A report released this week says billions of dollars are needed to fix Michigan’s Roads and bridges in addition to what state government has already pledged. In 2015 Gov. Rick Snyder signed a $1.2-billion road funding package that raised fuel taxes and registration fees and also takes $600 million a year from the state's general fund to fix and maintain Michigan's crumbling roads and bridges.
Despite that, The National Transportation Research Group said in their “Michigan Transportation Systems Report” that an additional 3 billion dollars is needed to fix the problem. According to the report released this week, 46 percent of Michigan’s roads will be in poor condition by the year 2020. The report identifies $3.3 billion in unfunded projects around the state, including $234 million in the Grand Rapids area alone.
In February, the American Road and Transportation Builders Association reported that over 1200 bridges in Michigan are “structurally deficient,” meaning “one or more of the key bridge elements, such as the deck, superstructure or substructure, is considered to be in "poor" or worse condition.”
The report this week goes one step further and states that the number of bridges in poor condition will increase by 50 percent in the next three years.
