Marylanders’ tax dollars don’t go as far in maintaining the state highway system as Virginians’ money does, according to a study released this week based on data from 1984 to 2006.

Maryland ranked in the bottom third of states that use their money effectively to maintain good pavement conditions, stem accident rates, ease congestion and keep up bridges on state-owned roads.

Virginia, whose highway system is 10 times larger than Maryland’s, ranked in the top third of states in the study by the Reason Foundation, a libertarian think tank.

“Maryland is spending about six times as much per mile of responsibility as Virginia. They ought to be doing fairly well, but when you look at their results, things aren’t there,” said David Hartgen, lead author of the study.

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Maryland, which has a $1.8 billion state highway budget, ranked the fourth-worst in terms of congestion on its urban interstates; Virginia, with its $3 billion budget, ranked 22nd, with 43 percent of its interstate miles congested.

Maryland, which spends 16 percent of its budget on maintenance, ranked 36th in pavement conditions of state highways, with 7 percent of its highway miles in poor condition, the study said. Virginia ranked 28th at 4 percent.

tluntz@dcexaminer.com