West Virginia’s roads haven’t quite driven us to prosperity just yet, but they ARE better than they used to be, according to a report by the Reason Foundation.

Its 29th Annual Highway Report showed the Mountain State moved up just a little — from 33rd to 30th. That still leaves us worse off than Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky, but better than Pennsylvania and Maryland. (Would that be the Blacktop Brawl?)

Tragically, West Virginia worsened in its urban fatality rate, from 13th to 34th. The state also ranked 49th in the other fatality rate category.

But, West Virginia improved in categories such as rural other principal arterial pavement condition, from 45th to 36th; and urbanized area congestion, from 10th to fifth. For capital and bridge disbursements – the cost of new road and bridge construction and road widening – the state ranked fourth; but was 50th in structurally deficient bridges; 16th for the cost of repaving existing roads and pothole maintenance; and seventh for administrative disbursements — the amount of money going to administrative overhead.

“That just goes to show what happens when you focus on maintaining your roads and bridges,” said West Virginia Department of Transportation Secretary Todd Rumbaugh.

To that end, the lead author of the report recommends a focus on addressing structurally deficient bridges and reducing highway fatalities. It is sound advice; and the barest of improvements in some other categories should not inspire anyone to reduce momentum in the efforts to do so.

West Virginia can (and must) do better about its infrastructure, no matter how long and winding the road.