Montana Ranked Among Worst States For Failing Road Conditions

Everyone in Montana loves road construction. Actually, no one from Montana has ever said that. While most of us groan every time we see orange cones lining the highway, it turns out we may need even more of them. A study released a few years ago broke down which states have the fastest deteriorating roads, and unfortunately Montana is ranking high in all the wrong ways.

First of all, I think we dislike road construction more here because we simply do not have many alternate routes compared to other states. Anyone who drives between Bozeman and Livingston knows exactly what I mean. Highway 90 and that infamous pass can be a nerve-wracking drive on a good day. Add in construction, narrowed lanes, and heavy traffic and it becomes a real mess.

Montana also has another challenge that many warmer states do not deal with. Our construction crews can only work for about half the year. The rest of the time, old man winter shows up, freezes everything solid, and stops all progress until spring. With all that working against us, it is not too surprising we landed so high on the list. So what does the data actually say?

Montana came in at number 13. In 2020, about 87.3 percent of our roads were in acceptable condition. That sounds decent at first glance, but it is a 9.6 point drop from where we were in 2000. Two decades ago, more than 96 percent of Montana roads were rated acceptable.

Before anyone feels singled out, the rest of the country is not doing much better. The United States has more than 4 million miles of roadway, yet faces a massive repair backlog estimated at 786 billion dollars.

Get our free mobile app

So while we all love to complain about construction, Montana’s aging roads show why those work zones keep popping up. The choice is either deal with the delays now or deal with the potholes later.