You wanna know why Santa flies over Washington State in his sleigh?  Because if he had to drive the roads, he might not make it!  Ok, a bit of an exaggertion, but a new study shows Washington State's highways are 42nd in the nation in condition and cost-effectiveness ...as low as that is, that's still an improvement of 3 spots over last year!

We Are Getting Less Bang For Our Buck

Have you ever hit those stretches of highway around the state that are pitted, potted and torn up?  No doubt you have, since the state’s worst ranking is 49th place in maintenance money spent per mile.

Show of hands if you have ever been stuck in a Puget Sound traffic jam.  Ok, hands back on the wheel.  Before certain policies and philosophies took hold in Seattle, dramatically changing the vibe and the landscape, many of us Eastsiders might have considered the possibility  of a move to the big city...EXCEPT for the traffic!   The answer for many is still NO, because now of all that other stuff...and STILL the traffic!  Washington ranks 10th in traffic congestion.

Checkout The Full Report

Baruch Feigenbaum is the lead author of the report and his recommendation to improve in the national comparative rankings is, "try to have its high costs better translate into good pavement condition. For example, the state is in the bottom 10 in spending in all four disbursement categories but still ranks in the bottom 10 in both rural Interstate and urban arterial pavement condition...as is, the state has the worst of both worlds: high spending and poor roadways.”

The full Annual Highway Report is online here. And Washington's detailed results are here.

LOOK: Route 66’s quirkiest and most wonderful attractions state by state

Stacker compiled a list of 50 attractions--state by state--to see along the drive, drawing on information from historic sites, news stories, Roadside America, and the National Park Service. Keep reading to discover where travelers can get their kicks on Route 66.

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