LANSING – Nearly three times as many federal aid roads in Michigan are in poor condition than there were seven years ago, according to The Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC), which released its 2010 annual report this morning.
The report revealed that 35 percent of federal aid roads, roads that qualify for federal transportation dollars, are in poor condition. Additionally, 46 percent of non-federal aid roads or almost half, which are typically residential streets or lightly traveled county roads, are in poor condition. In addition to the TAMC report, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) released an update on its five-year transportation program at a meeting of the State Transportation Commission in Lansing today.
“Once roads fall into poor condition, it costs five to six times more to fix them,” said Mike Nystrom, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association (MITA). “Today’s news is alarming – and the current funding levels will only result in the rapid worsening of Michigan’s transportation system.”
The TAMC report also showed that Michigan has a significantly higher percentage of structurally deficient bridges than other Great Lakes states. In 2010, 13.15 percent of all Michigan’s bridges were structurally deficient in Michigan – while Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin all had fewer structurally deficient bridges.
The MDOT five-year transportation plan shows that even if Michigan is able to match all of our federal aid from 2012-2015, the state will spend on average $110 million less per year to repair and rebuild roads and bridges as compared to this year (FY2011).
“The TAMC and MDOT reports make it clear that Michigan is in a race towards the worst roads in the nation,” said Nystrom. “We continue to urge a long-term, sustainable funding solution to this transportation funding crisis – this is not only about safety, but about the health of Michigan’s economic future.”
In 2008, the Transportation Funding Task Force (TF2), an assembly appointed by the legislature and the governor, recommended that Michigan at least double its current investment in transportation.
Both new reports are attached to this press release, or they can be viewed in full in the report section at: www.drivemi.org.
The Michigan Transportation Team (MTT) is a broad-based, bipartisan partnership of business, labor, local government, associations and citizens with the common goal of improving Michigan’s transportation infrastructure. The DriveMI campaign is committed to promoting the development and maintenance of a safe, convenient and efficient transportation network that serves the public, private and economic development needs of Michigan. Please visit www.drivemi.org or www.facebook.com/fixmichiganroads for more information on transportation funding. Citizens can also follow MTT on twitter @drivemi or visit our YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/user/FixMIRoads .