New Jersey has another dubious distinction: the nation’s worst highway system based on road conditions and overall cost effectiveness. That’s according to the Reason Foundation’s Annual Highway Report. It’s the third year that Reason ranked New Jersey in last place among all 50 states.
Reason evaluates 13 different variables; New Jersey roadways are last (unsurprisingly) in the traffic congestion category. We also ranked “47th in urban Interstate pavement condition,” and “30th in structurally deficient bridges.” Long story short? We’re not getting a good bang for our buck…
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“New Jersey’s highway costs are disproportionately high compared to every other state and are the biggest driver of its poor cost-effectiveness rankings. Using spending data that the states submit to the federal government, the study shows New Jersey spends $1.1 million per mile of state-controlled highway. New Jersey spends $929,000 more than California spends per mile of its state-controlled highways and $762,00 more than New York spends per mile of highway.”
“Compared to nearby states, New Jersey’s overall highway performance is worse than New York (ranks 46th overall), Massachusetts (43rd), Pennsylvania (39th), and Connecticut (31st). New Jersey also ranks behind more populous states such as Georgia (ranks 14th overall), Texas (16th overall), Michigan (34th), Florida (41st) and California (45th).”
One major issue remains not how much we spend but where it actually ends up.
A separate 2020 analysis by Reason found that New Jersey – which dramatically increased its gas tax in 2016 – ranks 3rd in the nation for the largest percentage of gas tax dollars diverted from roadways.
Click here to view the full new annual report.
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