Roads
How road conditions in Michigan have deteriorated since 2000 (Herald Palladium, 2/9/24)
How and where to report potholes in Southeast Michigan (Click on Detroit, 2/9/24)
Funding
Roads approach revenue cliff as Michigan draws last of $3.5B in road bonds (The Detroit News, 2/7/24) ATTACHED
- MITA Mention: Whatever the potential future funding approaches for Michigan’s roads, the apparent need for them will become clearer as the Rebuilding Michigan funds dwindle, said Lance Binoniemi, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association.
“Because we have been investing over the past few years and because there has been a significant amount of road work done, I think the public believes we’re getting the job done,” Binoniemi said. “But there’s no money to maintain what we’re doing now.”
State road repair bonds coming to an end: What comes next? (WILX 10, 2/8/24)
- MITA Mention: Camera interview with Lance
Michigan lawmakers discuss future funding for road and bridge infrastructure (WXYZ, 2/8/24)
Lawmaker: Vehicle repair fund exists because Michigan roads aren’t fixed (The Center Square, 2/9/24)
MDOT inviting Michiganders to answer survey on road funding (ABC 12, 2/5/24)
MITA: To Fund Road Fixes, Look Beyond Increasing Gas Tax (Gongwer, 2/6/24) ATTACHED
- MITA Mention: In a presentation to the House Transportation, Mobility and Infrastructure Committee, Lance Binoniemi, vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, said the state currently needs another $3.9 billion a year to bring 90 percent of its roads in “good or fair” condition.
“The citizens of Michigan should look at this and be ashamed that we are having these poor conditions in our infrastructure,” Binoniemi said. “It’s not a real question why — we have under invested in our infrastructure for decades.”
However, rather than helping to pay for roads by increasing fuel taxes for Michiganders at the pump, Binoniemi said it could be time for alternative fundraising methods like toll roads or per-mile fees for drivers.
“The [Growing Michigan Together] Council expressed the need to transfer away from a gas tax funded system and examine alternative dedicated funding sources to maintain Michigan’s roads infrastructure,” Binoniemi said. “We are a bit behind in Michigan when it comes to a road usage charge model or vehicle miles traveled model, and we believe that this is this is the direction that most states will end up going.”
Stormwater
Michiganders would like to hear presidential candidates address the problem of changing weather patterns on aging infrastructure (Michigan Public, 2/9/24)
State Budget
UP lawmakers respond to Gov. Whitmer’s budget proposal with a call for more funding for local roads (Upper Michigan’s Source, 2/8/24)
Whitmer proposes $80.7B budget focused on education, curbing some costs (The Detroit News, 2/7/24)
Whitmer calls for public safety, education funding boosts in budget plan (Michigan Public, 2/7/24)
