I can't remember how I came upon this... I'm thinking some news article.
Here's the link:
http://reason.org/studies/show/21st-annual-highway-report-states (http://reason.org/studies/show/21st-annual-highway-report-states)
I know nothing about this Reason Foundation, but the results are interesting.
Overall ranking for AARoads Mid-South states:
Arkansas - 35th
Texas - 11th
Mississippi - 8th
Louisiana - 40th
Tennessee - 17th
More details are at the link. Top 3 states were Wyoming, Nebraska, and South Dakota. Bottom 3 states were Hawaii, Alaska, and New Jersey.
For my state, Arkansas, the lowest scoring categories were: narrow rural arterial lanes (47th), urban Interstate pavement condition (47th) and fatality rate (46th). The best were administrative disbursements per mile (3rd), total disbursements per mile (9th) and maintenance disbursements per mile (10th).
I have to agree with the narrow rural arterial lanes ranking, but I see this being fixed and improved over time, but we have a long way to go. Guard rails are another thing that needs to be improved... I'm thinking of US 62 to the west of Eureka Springs. Shoulders, turn lanes, and roadway/intersection lighting will go a long way in improving the 46th ranking for fatalities.
And Arkansas has the 16th largest highway system in the country. The amount of state highway miles isn't in proportion to the size of the state. I've traveled many state routes and it's clear that many should be turned over to local municipalities.