Idaho ranks in the middle of the pack - one of 19 states with "mixed results" - in a new report out today from the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller Foundation on how states are measuring and managing their transportation investments. Washington, meanwhile, ranked in the top group of 13 states identified as "leading the way."

Says the report, "States spent an estimated $131 billion on transportation in fiscal year 2010, but many cannot answer critical questions about what returns this investment is generating." States scoring highest in the report are those with "goals, performance measures and data that decision makers can use to choose cost-effective policy options and ensure the likelihood of a strong return for taxpayers." Why it matters: "Most states are entering their fourth year of the ongoing budget crisis, with revenues far below pre-recession levels and expenditures rising—and policy makers around the country are making tough choices about where to spend limited resources," the report says. "Meanwhile, some members of Congress are proposing that the next surface transportation reauthorization act, the law that governs the largest federal funding streams for states’ transportation systems, move from a compliance-based to a performance-based approach and more closely tie dollars to outcomes."

According to the report, Idaho's worst score came for tracking the impact of transportation investments on jobs and commerce. Click below for more.

Idaho's best scores were for tracking safety, access and environmental stewardship issues; every state in the nation got the top ranking for safety, largely because federal law forces states to track that and target investments toward improving it. "After a 2009 audit found the Idaho Transportation Department lacked 'a cohesive strategic vision and coordinated long-term infrastructure management plan,' it set out to produce one, and the legislature approved more than $8 million for new pavement and maintenance management systems, one of the audit's recommendations," the report notes. "Idaho is seeing positive results: A new 'preservation-first' approach has increased the percentage of bridges in good condition."

Washington's write-up noted top results in all categories but "access," in which it was ranked as middle-of-the-road. "In Washington state, following a significant reduction in funding in 2000 and a voter referendum in 2002 that rejected allocating additional monies, the state's Department of Transportation began scoring potential projects according to performance change per dollar spent, ranking the most cost-effective approaches to the state's transportation safety, congestion, environmental and economic goals," the report says. "This performance-oriented practice contributed to the legislature's willingness to allow the state to sell bond issues by increasing the gas tax by 5 cents in 2003 and by 9.5 cents in 2005 (phased in over four years), and ultimately increased public confidence in WSDOT." You can see the full report here; it's entitled, "Measuring Transportation Investments: The road to results."