SALT LAKE CITY — Utah motorists are getting a pretty good bargain for the roads they drive on, a new report showed.

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, from 2005 to 2009, every state in the country received more funding for highway programs than they contributed to the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund.

The report also stated that 28 states received a relatively lower share than they contributed and 22 states received a relatively higher share.

Road construction on I-80 at Parleys Summit, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011.

Utah received $1.10 for every dollar of fuel taxes and highway user fees it collected, putting the Beehive State toward the bottom of the national rankings. Texas received the lowest return getting $1.03 for each dollar contributed.

Conversely, Alaska got the highest return, getting $4.99 for every dollar contributed.

Whether your were higher or lower on the recipient list, states made out rather well, according to Utah’s top transportation official.

“It’s hard to say you’re not getting a fair shake when you’re getting more than you put in,” said Utah Deptartment of Transportation Director John Njord. “(No state) can argue that they didn’t get their fair share because they got more than they paid into (the trust fund).”

Since 2006, Utah has received more than $300 million dollars per year from the fund, UDOT records indicate.

Most of the money from the annual trust fund appropriation is typically designated to maintain state and federal roadways within each state, Njord said. However, there are numerous other categories that describe how certain “pots” of trust fund money can be used, he added.

The Equity Bonus Program paid out $44 billion overall to guarantee a minimum return to each state.

Nearly every state received Equity Bonus funding, with about half receiving at least 25 percent over their core funding.

Njord said an excess balance of federal monies that was left in the

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