Oakland County roads chief: Roads really are better, but future requires work – Crain’s Detroit Business
It may seem hard to believe for Michigan motorists this year, given the abundance of potholes, but the reality is Michigan’s roads are in much better shape in 2022 than they were five years ago when Michigan’s gas tax and vehicle registration fees were increased. However, the pothole challenges we have seen this year make it clear that we have a ways to go yet before Michigan’s road condition problems are in the rear-view mirror.
Let me give you an example. In 2017, when the gas tax and vehicle-registration fee increased (the increases were approved by the state Legislature and signed by the governor in 2015), about 9 percent of the Road Commission for Oakland County paved roads were in good condition. Today, that number is about 46 percent.
Now, 46 percent is still nowhere near where we would like to be, but it is far better than 9 percent. The reason for that improvement is that we put the vast majority of the new funds we received into improving the condition of our paved roads.
Why were the roads in such poor shape to begin with? Because Michigan simply had not adequately funded its roads for decades. U.S. Census Bureau data reveals that Michigan had been among the bottom nine states in the nation in per capita state and local road funding since at least 1964 through at least 2017.
We are finally beginning to rise slightly in that ranking thanks to the 2015 road-funding package. However, our projection is that by 2025, inflation will have eaten up the “buying power” of the new revenue from the 2015 package, and the condition of our roads will again begin to decline.
In fact, the County Road Association of Michigan (CRA — the organization that represents Michigan’s 83 county road agencies) has concluded that to adequately maintain Michigan’s paved county roads, we should be improving 15 percent of those roads each year, which equates to 13,500 miles of roads. In 2021, Michigan’s county road agencies improved about 5,700 miles of roads — a record for recent years, but far short of the goal of 13,500 miles.
All of this underscores the fact that the 2015 road-funding package was not adequate to address Michigan’s road needs. And, that was agreed upon at the time the package was approved by both Gov. Rick Snyder and many members of the Legislature of both parties. They noted the package was a “good start,” but that the Legislature would need to further address road funding if Michigan ever hoped to see significant, sustainable improvements to its road system.
A second headwind facing Michigan’s road funding is electric vehicles. While these vehicles may be helping the environment, they certainly are not helping our roads.
Since they don’t use gas, they don’t pay gas taxes, even though they cause as much wear and tear on the roads as other vehicles. It’s true they pay a slight increase in vehicle registration fees, but that does not make up for the lost revenue resulting from not paying the gas tax.
This problem is only going to get worse, as sales of electric vehicles are projected to soar in coming years and will exacerbate Michigan’s road-funding crisis.
That’s why we need the Legislature to keep roads on its priority list. It would be terribly unfortunate if the condition of Michigan’s roads began backsliding after 2025. It would be bad for Michigan’s economy, it would be bad for the quality of life of Michigan’s residents, and it would be bad for the pocketbooks of every motorist in the state (the link between deteriorating roads and increased vehicle maintenance costs has been repeatedly documented).
It would also be ironic, at a time when Michigan’s budget is, for the first time in my memory, full to overflowing with cash. One has to ask, if we can’t solve this critical problem now, when will we? And, further, isn’t providing good roads for the state a basic, but critical function of state government?
We need the governor and the state Legislature to come together and finish the job started by the previous governor and the Legislature in 2015 and increase road funding to a level that will allow us to restore the roads and then keep them in good shape. This is not a partisan political issue, and it is an issue that directly impacts every community in the state.
Get it done! If needed, there are plenty of us in the industry who are willing to help them figure this out.
Frankly, adequate, additional road funding is the only way we’ll ever get to the point where potholes are not the dominant news story at this time every year.
Dennis Kolar is managing director for the Road Commission for Oakland County.
