Study says Mo. highways better than most

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri is among the national leaders in maintaining its transportation system and system value, according to a report issued by the Reason Foundation.

Missouri jumped to a national rank of 13th in 2006 after ranking 17th in 2005 and 28th in 2004.

The Reason Foundation measures every state's road conditions and expenses.

Its 17th Annual Report on the Performance of State Highway Systems analyzes the performance of each state in 12 categories. Those include traffic fatalities, congestion, pavement condition, bridge condition, highway maintenance costs and administrative costs.

Missouri tied with several other states for first in rural interstate condition. The Missouri Department of Transportation is also among the most efficient in managing a state highway system, ranking fourth in administrative costs per mile.

But there is room for improvement. The state is 40th in bridge deficiency with 30.5 percent of the state's highway bridges being deficient.

"Through the Safe & Sound Program, we will improve 800 deficient bridges in five years," MoDOT director Pete Rahn said in a statement. "Once finalized, this program will quickly improve the condition of many of our smaller bridges."

Missouri also ranked 33rd nationally for its fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled.

Rahn said Missouri is making progress toward decreasing highway fatalities. In 2007, the number of highway deaths fell below 1,000 for the first time in 15 years.