Graphic courtesy/Reason Foundation 

CHARLESTON – Despite West Virginia’s burden of maintaining nearly 71,000 miles of roads and continued backlog of bridge maintenance, the state moved up slightly in a nationwide rankings of road systems

The libertarian Reason Foundation released its 29th Annual Highway Report Thursday, comparing highway systems in all 50 states and evaluating them based on cost versus quality. The report ranks each state in 13 separate categories based around spending and performance.

Using 2023 data, the report takes state highway system budgets (per mile of responsibility) and compares those budgets to highway system performance. States that rank higher on the Reason list tend to have a combination of better system conditions while also having low per-mile expenditures.

According to this year’s report, West Virginia’s highway system ranked 30th in the nation, an improvement over last year’s rank of 33rd.

Among surrounding states, West Virginia’s rank was better than Pennsylvania (36) and Maryland (34), but worse than Virginia (1), Ohio (5) and Kentucky (15). Compared to similarly populated states, West Virginia’s rank was worse than New Hampshire (13) and Idaho (26).

West Virginia saw improvements in Rural Other Principal Arterial Pavement Condition, from 45th in last year’s report to 36th this year; and Urbanized Area Congestion, from 10th last year to fifth. However, West Virginia worsened in its Urban Fatality Rate, from 13th last year to 34th. The state also ranked 49th in the Other Fatality Rate category.

When it comes to capital and bridge disbursements – the cost of new road and bridge construction and road widening – West Virginia ranked fourth, but the state was 50th in structurally deficient bridges; 16th for the cost of repaving existing roads and pothole maintenance; and seventh for administrative disbursements, which looks at the amount of money going to administrative overhead.

“In terms of improving in the road condition and performance categories, West Virginia should focus on addressing its Structurally Deficient Bridges and reducing its Other Fatality Rate,” 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 Capital and Bridge Disbursements (fourth), Administrative Disbursements (seventh), and Urbanized Area Congestion (fifth), its poor rankings in bridge condition and roadway fatalities remain areas for improvement,” Feigenbaum continued.

In a statement, West Virginia Department of Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh said he was pleased to see the improvement in the state’s rankings. Rumbaugh said the department has been focusing its efforts on road and bridge maintenance and upkeep since Gov. Patrick Morrisey took office last year.

“That just goes to show what happens when you focus on maintaining your roads and bridges,” Rumbaugh said. “Thanks to the leadership of Gov. Patrick Morrisey in allowing us to do that, we expect to see those numbers jump again next year.”

State funding for West Virginia’s roads and bridges comes from the State Road Fund, consisting of motor fuel taxes, vehicle fees and registration. More than 10% of West Virginia’s total budget expenditures goes to the state Department of Transportation.

According to a Tax Foundation report last year, the share of state and local spending covered by state and local road use taxes was 52.1% in fiscal year 2022. According to the upcoming fiscal year 2027 budget, more than $2.1 billion has been budgeted for the State Road Fund, including federal funds. Another $125 million will go to road and bridge maintenance if there is available surplus tax collections at the end of the current fiscal year.

According to the Eno Center for Transportation, West Virginia received more than $756 million in 2024 through highway formula funding from the Federal Highway Administration.

Steven Allen Adams can be reached at sadams@newsandsentinel.com