass. Ranked 43rd In State Highway Study

BOSTON -- Normally, finishing 43rd out of 50 participants is nothing to brag about. For Massachusetts, however, that placing might not seem so disappointing in a recent study.

According to The Reason Foundation’s 17th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems, the Massachusetts highway system is not cost effective, placing 43rd among states. It is moving in the right direction though, as it rose from 49th in 2000 and 45th in 2007.

In spite of the low grade, the state has the fifth smallest highway system by area in America.

“Massachusetts has quite a large highway system budget and it is spending a lot relative to the size of the system,” Retired UNC-Charlotte Professor and the study’s lead author Dr. David Hartgen said. “The system should be in very good shape, and in some ways it is, but a black mark is the high percentage of deficient bridges. When you have these resources, you should be converting it into a high quality system.”

The study found 24.1 percent of bridges nationwide to be either structurally deficient or functionally outdated. Massachusetts eclipsed that average, with 36.16 percent of its bridges registering deficient in a 2006 report.

While it may not distribute funds at an admirable pace or boast the greatest road conditions, the state (and its drivers) seem to manage well. In the same study, Massachusetts received top honors for the nation’s safest roads.

The news may not be as dismal as it appears for the Bay State. Ongoing construction projects could improve its future national standing, according to Hartgen.

“Massachusetts has made progress with the completion of The Big Dig and its associated activities, but [the study] is not just an indication of Boston but of smaller towns and cities as well -- the Holyokes and the Springfields,” Hartgen said.

The Reason Foundation’s report includes analysis of all state-owned roads, including the Massachusetts Turnpike and state highway systems across the state.

New England states in general did not fare well in the highway performance report. Maine came in 22nd place, but no other state in the region finished higher than 35th.

Hartgen offered advice on what can be learned from the data and how states can improve their performance.

“Each state must consider its problems to be unique. They can learn by comparing their numbers to comparable states and then asking the hard questions -- ‘What are we doing that can be improved upon?’ Maintenance issues are very important to a system’s long-term upkeep,” Hartgen said.

“While the system's performance is a continuing problem, the overall perspective is moderately optimistic. Massachusetts has more resources than the average state, which should allow it to get a handle on congestion [in which it placed 25th],” Hartgen said.

North Dakota led the nation in effective road and bridge maintenance, while New Jersey has the worst performing highway system for the ninth consecutive year.

States’ effectiveness and performance is measured along 12 metrics, including traffic fatalities, bridge condition, highway maintenance costs and pavement condition.

The Reason Foundation has released cumulative studies every year since 1991 and post the findings on their Web site reason.org.