A Cross-State Comparison of Arkansas's Highway Financing and Infrastructure Quality

1. A Cross-State Comparison of Arkansas's Highway Financing andInfrastructure Quality

2. Arkansas Highway Facts [1] Source: Federal Highway Administration (2007) [2] Source: Bureau of Legislative Research (2008)

3. Arkansas and the Surrounding States Source: Snyder, J. (2008) *Source: Federal Highway Administration (2007)

4. A Comparison of Arkansas’s Highway Funding with the Surrounding States • All the values presented exclude federal funding, thus only state-level highway department revenues are included. • Historical data covers the last 25 years. (1982-2006) • All values presented are in real terms.

5. Highway Construction Cost Index vs. Inflation

6. Total Highway Revenues from 1982-2006 Source: Federal Highway Administration

7. Total Highway Revenues from 1982-2006 Source: Federal Highway Administration

8. Average Change in Total Highway Funding from 1982-2006

9. Per Capita Highway Revenues from 1982-2006 Source: Federal Highway Administration

10. Per Capita Highway Revenues from 1982-2006 Source: Federal Highway Administration

11. Average Per Capita Highway Funding from 1982-2006

12. State Highway Department Revenues per Mile from 1982-2006 Source: Federal Highway Administration

13. Arkansas Highway Department Revenues per Mile from 1982-2006 Source: Federal Highway Administration

14. 25 Year Average Highway Funding per Mile • Louisiana ranks first in funding per mile • Arkansas ranks last among the states in this sample.

15. A Comparison of Arkansas’s Current Road Quality with the Surrounding States • Road Quality measured objectively using the International Roughness Index (IRI). • The IRI is an objective equipment-based measure that allows for cross-state comparisons of road quality. • Based on the IRI, a score value was calculated and the 7 states within the sample were ranked according to road quality.

16. Rural Area - InternationalRoughness Index Score

17. Urban Area - InternationalRoughness Index Score

18. Overall - InternationalRoughness Index Score

19. Arkansas Road Quality Categories Compared To The National Average [1] Source: American Society of Civil Engineers (2006)

20. Overall Trends • Tennessee spends less per capita and per highway mile, but ranks highest in road quality. • Louisiana leads the region in highway funding per mile and ranks second in funding per capita, but has the poorest quality roads.

21. Overall Trends The bottom line: Based on our analysis, there is not a significant correlation between the IRI road quality index and funding. This suggests that other factors may affect road quality other than the amount of funding received.

22. Conclusion • Arkansas’s average highway funding since 1982 has increased 3.10%. (in real terms) • Among the 7 surrounding states, Arkansas ranks: • 4th in per capita funding • 7th in funding per highway mile • 3rd overall road quality (measured by the IRI) • Arkansas’s road quality is also above the national average.