The word infrastructure has been in the news a lot in 2022 as our elected officials debate how much money should be earmarked to maintain and improve highways and bridges across the country.

And there's plenty of work to be done.

According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, one in every five miles of highway in the country and 45,000 bridges are in poor condition. They estimate the cost to upgrade the national infrastructure at $2.6 trillion over the next 10 years.

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But a new report says South Dakota's highways and byways are in much better shape than much of America.

The annual Reason Foundation’s Highway Report has the Mount Rushmore State with the ninth-best highways in the nation, based on state financial disbursements for roads and bridges, disbursements for maintenance, analysis of both urban and rural roads, pavement condition, and structurally deficient bridges.

According to 24/7 Wall St., South Dakota shines with the 12th best annual peak hours spent in congestion  (5.83 per commuter) and the 21st lowest percentage of bridges that are structurally deficient (1.03%).

The state is still home to some of the deadliest roadways in the country with the fourth-highest fatality rate (17.02 per 100 million vehicle miles).

STATES WITH THE BEST HIGHWAYS IN AMERICA (24/7 Wall St.)

  1. North Dakota
  2. Virginia
  3. Missouri
  4. Kentucky
  5. North Carolina
  6. Utah
  7. Kansas
  8. Idaho
  9. South Dakota
  10. Tennessee

South Dakota's stellar ranking comes on the heels of a report ranking us among the top states for a lack of potholes.

STATES WITH THE WORST HIGHWAYS IN AMERICA (24/7 Wall St.)

  1. New Jersey
  2. Rhode Island
  3. Alaska
  4. Hawaii
  5. New York
  6. California
  7. Delaware
  8. Massachusetts
  9. Washington
  10. Florida

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