As a young reporter in Grand Rapids, I often pulled a short straw and was assigned to do stories about annual studies of the region's “infrastructure.”

You may insert your own yawn here.

Inevitably, the reports forecast dire problems looming with roads, bridges and other publicly owned and maintained infrastructure. Suddenly, infrastructure is a hot topic. A horrific bridge collapse will do that.

“A bridge in America shouldn't just fall down,” said U.S. Sen. Amy Kobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat.

Yet as we read this week, many of our bridges aren't up to snuff. Of the 3,600 bridges in Southeast Michigan, about 1,200 are viewed in some way as deficient, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments. The bridges range in size from tiny rural roads that run over a farm culvert to larger bridges over highways or rivers. Rarely are problems great enough to close a bridge; more often, a weight limit is imposed.

That has its costs too, both in public safety (a fire truck taking a longer way around) or business not getting from Point A to Point B as quickly.

“I've planted ump-teen stories about the problems in Michigan,” SEMCOG Executive Director Paul Tait told me last week.

SEMCOG projects the cost to repair, replace and maintain roads, bridges and the current bus systems in this region over the next 25 years at $70 billion; anticipated revenue tops out at $40 billion.

So Tait is among those lobbying lawmakers to increase the state gas tax by 3 cents per gallon in each of the next three years. Each cent would generate $50 million statewide, eventually adding $450 million per year for infrastructure.

Lawmakers shy away from a gas tax increase. It certainly wouldn't be popular with a lot of motorists. But the only positive to come from a disaster like the I-35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis may be creating a public will to invest in our bridges and roads.