Arizona’s urban state highways are the nation’s second-deadliest, according to an annual study released this month that showed the state slipping in a countrywide ranking of state-controlled highway conditions and cost-effectiveness.
The Grand Canyon State ranked 49th in the nation for urban state highway fatalities, trailing only New Mexico in Reason Foundation’s 26th Annual Highway Report, which ranks state highway systems based on a 13-category evaluation.
Arizona ranked 29th overall in this year’s study. That’s down from No. 23 last year.
The state has the country’s 31st-largest state highway system, when measured in miles. The report’s 13 assessment categories cover things such as pavement condition, traffic congestion, spending, and fatalities.
Fatalities have been Arizona’s weak spot in recent reports, with the state ranking 41st for its overall highway fatality rate, which was 1.40 per 100 million vehicle-miles, and 33rd for its rural rate.
That overall fatality rate was down from 1.53 fatalities per 100 million overall vehicle miles in the previous year’s study.
