Topeka ? A California foundation has ranked the Kansas state highway system third-best in the nation based on performance and cost-effectiveness.

The ranking by the Reason Foundation in Los Angeles is based on 11 indicators, including highway spending, pavement and bridge condition and fatalities. Kansas has ranked third each of the past two years of the study.

North Dakota was ranked first, followed by Montana in the report released Thursday.

Earlier this year, Reader’s Digest magazine ranked Kansas roads best in the nation based on several criteria, including condition of pavement.

Kansas enacted a 10-year, $8.2 billion transportation program this spring to make additional improvements.