Texas Highways Are Actually Really Terrible, According to New Study

The Lone Star State may have more miles of highway than any other state, but that doesn't mean they're in good condition. Indeed, a new study suggests they're actually pretty lousy.

In a comparison of road conditions in all 50 states, Texas ranked the 17th worst in the U.S., according to research from consumer news website Consumer Affairs.

To establish its rankings, Consumer Affairs weighed the amount each state spends per mile of road, automobile crash fatalities per road mile, a survey sent to motorists in each state and the percentage of roads in good, fair and poor condition.

Just 22% of Texas' roads are rated as being in good condition by the Federal Highway Administration, while 11% are in poor condition. The state's spending of $45,000 per mile isn't on the low end of the survey, but it significantly lags states such as Maryland ($106,000 per mile) and Massachusetts ($104,000 per mile).

The findings seem to back up a May 2019 report by nonpartisan infrastructure group Repair Priorities, which found that Texas highways are in a state of deterioration. That study blamed the state for devoting too much spending to new roads and not enough to maintaining existing ones.

Texas averaged around $7 billion in annual state highway spending between 2009 and 2014, according to Repair Priorities. Around half went to highway expansion rather than upkeep.

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