By John Hood
RALEIGH — In recent weeks, I’ve written several columns flagging areas where North Carolina lags behind other states. We don’t do a good job of providing patients access to telehealth services, for example, and our education system — previously among the best in the country in converting public investment into reading and math performance — has tumbled in the rankings since the school shutdowns of the COVID era.
Ready for some good news? According to a new nationwide study of state roads and bridges, North Carolina’s highway system ranks first in the nation in cost-effectiveness.
This is the 28th edition of the study. It was the brainchild of the late Dave Hartgen, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and longtime friend of mine. Previously published by the John Locke Foundation, it is now a project of the California-based Reason Foundation.
The authors collect financial and performance data for highway systems in all 50 states and then compare the inputs and outputs. As you might expect, there is no perfect correlation between how much motorists pay into a system and what they get out of it. Some high-spending states do, indeed, have better-than-average pavement quality, traffic flows, and safety records. Many others don’t.
Geography matters, of course. So do other factors over which officials have little control. But their policy choices matter, too — how state and local governments allocate transportation revenues, set priorities, and manage construction and renovation projects.
More than a decade ago, the North Carolina General Assembly and the administration of former Gov. Pat McCrory overhauled the way our state makes such decisions. Traffic projections, safety improvements, and other objective criteria gained precedence over political pull. Local preferences still matter, and not every dollar collected in gas and car taxes runs through a statewide formula. Still, to a greater extent than is evident elsewhere, North Carolina’s investments in automotive transportation are made with a clear goal of moving people and freight as economically as possible.
In the new study, reflecting data collected in 2022, North Carolina’s number-one ranking reflects both our low administrative costs and relatively high performance in output measures. We’re in the top half of states in traffic congestion and pavement conditions — including 10th best for urban arterial roads — and our fatality rate in urban areas has improved to ninth best, up from 20th in the previous report.
There is still plenty of room for improvement, however. We are worse than average in structurally deficient bridges and the fatality rate on our rural roads comes in at a dismal 39th.
Furthermore, last fall’s Hurricane Helene wrecked not just private homes and businesses but also public infrastructure throughout our western counties. According to estimates released in December, North Carolina needs to spend about $6 billion to fix or replace state-maintained roads and bridges, along with $1.7 billion for municipal roads and bridges and $460 million for private roads.
Federal funds will cover most of these costs, but the state’s responsibility will be at least $775 million. As of December, the state had already spent $125 million on emergency highway repairs, supplemented by $300 million in federal funds.
The revenue mix for funding North Carolina highways was under stress before the hurricane. Because newer cars get more miles to the gallon, and some don’t run on gas at all, we’re collecting less revenue per mile traveled.
Lawmakers have been working on the problem for years now, wringing more out of the current system while transferring to transportation a larger share of sales-tax collections — essentially revenues collected from the sale of auto parts and other goods and services related to the operation of cars and trucks.
Post-Helene reconstruction is a must. Other pressing needs include improving safety in rural areas and alleviating congestion in urban ones. Setting priorities means telling some people “no” — or, at least, “not yet.”
This is a task North Carolina performs better than most states do. That doesn’t mean it will ever be easy.
John Hood is a John Locke Foundation board member. His books Mountain Folk, Forest Folk, and Water Folk combine epic fantasy with American history (FolkloreCycle.com).
