Policy Study

26th Annual Highway Report: Administrative Disbursements per Mile

Administrative disbursements typically include general and main-office expenditures in support of state-administered highways. They do not include project-related costs but occasionally include “parked” funds, which are funds from bond sales or asset sales awaiting later expenditure. Therefore, they can vary widely from year to year.

Administrative disbursements comprise about 6.3% of total disbursements, totaling $9.52 billion in 2018, an increase of 8.1% from $8.81 billion in 2016, the last time this assessment was calculated.

This year, we measure administrative disbursements per SHA, lane-mile, and vehicle-miles traveled per lane-mile. Last year, we used lane-miles. In past years, we measured them in centerline-miles. The average 2018 per-mile disbursement is $6,443.

The average disbursement per lane-mile increased 43% from 2016 ($4,501 disbursement per mile average), the last time this assessment was calculated.

There is a generally steady increased spending trend over the last decade. Since 2007, these per-mile disbursements have increased by about 65%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased about 22%.

In 2018, Kentucky, Arkansas, Nebraska, Missouri, and Louisiana reported the lowest administrative expenditures. Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California, and  Washington reported the highest expenditures. In terms of disbursements per lane-mile, the largest percentage shifts from 2016 to 2018 were New Hampshire and Colorado (both saw over 100% decreases) and Connecticut and Idaho (with increases of over 65%).

In terms of disbursements per SHA, the largest percentage shifts from 2016 to 2018 were Washington and New Hampshire (which increased by 260% and 149%, respectively) and Connecticut and Wyoming (which decreased by 77% and 36%, respectively). Some of the disbursements per state-controlled mile can vary widely from year to year—reflecting funding actions and project schedules.

Administrative Disbursements Per State-Controlled Mile
2018 RankStateZ ScoreDisbursement Per SHADisbursement Per Lane MileDisbursement Per VMT
1Kentucky-2.69$1,171$510$654
2Arkansas-2.56$2,228$534$1,000
3Nebraska-2.54$1,937$843$918
4Missouri-2.46$2,340$1,014$1,034
5Louisiana-2.36$3,175$1,345$1,058
6Maine-2.27$2,829$1,304$1,598
7North Dakota-2.2$2,775$1,181$2,081
8North Carolina-2.13$3,185$1,454$2,104
9Idaho-2.11$6,726$748$1,892
10Texas-2.1$4,856$1,978$1,385
11South Carolina-2.08$3,199$1,456$2,325
12Mississippi-2.05$5,353$2,053$1,435
13West Virginia-2.04$1,890$908$3,344
14Montana-2.01$3,411$1,078$2,960
15Kansas-1.95$5,416$2,268$1,731
16Iowa-1.89$6,408$2,333$1,712
17Wyoming-1.85$4,476$1,781$2,892
18Indiana-1.56$9,796$3,671$1,338
19Illinois-1.24$12,067$4,330$1,777
20Michigan-1.2$13,503$4,752$1,276
21Ohio-0.78$14,718$5,390$2,475
22Virginia-0.71$8,365$3,843$5,786
23Minnesota-0.68$15,231$5,249$2,957
24Utah-0.65$15,623$5,446$2,867
25Wisconsin-0.57$15,402$6,082$2,745
26South Dakota-0.41$9,386$3,299$7,487
27Tennessee-0.4$17,313$6,246$2,964
28Hawaii-0.39$19,835$6,997$1,724
29Maryland-0.25$21,640$7,136$1,869
30Pennsylvania-0.1$14,073$6,042$5,476
31Connecticut-0.07$21,454$7,430$2,525
32Oregon0.23$21,024$7,214$4,341
33Florida0.38$30,739$8,314$1,677
34New York0.63$26,053$9,391$3,181
35Oklahoma0.66$21,471$7,898$5,789
36Alabama0.76$25,754$9,342$3,957
37Arizona0.9$35,868$7,465$3,679
38New Mexico0.97$21,733$5,279$9,520
39Rhode Island1.51$32,019$11,284$4,402
40Colorado1.65$31,380$11,288$5,254
41Nevada1.98$31,980$12,021$6,103
42Alaska2.16$16,387$5,242$16,823
43Georgia2.16$36,294$13,118$4,955
44New Hampshire2.29$28,216$12,723$7,994
45Vermont2.36$26,754$11,720$9,571
46Washington2.37$51,422$8,913$5,814
47California3.12$56,936$15,510$2,463
48New Jersey4$75,725$15,298$2,279
49Massachusetts6.85$93,662$24,185$4,217
50Delaware11.34$60,559$27,235$32,305
Average$19,875$6,443$4,154

The Difference Between Maintenance and Administrative Disbursements

Certain disbursement data can be counted in one of several categories. One example is benefits (vacation, health care, etc.) of state department of transportation maintenance workers. Certain states such as New Jersey count the benefits as a maintenance disbursement since the employees are conducting routine highway maintenance. Other states such as Delaware count the benefits as an administrative disbursement since benefits are an administrative expense. Not surprisingly, of the two states, New Jersey has the worst ranking in Maintenance Disbursements and Delaware has the worst ranking in Administrative Disbursements. As a result, it is important to look at both the individual disbursement categories and disbursements as a whole, as states have some leeway in their classification of certain expenditures.

View national trends and state-by-state performances by category:
overall
Overall
total-disbursements-per-mile
Total Disbursements Per Mile
capital-bridge-disbursements-per-mile
Capital & Bridge Disbursements Per Mile
maintenance-disbursements-per-mile
Maintenance Disbursements Per Mile
administrative-disbursements-per-mile
Administrative Disbursements Per Mile
rural-interstate-percent-poor-condition
Rural Interstate Pavement Condition
rural-other-principal-arterial-percent-narrow-lanes
Rural Arterial Pavement Condition
urban-interstate-percent-poor-condition
Urban Interstate Pavement Condition
rural-other-principal-arterial-percent-poor-condition
Urban Arterial Pavement Condition
urbanized-area-congestion-peak-hours-spent-in-congestion-per-auto-commuter
Urbanized Area Congestion
bridges-percent-deficient
Structurally Deficient Bridges
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Overall Fatality Rate
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Rural Fatality Rate
fatality-rate-per-100-million-vehicle-miles-of-travel
Urban Fatality Rate