Maintenance disbursements are the costs to perform routine upkeep, such as filling in potholes and repaving roads. Maintenance disbursements comprise about 17.4% of total disbursements, totaling $27.46 billion in 2020, the same as in 2019, the last time this assessment was completed.
Last year we measured maintenance disbursements per lane-mile. For 2018, we measured maintenance disbursements per centerline-mile, lane-mile, and vehicle-miles traveled (VMT) per lane-mile. In this analysis for 2020 we measure disbursements per lane adjusted for urbanization. For this process, we take the disbursement per lane-mile and divide it by the expected disbursement per lane-mile to get a ratio. The average 2020 per-mile disbursement is $14,546 (Table 8, Maintenance Disbursements by State, 2020, Figure 3), a decrease of 8.8% from $15,952 in 2019. This decrease bucks a generally steady spending trend over the last decade. Since 2007, total maintenance disbursements have increased 37.3%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has increased about 27.4%.
In 2020, New Mexico, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and North Dakota reported the lowest overall maintenance expenditure ratios, after adjusting for urbanization. Washington, Vermont, Indiana, Alaska, and New York reported the highest overall expenditure ratios. The 2020 Maintenance Disbursements ratios by state cannot be compared to previous years, as the methodology has changed. Some of the disbursements per state-controlled lane-mile can vary widely from year to year reflecting funding actions and project schedules.
Maintenance Disbursements
| 2020 Rank | State | Disbursement Per Lane-Mile | Expected Disbursement per Lane-Mile | Adjusted Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Mexico | $1,792 | $9,220 | 0.19 |
| 2 | South Carolina | $4,254 | $16,234 | 0.26 |
| 3 | Mississippi | $4,390 | $12,148 | 0.36 |
| 4 | Alabama | $6,897 | $16,519 | 0.42 |
| 5 | North Dakota | $1,794 | $4,281 | 0.42 |
| 6 | Arkansas | $5,449 | $12,745 | 0.43 |
| 7 | Ohio | $9,663 | $21,904 | 0.44 |
| 8 | North Carolina | $7,330 | $15,961 | 0.46 |
| 9 | West Virginia | $4,710 | $9,853 | 0.48 |
| 10 | Arizona | $8,054 | $15,984 | 0.5 |
| 11 | Tennessee | $10,695 | $19,805 | 0.54 |
| 12 | Michigan | $13,851 | $24,093 | 0.57 |
| 13 | Georgia | $12,463 | $21,677 | 0.57 |
| 14 | Massachusetts | $32,754 | $55,504 | 0.59 |
| 15 | Missouri | $6,606 | $10,874 | 0.61 |
| 16 | Connecticut | $27,111 | $43,125 | 0.63 |
| 17 | Texas | $10,590 | $15,870 | 0.67 |
| 18 | Louisiana | $10,806 | $15,945 | 0.68 |
| 19 | Kentucky | $7,810 | $11,057 | 0.71 |
| 20 | Hawaii | $24,263 | $33,584 | 0.72 |
| 21 | Wisconsin | $11,730 | $15,707 | 0.75 |
| 22 | Kansas | $7,981 | $9,742 | 0.82 |
| 23 | Iowa | $9,907 | $11,988 | 0.83 |
| 24 | Nevada | $11,569 | $13,604 | 0.85 |
| 25 | Wyoming | $6,737 | $7,743 | 0.87 |
| 26 | Maryland | $28,196 | $32,391 | 0.87 |
| 27 | Illinois | $22,024 | $25,285 | 0.87 |
| 28 | Virginia | $13,718 | $15,311 | 0.9 |
| 29 | Florida | $33,231 | $35,350 | 0.94 |
| 30 | New Hampshire | $13,048 | $13,595 | 0.96 |
| 31 | Rhode Island | $39,515 | $40,095 | 0.99 |
| 32 | Utah | $16,115 | $16,214 | 0.99 |
| 33 | Idaho | $9,193 | $9,175 | 1 |
| 34 | Montana | $5,328 | $5,160 | 1.03 |
| 35 | Oregon | $15,805 | $13,884 | 1.14 |
| 36 | South Dakota | $5,492 | $4,652 | 1.18 |
| 37 | Pennsylvania | $20,322 | $17,140 | 1.19 |
| 38 | Delaware | $37,525 | $30,019 | 1.25 |
| 39 | Maine | $14,387 | $10,323 | 1.39 |
| 40 | Minnesota | $19,146 | $13,297 | 1.44 |
| 41 | Nebraska | $9,975 | $6,893 | 1.45 |
| 42 | New Jersey | $86,817 | $59,094 | 1.47 |
| 43 | Colorado | $23,212 | $15,564 | 1.49 |
| 44 | California | $44,831 | $27,639 | 1.62 |
| 45 | Oklahoma | $23,123 | $12,292 | 1.88 |
| 46 | New York | $50,333 | $25,961 | 1.94 |
| 47 | Alaska | $22,572 | $11,258 | 2 |
| 48 | Indiana | $32,316 | $15,938 | 2.03 |
| 49 | Vermont | $19,557 | $9,236 | 2.12 |
| 50 | Washington | $56,839 | $16,935 | 3.36 |