Massachusetts Roads Rated Among Worst in the Nation

Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Monica White, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

A new state-by-state study conducted by the Reason Foundation found that Massachusetts roads are in the among the ten worst in the nation. The Bay State came in 43rd in overall highway performance and efficiency.

The 20th Annual Highway Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems, released over the 4th of July holiday celebration, named cost efficiency as a major concern for the state. The Report said about MA: "The system’s costs are well above the national average. Massachusetts ranks 47th in administrative costs per mile, spending six times more per mile than the national average. And it ranks 48th in total disbursements per mile, spending 4.4 times the national average per mile."

Seeing improvement

As GoLocalWorcester has previously reported, Massachsuetts has serious issues with the condition of its bridges. However, Mass made a small improvement from its 44th place rank in the previous two Highway Reports. "Massachusetts has the lowest fatality rate in the nation, ranks 1st in rural interstate pavement condition, 10th in urban interstate pavement condition," says the study. But while it faired well in some categories, it fell short in others. Massachusetts came in 29th in urban congestion, and 44th in deficient bridges.

Other States Rankings

"North Dakota continued to lead the cost-effectiveness ratings, followed by Kansas, Wyoming, New Mexico and Montana. But some large states—notably Missouri, Texas and Georgia—were also top-12 performers. At the bottom were Alaska, Rhode Island, Hawaii, California and New Jersey," said the Report.

Transportation debate in Massachusetts

The state of Massachusetts's infrastructure has been a hotly contested topic this year, with Governor Deval Patrick's transportation package at the heart of the debate. The Massachusetts Legislature will take up Patrick’s plan for increased transportation spending next week, renewing the battle over how to fund the infrastructure investments.

Last week, the Governor rejected the Legislature’s transportation financing measure, which included an increase in the gas tax along with other higher taxes, and proposed a further gas tax increase in 2017 to offset the expiration of Massachusetts Turnpike toll revenue. The proposal met with immediate resisitance from both House and Senate leadership, which has promised votes on the matter by July 17 and 18.

The fate of Massachusetts's transportation legislation has reach beyond the roadways: the state budget approved last week by the Legislature contains revenue generated by the transportation bill. What will happen to the fate of the budget may tie very closely to the developing story, then, on transportation. Meanwhile, the Bay State can go only way on its overall rankings, and that's up.