A new study from the Reason Foundation found that New Jersey's highways rank last in overall performance, joining 2015 and 2016 as years where they also finished last. 

The annual study by the libertarian think tank compares cost versus quality.

The Reason Foundation examined every state's highway system in 13 different categories. New Jersey has one of the shortest highway systems in the U.S., but the survey still found the state to be last in maintenance per mile and 45th in highway pavement conditions in urban areas.

“New Jersey’s situation or problem, as we would say, is that its highways are rather expensive to build and maintain, and the pavement quality is pretty poor, and so when you put those two things together, that tends to get a very bad ranking,” says Reason Foundation’s Baruch Feigenbaum.

The study focused on highways such as the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, as well as state roads like Route 33 and Route 9, but not county and local roadways. 

But it is not all bad news – New Jersey has the fourth-lowest fatality rate in rural areas and the third-lowest overall fatality rate nationwide. This is partially thanks to the New Jersey Turnpike.

Maryland ranked 40th, while New York ranked 44th and Pennsylvania ranked 39th.