Study Ranks N.C. 14th In Nation For Highway Performance, Cost-Effectiveness

A new study shows improvements on North Carolina highways when it comes to road conditions and spending. But there are still problems with fatality rates and bridge conditions.

The Reason Foundation's 25th Annual Highway Report ranks North Carolina's system 14th in the nation when it comes to overall highway performance and cost-effectiveness. That's based on data from the nonprofit's 2018 survey, which moves the state up three spots from the previous study in 2016.  

North Carolina's best rankings are in urban interstate pavement condition and spending per mile.

But it's listed next to last in rural fatality rates, and also gets a poor ranking for the number of structurally deficient bridges.

The state is right in the middle of the list for traffic congestion, ranked in the 25th slot.

North Carolina manages one of the largest state-controlled highway systems in the country.

When it comes to overall highway performance, North Carolina is still worse than neighboring South Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky.