Perceptions of Highway Maintenance in Montana [series]

NHTSA · 1996 · ROSA P / Montana. Department of Transportation. Research, Development and Technology Transfer Program

archive: archived pipeline: cataloged verified

Get this paper ↗ (full text — opens at the source; we link to it, we don't host it)

Summary

This report presents the findings of two telephone surveys conducted in 2014 by the Center for Applied Economic Research at Montana State University Billings for the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT). The study aims to assess Montana residents’ perceptions of highway maintenance to inform MDT’s maintenance priorities. The surveys were administered in the winter (March–April) and summer (August–October) of 2014, utilizing random samples of landline and wireless telephone numbers to ensure representative coverage across all 56 counties. Each survey collected over 500 completed interviews, with respondents evaluated against U.S. Census demographics to ensure sample validity. The methodology employed standardized scales to measure Maintenance Rating (Excellent to Poor), Importance (Very Important to Not Important), and Priority (Very High to Low) across various categories, including overall system maintenance, winter maintenance, road surface, roadside, signage, debris removal, and travel information. Statistical analysis focused on identifying significant differences (at the 95% confidence level) between survey seasons, geographic districts, and demographic groups such as age, education level, gender, and urban versus rural residence. The results indicate that respondents generally rated overall road maintenance as Good or Excellent (70% statewide). Winter maintenance received the highest importance rating, with 78% of respondents deeming it Very Important, followed by debris removal and pavement markers. Conversely, roadside maintenance received the lowest priority ratings. Performance ratings varied by category; travel information received the highest percentage of Excellent ratings (49%), while road surface maintenance received the lowest (11%). Significant demographic trends emerged: urban residents, older adults (40+), and those with higher education levels (16+ years) consistently rated overall maintenance and specific categories like road surface and signage higher than their rural, younger, or less-educated counterparts. Men also tended to rate winter and debris removal maintenance higher than women. Geographically, western districts (Butte, Great Falls, Missoula) generally reported higher satisfaction with maintenance than eastern districts (Billings, Glendive). Additionally, residents in eastern Montana reported higher frequencies of canceling travel plans due to winter conditions compared to western residents. The study concludes that while general satisfaction with highway maintenance is high, there are distinct disparities in perception based on geography and demographics. The data reveals a gap between perceived performance and desired priority, particularly for winter maintenance, which is viewed as highly important but receives lower performance ratings in certain districts. These findings provide MDT with empirical evidence to allocate resources effectively, addressing specific concerns such as snow removal speed in eastern Montana and road surface quality, which saw lower ratings in the summer survey. The report underscores the value of biannual surveys in capturing seasonal variations in public opinion and identifying targeted areas for infrastructure improvement.

Key finding

Winter maintenance received the highest importance and priority ratings from respondents, whereas road surface maintenance received the lowest satisfaction ratings among all evaluated categories.

Methodology

survey

Sample size: 1000

Provenance

The full processing record for this entry. Every stage of this paper's journey through the pipeline is logged — what ran, with which tool and model, how many attempts it took, and when it last completed. Discovered via bulk_ingest_rosap on 2026-05-23 (6 acquisition events logged).

Summary generated by qwen3.6-27b-prismaquant on 2026-06-10; verification: verified.

Topics

Ranked by relevance to this paper. Hover a topic for its definition.

• incidence prevalence