Reason Foundation - Authors > Ravi K. Karanam

17th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems (1984-2006)

dthartge@uncc.edu (David T. Hartgen) info@reason.org (Ravi K. Karanam) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 EDT

In a sign that more and more areas are being impacted by traffic jams and infrastructure problems, 35 states are now reporting that at least 40 percent of their urban interstate highways are congested, up from 31 states the previous year, according to an annual study of the nation’s highways. With urban congestion even hitting South Dakota, the list of states without any clogged interstates is down to just three: Montana, North Dakota, and Wyoming.

Drivers in California, Minnesota, and North Carolina are stuck in the nation's worst traffic - over 70 percent of urban interstate highways in those states qualified as congested. California earned the dubious honor of 'most congested' state - 83 percent of its interstates are congested, according to the 17th annual highway study by the Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank Eighteen states now report that at least half of their urban interstate highways are congested.

Overall, 50.7 percent of the nation's urban interstate highways were congested in 2006, a slight 1 percent improvement from 2005, when 51.8 percent were jammed. The statistical improvement is due, at least partly, to many states increasing the declared capacities of their highways.

Deficient bridges were thrust into the spotlight in August 2007 because of the tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse. Minnesota actually ranks 5th best in the nation, with 13 percent of its bridges deficient. Of the nearly 600,000 highway bridges in the country, 24.1 percent were reported deficient and/or functionally obsolete in 2006, a minor improvement from 2005 when 25.5 were deemed deficient. At the current rate of repair it will take 62 years for today's deficient bridges to be brought up to date.

16th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems (1984-2005)

dthartge@uncc.edu (David T. Hartgen) info@reason.org (Ravi K. Karanam) — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 18:00:00 EDT

Nearly 52 percent of U.S. urban Interstates are now congested and traffic fatality rates rose slightly, but road surface conditions and bridge conditions improved according to the Reason Foundation’s latest annual highway performance report.

"Gridlock isn't going away," said David T. Hartgen, Ph.D., the study's lead author. 'States are going to have to prioritize and direct their transportation money to projects specifically designed to reduce congestion if we are going to reverse this troubling trend."

Drivers in California, Minnesota, New Jersey and North Carolina are stuck in the worst traffic, with over 70 percent of urban Interstates in those states qualifying as congested.

The Reason Foundation study measures the performance of state-owned roads and highways from 1984 to 2005 in 12 different categories, including traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance and administrative costs, to determine each state’s ranking and cost-effectiveness.

The report finds that fatality rates vary significantly from state to state. Massachusetts reported the lowest fatality rate - 0.79 deaths per 100 million vehicle miles traveled. Meanwhile, Montana's roads were the deadliest, with 2.256 fatalities per 100 million vehicle miles. The national average was 1.453 fatalities, up slightly from 1.440 in 2004.

The study does find some good news for drivers. The percentage of roads in "poor condition" fell sharply for both interstate highways and major rural roads. Since 1998, the percentage of poor urban interstate mileage has been reduced by 31 percent. The number of bridges deemed deficient, meaning they are eligible for federal repair dollars, also fell slightly in 2005.

In the overall rankings, North Dakota and South Carolina took the top spots for the second consecutive year. Meanwhile, New Jersey's gridlocked highways, poor pavement conditions and high repair costs put the state last in overall cost-effectiveness for the eighth consecutive year.

15th Annual Report Performance of State Highway Systems (1984-2004)

dthartge@uncc.edu (David T. Hartgen) info@reason.org (Ravi K. Karanam) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 00:00:00 EDT

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