Topeka ? A new report by a national transportation group says 30 percent of the major rural roads in Kansas are in “poor” condition, the sixth highest rate in the country.

The impact, according to the Washington-based group TRIP, is a higher rate of accidents and road fatalities that threatens those parts of the state that produce much of the nation’s food and energy.

“The safety and quality of life in America’s small communities and rural areas and the health of the nation’s economy ride on our rural transportation system,” said Will Wilkins, executive director of TRIP. “This backbone of the heartland allows mobility and connectivity for millions of rural Americans.

In 2012, the report said, noniInterstate rural roads in Kansas had a traffic fatality rate three times higher than all other roads in Kansas: 2.26 deaths for every 100 million vehicle miles of travel.

Founded in 1971, TRIP is a nonprofit organization that researches, evaluates and distributes economic and technical data on surface transportation issues. According to the group’s website, it is sponsored by insurance companies, equipment manufacturers, distributors and suppliers, labor unions and other groups involved in highway construction.

Michelle Butler, executive director of Economic Lifelines, the state’s largest transportation lobby group, said the report highlights a critical need in Kansas.

“This report illustrates firsthand the challenges we face in meeting our state’s unique needs,” she said. “We must continue to face these challenges head-on to ensure the safety and economic vitality of our citizens.

The report is based on data from the Federal Highway Administration that includes roads maintained by all levels of government, but mainly state and local governments.

The report also highlights the fact that the Federal Highway Trust Fund, which pays for much of the maintenance of rural highways, is expected to run out of money as early as August unless Congress acts to provide more funding.

The Kansas Department of Transportation receives about $386 million a year from that fund, or about 25 percent of its annual budget.

TRIP defines rural roads as noninterstate highways in counties that lack an urban area of at least 50,000 people or a large commuting flow to an urban county.

Keith Browning, who heads the Douglas County Public Works Department, said that definition excludes Douglas County and most of its surrounding area. He also said that all of the 200-plus miles of roadway the county maintains is rated in at least fair or good condition.

In Douglas County, though, Browning noted that the county maintains only major collector roads. He said it is one of about 35 counties in Kansas where rural local roads, most of which are topped with gravel or chip-and-seal, are maintained by township governments, and the condition of those roads may vary widely.

“There are some differences between townships,” he said. “Some have a lot more miles than others. Wakarusa Township, which surrounds Lawrence, is quite a bit different. They chip-and-seal their rock roads. Some of the others don’t have hard-surface roads.”

Nationwide, according to the report, more than 46 million people live in rural counties and depend on those roads and bridges for transportation. But it said development of new oil and gas fields in many areas, combined with increased agricultural production, are adding new stress to the rural road system.

Kansas is currently in the fifth year of a 10-year, $7.8 billion highway program known as T-WORKS. That’s the same program funding the ongoing construction of the South Lawrence Trafficway extension and the Gateway interchange project in Johnson County that connects Kansas Highway 10 and Interstates 35 and 435.

KDOT officials have said they have enough revenue from other sources to continue current operations for three to six months in the event the federal highway funds dry up.