A new report puts Arizona’s state highway system in the middle of the pack nationally, when it comes to overall performance and efficiency. The Reason Foundation ranks Arizona 23 rd in the country in its latest study. That is a jump of three spots from last year’s report and the state’s highest ranking over the past five years. Arizona gets high marks for the lowest amount of both urban and rural interstate miles with poor pavement conditions and the percent of deficient bridges; it was tied for first in all of those categories.
Where the state did not do so well in the report? Money.
Arizona was near the bottom in terms of the money allocated per state-controlled mile, ranking 41 st in the country. Overall, North Dakota held the top ranking, followed by Kansas, Wyoming and New Mexico. Arkansas was at the bottom of the list, preceded by Rhode Island, Hawaii and California.