Jackson Free Press

"I think a lot of people will recognize that we need more money, whether it is fuel taxes or some other avenue."

—Mississippi Department of Transportation Southern District Commissioner Tom King speaking about the need to maintain the 27,156 lane miles of roads and highways the state is responsible for.

Why it stinks: The state's road program, put in place in 1987, made no provisions for maintenance, and the commission says that it has had to shift funds from building new roads to maintaining deteriorating roads.

In recent years, maintenance costs have spiraled upward—the price of asphalt tripled, for example—while fuel taxes haven't kept up. The annual deficit is approximately $250 million, reported the Memphis Commercial Appeal.

By now, 4,630 miles of state roads are in serious need of rehabilitation at an estimated cost of $960 million, Central District Transportation Commissioner Dick Hall told the paper.

Mississippi's tax rate to support roads is one of the lowest in the nation. The state's drivers pay combined 37.2 cents per gallon of gas in state and federal taxes (43.2 cents per gallon of diesel), and another 18.8 cents in a state excise tax.