Connecticut’s highways are losing ground to other states in effectiveness and performance, a new report says.
The Connecticut state highway system, which includes 4,064 miles of roadway, is ranked 44th in the nation in overall performance and efficiency, according to the latest Annual Highway Report by Reason Foundation, a nonprofit think tank.
It is a decline for Connecticut, which ranked 37th and 41st in the previous two reports.
Reason Foundation’s annual study measures the condition and cost-effectiveness of state-owned roads in 11 categories including: pavement condition on urban and rural Interstates; urban traffic congestion; deficient bridges; unsafe narrow lanes; traffic fatalities; total spending per mile of state roads; and administrative costs per mile.
The study’s rankings are based on data states reported to the federal government for 2009, the most recent year with full spending statistics available.
Connecticut ranked poorly in several categories including its number of deficient bridges, urban interstate traffic congestion, and highway administrative costs, the report said.
Nationwide, however, the state’s highway system appears to be in decent shape.
Across the country there was small progress in every category except for pavement condition on rural arterial roads, the report found.
“It’s hard to believe it when you hit a pothole or see a bridge in Washington collapse, but the nation’s roads are getting better,” said David Hartgen, author of the study and emeritus transportation professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “There are still several states struggling and plenty of problem areas. But you make the case that overall America’s roads and bridges have never been in better shape.”
Connecticut’s performance, however, is slipping.
The state ranks 46th out of 50 states in deficient bridges; 47th in urban interstate congestion; 46th in total highway disbursements per mile; and dead last in highest administrative costs in the nation, spending over seven times the national average per mile on administration, the report said.
State Department of Transportation spokesman Kevin Nursick said, however, he didn’t think the report paints “a fair or accurate picture,” of the state’s highways.
“There are special interest ‘studies’ coming out more and more these days, each drawing a conclusion different from the next,” Nursick said. “Connecticut near the worst in congestion? Admittedly, we have congestion issues that we are working to address, but saying our issues are as bad as some of the mega traffic jams and operational inefficiencies that exist in so many locations across the country is almost laughable.”
Earlier this month, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, did launch a 15-month initiative to create a long-term plan for Connecticut’s transportation policies, programs, and projects.
The initiative, called Transform CT, aims establish a blueprint for Connecticut’s transportation system, including finding ways to ease traffic congestion and improve the state’s highway system.
Other states with issues include New Jersey and California.
New Jersey spends $1.2 million per mile on its state-controlled roads.
That’s nearly twice as much as the $679,000 per mile that the next biggest spending state (California) spends.
North Carolina, home to the nation’s largest state highway system, spends $44,000 per mile on its roads, while Connecticut spends $527,419 per mile on its roads, the report found.
Despite Connecticut’s poor overall rating there is a bit of good news.
The state has the second lowest fatality rate and reported no rural interstate pavement in poor condition, the report said.
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