Policy Study

State-Controlled Miles — 23rd Annual Highway Report

State-controlled mileage includes the state highway systems, state-agency toll roads, some ferry services, and smaller systems serving universities and state-owned properties. It includes the Interstate System, the National Highway System, and most federal aid system roads. Nationwide in 2015, about 814,154 miles were under state control (Table 5, State-Controlled Highway Mileage), about 870 miles fewer than in 2013 (815,024), the last time this assessment was completed. Small annual changes in state-controlled miles are to be expected, as state systems are expanded to meet increasing needs, but sometimes jurisdictions assume responsibility for mileage previously under state control. The smallest state-owned road systems continue to be Hawaii (1,012 miles) and Rhode Island (1,158 miles); the largest are Texas (80,794 miles) and North Carolina (80,597 miles).

State-Controlled Highway Mileage
2015 RankState Mileage
1Texas80,794
2North Carolina80,597
3Virginia58,687
4South Carolina41,554
5Pennsylvania41,105
6West Virginia34,685
7Missouri33,983
8Kentucky28,197
9Ohio20,363
10Georgia18,070
11Illinois16,777
12Louisiana16,723
13New York16,527
14Arkansas16,423
15California16,192
16Washington15,431
17Tennessee14,276
18Minnesota13,525
19Oklahoma 13,358
20Florida12,203
21New Mexico12,130
22Indiana 11,770
23Wisconsin11,746
24Mississippi11,539
25Montana**11,352
26Alabama11,089
27Kansas10,530
28Nebraska10,062
29Colorado9,914
30Michigan9,752
31Iowa9,499
32South Dakota9,439
33Oregon9,134
34Maine8,652
35Alaska7,959
36Wyoming7,949
37North Dakota7,426
38Arizona**7,214
39Utah6,393
40Delaware5,481
41Nevada5,450
42Maryland5,443
43Idaho*4,992
44Connecticut4,054
45New Hampshire4,008
46Massachusetts3,556
47New Jersey3,352
48Vermont2,629
49Rhode Island1,158
50Hawaii1,012
U.S. Total 814,154
Average16,283