Connecticut’s Highway System Ranks 7th in the Nation in Overall Cost-Effectiveness and Condition

Connecticut’s highway system ranks 7th in the nation in overall cost-effectiveness and condition.

According to the Annual Highway Report by Reason Foundation, this is a six-spot improvement from last year’s ranking of 13th.

In safety and condition categories, Connecticut’s highways rank 1st in Rural Interstate Pavement Condition, 11th in Urban Interstate Pavement Condition, 32nd in Rural Arterial Pavement Condition, 21st in Urban Arterial Pavement Condition, 18th in Structurally Deficient Bridges, 18th in Rural Fatality Rate, and 15th in Urban Fatality Rate. Connecticut ranks 28th out of the 50 states in traffic congestion, and its drivers spend about 24 hours a year stuck in traffic congestion.

In spending and cost-effectiveness, Connecticut ranks 19th in Capital and Bridge Disbursements, which are the costs of building new roads and bridges and widening existing ones. Connecticut ranks 11th in Maintenance Disbursements, such as the costs of repaving roads and filling in potholes. Connecticut’s Administrative Disbursements, including office spending that does not make its way to roads, rank 16th nationwide.

Compared to the previous report, the categories in which the state improved the most were Rural Fatality Rate (30th to 18th) and Rural Interstate Pavement Condition (9th to 1st). Connecticut worsened the most in Rural Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition (29th to 32nd).

When compared to its neighboring states, Connecticut’s overall highway performance is better than New Hampshire’s (13th), Massachusetts’ (17th), Vermont’s (38th), Rhode Island’s (43rd), and New York’s (47th).

Comparing its overall performance to similarly populated states, Connecticut ranks better than Oregon (33rd) and Oklahoma (45th). “In terms of improving in the road condition and performance categories, Connecticut should focus on improving its Rural Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition and reducing congestion in urbanized areas,” said Baruch Feigenbaum, lead author of the 29th Annual Highway Report and senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason Foundation. “While the state performs strongly in Rural Interstate Pavement Condition (1st), Urban Interstate Pavement Condition (11th), and Maintenance Disbursements (11th), its relatively weaker rankings in arterial pavement condition and traffic congestion remain areas of concern.”

Reason Foundation’s 29th Annual Highway Report evaluates the cost-effectiveness and performance of state-controlled highways across 13 categories, including pavement and bridge conditions, traffic fatalities, congestion, and spending. In the performance categories, a rank of 1 indicates the best outcome—for example, the lowest fatality rate or the best pavement quality—while a rank of 50 represents the worst outcomes. In the cost-effectiveness categories, a rank of 1 means the state spends the least, while a rank of 50 indicates the highest relative spending. The report’s data are primarily based on information each state submitted to the Federal Highway Administration for 2023, supplemented by deficient bridge data from Better Roads and Bridges and congestion data from INRIX. For full methodology and data sources, see the complete 29th Annual Highway Report.