Gov. Gretchen Whitmer initially campaigned on “Fixing the damn roads,” but her pledge has fallen well short of expectations.
Based on new figures, Michigan’s 83 county road agencies are struggling to make gains improving the deteriorating county road network, according to findings in the Lansing-based County Road Association (CRA) of Michigan’s 2023 County Road Progress Report.
Increased fuel efficiency of vehicles, underpayment by electric vehicles of all types, and construction inflation are the root causes, according to CRA.
For the paved local road system, CRA has set a goal of 60 percent good/fair condition on local, nonfederal aid-eligible roads, which is the same as the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Instead, county roads have an average rating of 44 percent good/fair across all counties.
“Increased fuel efficiency of all vehicles means less gas tax coming into the Michigan Transportation Fund,” says Denise Donohue, CEO of the CRA. “This is compounded by the increased presence of all types of electric vehicles, and MDOT’s Highway Construction Cost Index that shows 25 percent cost increases since 2021.
“County road agencies cannot stretch existing dollars any further: We need more transportation funds in this legislative session, along with prompt adoption of a mileage-based pilot program for the future.”
CRA’s objective of 13,500 road miles improved annually equals 15 percent of the 90,500 miles of county roads. Counties are responsible for 75 percent of Michigan road miles and 52 percent of the bridges. MDOT has 8 percent of the road miles and 42 percent of the bridges, while cities and villages have 17 percent of the roads and 6 percent of the bridges.
“Despite the hard work by Michigan’s county road professionals in 2023, our survey found that only 6,080 miles of county roads were improved,” Donohue says. “That’s an increase of just over 30 additional miles of roads improved over the 2022 level. In short, counties have stopped gaining on the problem and are fixing less than half of our 13,500-mile-goal — a benchmark set to reach a primarily good- and fair-rated county road network.
“The 33 additional miles — a 0.5 percent increase — show we are now merely treading water and that our county road professionals are fighting a losing battle by trying to do the job at current funding levels.”
The CRA survey considers road improvements to be anything from road resurfacing, chip sealing to strengthen the surface and gravel replenishment, to occasional total reconstruction as well as crack sealing.
“Counties’ objectives are not to build new roads or major reconstruction, but rather trying to preserve and maintain the county transportation network already established in Michigan,” says Ed Noyola, chief deputy and legislative director at CRA. “Without a predominantly good-to-fair county road network, the costs to passenger vehicle drivers and commercial truckers multiply.
“At our recent northern Michigan conference, several of our speakers focused on how county road agencies need to further reduce spending and perhaps do less-complete fixes, engage in staff attrition, and put off needed equipment purchases among other things in order to balance the budget.”
CRA says it uses the same condition goal for paved primary roads as MDOT is utilizing: 90 percent good/fair on federal aid-eligible roads. These primary roads have an average rating of 65 percent good/fair across all reporting counties in 2023.
The 83 members of the CRA represent the unified voice for a safe and efficient county transportation infrastructure system in Michigan, including appropriate stewardship of the public’s right-of-way in rural and urban Michigan. County road agencies maintain the state’s highway system in 63 counties.
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