While North Carolina earned the number 1 spot in CNBC’s ranking of best states for business, the Tar Heel State didn’t even crack the top 15 for infrastructure.

CNBC ranked us 17th – right in the middle of the pack. For a place once heralded nationally as “The Good Road State,” that’s concerning.

But it’s not terribly surprising. It’s the latest in a long line of examples that prove North Carolina needs to modernize its transportation revenue model. If we don’t, we’ll fall even further behind.

Economic studies show clearly that investments in transportation infrastructure pay significant dividends for a state’s economy.

Here are the documented benefits for every billion dollars spent on transportation infrastructure:

• 14,300 jobs created
• $10.3 billion in wages generated
• $10.8 billion in gross state product produced.

In the race for economic supremacy and a better quality of life, the decisions state legislators make over the next few years will determine whether NC zips into the lead or loses the pace for good.