Montana Highways Lag Behind Neighbors in Road Quality

There’s an old joke that Montana only has two seasons, winter and road construction season. With a state as big as ours, there are a lot of roads that need to be maintained. That isn’t an easy task.

Montana has a little of everything to deal with when it comes to our roads. We can experience extreme weather, and we have some of the most breathtaking roads over some incredibly difficult terrain to maintain.

If you have driven our roads and have complained about the conditions, well, it could be much worse.

According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Montana’s roads aren’t as bad as those in a lot of other states.

For the record, Montana has over 12,800 miles of roads. Texas has the most roads in the country, with over 88,000 miles of roads. The bureau also includes Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico in their statistics.

Where Montana’s Roads Rank Nationally

The Bureau looks at what percentage of roads are overall considered acceptable in their rankings. Montana’s percentage of acceptable roads is less than that of our neighbors.

How Montana Compares to Neighboring States

Montana has 89.20% of its roads that are acceptable. South Dakota has 95.10% of its roads rated acceptable, while Wyoming has 94.8%, Idaho has 93.77%, and North Dakota has 93.33% of overall acceptable roads.

North Dakota is the only neighboring state with more miles of roads than Montana. I have nothing but respect for the road construction crews and plow truck drivers that help to maintain our roads.

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The state with the best roads overall is Indiana, with 97.38% of its roads listed as acceptable. The worst roads can be found in D.C., with only 8.48% of its roads as acceptable, with just over 433 total miles of roads. These statistics are all based on 2023 numbers, which are the latest numbers available.

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