Road Commissions weigh in about funding problems that make the outlook bleak
NORTHERN MICHIGAN -- The Michigan Department of Transportation released a YouTube video explaining how roads are funded, and we asked you on our Facebook page to tell us some of the worst roads in Michigan. We got more than 100 responses.
Thursday, we looked into local funding needed to repair some of those roads you told us about, and learned why most roads just won’t get done.
Sometimes, shocks and struts aren't even enough against the road war.
"We’ve got 25 percent of our roads in bad condition," said Emmet County Road Commission Manager Brian Gutowski.
Gutowski spent Thursday rating his roads and he says it would take $45-million to fix them all.
The problem is the county only brings in $3.5-million each year in state revenue, money from license registration and gas tax. That breaks down to about $2,000 in per-mile funding. And with an average replacement cost of $250,000 replace a mile of road, the problem is clear.
"125 years worth of funding just for this road," Gutowski said, explaining how long it would take to pay for the problem with current funding.
County road commissions rely on local township millages and payments up front to do substantial road work.
“We wouldn't hardly get any work done right now, the townships have been our savior for local road systems," said Gutowski.
And without townships ponying up the dough, the only thing Emmet County can do is patch potholes, and patch new potholes, a never ending cycle that never really cures the problem
Ostrander and Quarry Roads in Cheboygan County are some of the worst roads in Northern Michigan. Aa few years ago, township residents agreed to spend $15,000 to have a study done to see what it would cost to reconstruct this road and pave it. The cost was $2.4 million. They’ve been waiting, and still, nothing has been done.
Robert Woollard was one of the residents who agreed to pay for the study
“It seems like it's money that's just been spent for nothing. All they're doing is putting a Band-Aid over some every year," said Woollard.
“Right now, about 50 percent of our system is rated as poor," explained Cheboygan County Road Commission Manager Luke Houlton.
Houlton says if a township can't afford a fix, the county is far from it.
“We're barely able to do winter maintenance and summer maintenance," he said.
Whether it's Cheboygan, Emmet, or Grand Traverse Counties, this is a problem across the state.
“Local roads are falling apart, the infrastructure of our roads and bridges is collapsing, there just isn't enough funds to replace them,” said Jim Valde, Grand Traverse County Road Maintenance Supervisor.
And here's another stat: Each year, the average motorist pays $400 in car repairs because of our bad roads, and that same driver pays $125 a year in license fees and gas tax to fix Michigan roads.
Road commissioners say something needs to change.
To tell us about a nightmare road you drive down in Northern Michigan, weigh in below, or visit our Facebook Page.
