Idaho’s Highway System Ranks 26th in the Nation in Overall Cost-Effectiveness and Condition

Idaho’s highway system ranks 26th in the nation in overall cost- effectiveness and condition.

According to the Annual Highway Report by Reason Foundation, Idaho currently ranks 26th overall in the nation, an 11-spot decline from last year’s ranking of 15th.

In safety and condition categories, Idaho’s highways rank 22nd in Rural Interstate Pavement Condition, 9th in Urban Interstate Pavement Condition, 19th in Rural Arterial Pavement Condition, 32nd in Urban Arterial Pavement Condition, 19th in Structurally Deficient Bridges, 35th in Rural Fatality Rate, and 25th in Urban Fatality Rate. Idaho ranks 22nd out of the 50 states in traffic congestion, and its drivers spend about 17 hours a year stuck in traffic congestion.

In spending and cost-effectiveness, Idaho ranks 48th in Capital and Bridge Disbursements, which are the costs of building new roads and bridges and widening existing ones. Idaho ranks 35th in Maintenance Disbursements, such as the costs of repaving roads and filling in potholes. Idaho’s Administrative Disbursements, including office spending that does not make its way to roads, rank 14th nationwide.

Compared to the previous report, the categories in which the state improved the most were Structurally Deficient Bridges (24th to 19th) and Administrative Disbursements (17th to 14th). Idaho worsened the most in Urban Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition (12th to 32nd).

When compared to its neighboring states, Idaho’s overall highway performance is better than Oregon’s (33rd) and Washington’s (48th), but worse than Utah’s (10th), Montana’s (22nd), and Nevada’s (25th).

Comparing its overall performance to similarly populated states, Idaho ranks better than Nebraska (29th) and West Virginia (30th). “In terms of improving in the road condition and performance categories, Idaho should focus on reducing its Capital and Bridge Disbursements and improving its Urban Arterial Pavement Condition,” 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 well in Administrative Disbursements (14th) and Urban Interstate Pavement Condition (9th), its high capital spending (48th), maintenance spending (35th), and Rural Fatality Rate (35th) are all 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.