Mike Nystrom, executive vice president of MITA, and co-chair of the Michigan Transportation Team, was a guest on Tim Skubick's popular "Off the Record" broadcast January 20. 

http://wkar.org/offtherecord/program/4130/

Wednesday saw a new proposal from Governor Rick Snyder that some say could ease the pain at the pump.
Governor Snyder has announced plans to drop the tax that Michigan charges on each gallon of gas and diesel fuel in favor of a tax on the wholesale price of fuel.

To keep roads like Westnedge Avenue in Kalamazoo in good shape, Governor Snyder is looking to new sources of revenue, now he's looking to the gas pump.

“We're here to talk about something that typically doesn't get a lot of attention, infrastructure,” said Snyder.
The condition of Michigan's roads and infrastructure are what Governor Snyder says led him to make changes to how the state taxes gas.

His proposal, announced Wednesday and broadcast online, would replace the old state tax on each gallon of gas with a new system and use the new revenue to fix roads and bridges.

On Wednesday drivers filling up their tanks were concerned about changes to already unpredictable gas prices.

“I'm skeptical,” said Ronalie Turcott. “I want to know where the money went with all the stuff that was supposed to fix our roads.”

Here's the breakdown. If your car holds 15 gallons of gas, when you fill up the state currently charges you 19 cents per gallon, bringing the total tax to about $2.85. Under the new proposal that tax would be thrown out, with the wholesale prices being taxed instead.

If gas at the pump is $3.50, wholesale prices are generally 50 cents less than the price at the pump. That means under the governor's plan, you would pay a 6.7 percent tax on the $3.00 wholesale price.

Governor Snyder says that will allow the state to finally give some attention to roads and infrastructure.
“We've under-invested in them,” said Snyder. “We want to take advantage of them, but how often, because we take them for granted, they haven't gotten enough attention.”

http://www.wwmt.com/articles/michigan-1397511-newschannel-proposes.html

The governor is putting the finishing touches on what's being described as a very bold and dramatic message on how to re-vamp the way Michigan runs its road system.

He hopes the plan will raise more revenue for the state's aging roads and bridges. He'll lay out his plan on Wednesday.

Capitol Correspondent Tim Skubick has a sneak-peak. Click the video link for the full report.

http://www.wlns.com/story/15864425/governor?autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=6381048

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is asking the public: "Do you know where road and bridge funding comes from in Michigan?" with a new video posted to its YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/MichiganDOT <http://www.youtube.com/MichiganDOT> .

"Not everyone has all the facts about transportation funding, so we thought we could use YouTube to reach a large number of citizens and set the record straight," said State Transportation Director Kirk T. Steudle. "It's only a three-minute video, but we hope it will go a long way in helping the public better understand where transportation dollars come from and the funding challenges that Michigan is facing."

The Roads to Pure Michigan are Pure HELL  – check out this silly Pure MI spoof, which took top honors from the Public Relations Society of America this week.  The video, which was launched last year, has attracted over 105,000 viewers and has helped focus attention on our state funding transportation crisis.

CLEVELAND - Roz McAllister says she's had it.

The pothole problem on Broadway Avenue in Cleveland has become too much for her to take.

On the morning of her 57th birthday, McAllister parked her car in the middle of the street and refused to move until something was done about what she said was a dangerous situation.

"There is a pothole underneath my car, right in front of a manhole casement and it's blowing out tires," McAllister said, as she stood on the sidewalk near her black Toyota Corolla with its hazard flashers on.
"I called city hall, I've talked to streets, I talked to [Councilman] Tony Brancatelli's office and I've been sitting out here for two hours waiting for somebody to come," McAllister said.

McAllister said she first became aware of the problem pothole on Monday, after her son got a flat tire. She said she called police at the time to report the danger and was surprised to find the situation unchanged Tuesday morning.

"I come down here to get my oatmeal from McDonald's and I find that the hole is still here unrepaired," McAllister said. "This is a very dangerous hole. People are crossing the yellow line to get around it on the other side."

McAllister said while she had been parked in the street a number of City of Cleveland vehicles had passed by. She said a Cuyahoga County Sheriff's deputy warned her she could be ticketed for impeding the flow of traffic.
A few minutes later, a Cleveland police patrol car pulled up behind McAllister's car with its lights on. McAllister conferred with the officer then moved her car away, leaving the police to guard the pothole in question.

"Our city is better than this. We as citizens are better than this. It's time city hall figures that out," McAllister said, before she drove off.
 

LANSING, Mich. (WZZM)- Since Valentine's Day drivers around Michigan have reported more than 650 potholes to the state's new online system. 

Kent County is one of five counties with the most complaints.  40 reports of potholes around the county were sent in to the website. 

The website also features a map with the locations of the potholes, pictures and comments.
 

http://www.wzzm13.com/news/article/155806/14/State-takes-650-pothole-complaints-online

Click here to submit your 2011 pothole information, which will then be reported on our statewide map.