Road Funding
Michigan’s Big Show with Michael Patrick Shiels (3/20/25)
- MITA Mention: Rob interview
House passes $3.1B road funding plan with some Dem support. Senate calls it ‘nonsense’ (The Detroit News, 3/19/25)
- MITA Mention: “It is time for all sides in Lansing to come together quickly to finalize a plan that will save thousands of jobs, provide long-overdue road improvements, and put money back into the pockets of Michigan drivers,” said Rob Coopersmith, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association.
Michigan lawmakers pass $3.2 billion road repair plan (Up North Live, 3/19/25)
- MITA Mention: “As Michigan faces a critical road funding crisis, the House has taken decisive action by passing an essential nine-bill package that secures long-term funding for our transportation infrastructure,” Rob Coppersmith, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association (MITA), said in a release.
“By redirecting existing state funds, this plan strengthens Michigan’s transportation budget, ensuring critical investments in roads and bridges while protecting thousands of construction jobs. The passage of these bills is an important step toward a sustainable solution that will save Michigan drivers money and prevent further economic strain as we approach the road funding cliff later this year.”
Road Funding On A Road Trip To The Senate (MIRS, 3/19/25) ATTACHED
- MITA Mention: When asked why he would transmit bills to the Senate that don’t raise revenue, Speaker Hall said in a press conference that this is the closest the Legislature has ever been to reaching a road funding plan and mentioned that groups like the Michigan Infrastructure
and Transportation Association (MITA) support the bills.
After Clearing Committee, Roads Package Vote Expected in House Wednesday (Gongwer, 3/18/25) ATTACHED
- MITA Mention: The Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association praised the committee for advancing the bills.
“With this momentum, it is critical that leaders in Lansing act quickly to pass a plan that protects thousands of jobs while ensuring our roads and bridges are safe and reliable for future generations,” Rob Coppersmith, executive vice president of the organization said in a statement. “Michigan has kicked the can down the road for too long–now is the time for action.”
House Moves Road Funding Plan Telling Senate To Get Onboard; Dems Call It Half-Baked (Gongwer, 3/19/25) ATTACHED
- MITA Mention: “Michigan is in desperate need of a new road funding plan as drivers speed into spring pothole season, any legislative movement toward an eventual negotiated solution, like this one, is progress to be celebrated because that means progress toward smoother roads, job creation and a growing economy,” Build It Michigan Strong Coalition spokesperson John Sellek said in a statement.
The coalition includes the Michigan Chamber of Commerce, the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, the Home Builders Association of Michigan, among others.
Road-funding package passes House, setting stage for further negotiations (Crain’s Detroit Business, 3/19/25) ATTACHED
$3.1B road-funding plan that pulls over $1B from business incentives moves forward (Crain’s Detroit Business, 3/18/25) ATTACHED
Michigan House approves Republican road funding package (Detroit Free Press, 3/19/25)
$3.14B road funding package passes Michigan House (MLive, 3/19/25)
Michigan House votes on road funding plan (CBS Detroit, 3/19/25)
Michigan House passes GOP roads package without Democratic counter-proposal in sight (Bridge Michigan, 3/19/25)
Michigan’s small cities and villages receive funding to fix roads (WLNS, 3/19/25)
Michigan House Republicans approve $3.1 billion road funding plan (ABC 12, 3/19/25)
Michigan lawmakers pass $3.2 billion road repair plan (WWMT 3, 3/19/25)
Republican-led Michigan House passes $3.14B road funding plan; Senate Democrats remain opposed (Local 4/Click on Detroit, 3/19/25)
Republican-led road funding bill passes Michigan House (WXYZ, 3/19/25)
Bills would redirect corporate welfare to pave roads (Michigan Capitol Confidential, 3/19/25)
State road funding plan moves to Michigan Senate (WILX, 3/19/25)
Republicans’ $3.1B road funding plan clears the Michigan House (Michigan Advance, 3/20/25)
Road Funding Packages Hitches A Ride Out Of Committee (MIRS, 3/18/25) ATTACHED
4 things to know about road funding proposal that cleared House committee (MLive, 3/18/25)
Kennedy: Fix Michigan’s roads without driving away jobs (The Detroit News, 3/17/25)
Bridges
Bay City bridge replacement among major road projects in the region this year (Capital News Service/Lansing City Pulse)
- MITA Mention: When it comes to funding, organizations like Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association keep an eye on it.
“We follow the state budget very closely, ” said Lance Binoniemi, the vice president of government affairs for the association.
“If we run out of revenues and nothing is done to pass a long-term road funding plan, it would create job loss in the state,” he said.
Binoniemi and the association create their models through annual reports by the Transportation Asset Management Council.
The reports contain information about trends across the state, project details, how federally aided roads are holding up and predictions of their conditions in the next five to 10 years.
“We monitor all that you see in the funding gap,” Binoniemi said. “We follow the revenues that the state gets for its transportation out of the gas tax and registration fees.”
Binoniemi said the state infrastructure needs to improve, but state spending also needs to be watched and managed carefully.
“We invested a significant amount of money into our roads and bridges from the infrastructure investment that Congress passed in 2020, and those investments run out in 2026,” he said.
