States spend approximately 25 percent of their highway budgets on maintenance and highway and traffic services. Maintenance costs are those costs needed to keep a highway or road in usable condition, such as expense to fill pot holes. These do not include costs for activities such as resurfacing that are intended to extend the life of the highway or road beyond its originally intended design.
Highway and traffic service costs are those associated with highway and road operations and management techniques that are designed to improve traffic flow, relieve congestion, reduce environmental impact and improve aesthetic appeal. These include expenses for operating highway management centers, traffic surveillance and control systems, snow and ice removal, highway beautification activities, litter control, vegetation management, erosion control, and air quality programs. In some states this also may include the construction and operation of visitor centers and rest areas.