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A new study says Utah's highway conditions are among the nation's best, but the state pays a whopping four times the national average for administration per mile.

Utah ranked fifth-highest for administrative costs: $47,471 per mile in 2012, compared to a national average of $10,579. That is according to a study by the Reason Foundation, a California-based nonprofit group that promotes libertarian and free-market principles.

"High administrative costs in some states could be siphoning away money for road repairs," it said.

The Utah Department of Transportation says the study uses some faulty reasoning, and that UDOT's administrative costs actually are close to average.

UDOT spokesman John Gleason said the study appears to have included some pass-through corridor preservation funds that are controlled by local governments — among other miscellaneous spending that he says varies significantly from state to state.

"If those miscellaneous expenses are excluded, UDOT's administrative cost per mile is $14,500, not the $47,471 cited," he said.

Also, Gleason said the report makes calculations using "center-line" miles covered by highways, rather than "lane miles."

"So the report doesn't take into account the administrative costs associated with a 12-lane urban freeway compared to a two-lane rural road," he said.

"We question the validity of the Reason Foundation study, since it oversimplifies information gleaned from a complex report that is annually submitted by the states to the Federal Highway Administration," Gleason said.

The annual study ranks states on a combination of highway conditions and how effectively they spend money on them. It ranks Utah at No. 29 nationally, down from 27th, 22nd and 16th in the previous three years.

The study gives Utah high marks in the condition of its highways. It's No. 5 for urban Interstate freeway condition, No. 9 for rural freeway condition, No. 4 for condition of bridges, No. 1 for avoiding narrow lanes on rural arterial highways, and No. 6 for its fatality rate.

But Utah ranked No. 41 for total spending per mile (including administrative costs) and No. 34 for congestion on urban interstates — but that was for 2012 while Interstate 15 was being rebuilt in Utah County.