Governor Gretchen Whitmer delivered her first State of the State address on Tuesday and infrastructure was the topic she discussed the most. Just as she did on the campaign trail, Governor Whitmer expressed an urgency to finding a long term, sustainable solution for our crumbling roads and bridges. Playing on her campaign slogan to “Fix The Damn Roads”, the Governor encouraged citizens to use the hashtag #FTDR and to showcase their various car repairs and the crumbling streets they drive on.
The Governor also made a point to focus on underground infrastructure. Specifically, she said, “From our roads to our water, infrastructure is the crisis we see – we see it in our commutes, in our communities and in our homes.” Underground infrastructure investment was another major campaign topic last year and it will continue to be a focus throughout her tenure.
While the Governor listed our infrastructure as a “crisis” that we need to tackle, details on how we get that done will be addressed in her budget presentation on March 5th. There is much speculation around Lansing on what exactly she will propose as a way to solve the problem, but she has promised that it will be a large investment and it will be real dollars. This likely means that it will include increases in revenues through user fees and an over $2 billion recommendation.
As the Governor unveils her plan to solve the infrastructure problem, MITA will continue to update members on details of the plan and will also suggest how you can help. As she mentioned in the speech, “while its hard to imagine that things could get worse, that’s precisely what will happen if we don’t act boldly and swiftly.”
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Mike Nystrom, Executive Vice President, at mikenystrom@thinkmita.org or Lance Binoniemi, Vice President of Government Affairs, at lancebinoniemi@thinkmita.org. They both can be reached at 517-347-8336.
