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Report: Montana highways second best in nation

Story Created: Sep 5, 2010 at 3:00 PM MST

Story Updated: Sep 7, 2010 at 5:00 AM MST

GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) — A new report ranks the Montana state highway system second-best in the nation based on performance and cost-effectiveness.

The ranking by the Reason Foundation in Los Angeles released last week is based on 11 indicators, including highway spending, pavement and bridge condition and fatalities.

The state moved up three notches from last year in the overall rankings despite being dead last in the category of fatalities per highway miles traveled.

Montana Department of Transportation Director Jim Lynch tells the Great Falls Tribune that the state has a software system to determine which roads need special attention.

Lynch says the state's fatality rate is likely because crash victims are often far from any hospital, and that 75 percent of Montana highway fatality victims weren't wearing seat belts.

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Information from: Great Falls Tribune, http://www.greatfallstribune.com

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