AASHTO Journal, 6 April 2012
A major increase in transportation investment over the next decade will be needed to help substantially improve Michigan’s transportation infrastructure, the nonprofit transportation research organization TRIP concluded in a report released last Wednesday. As that report also points out, however, those increased expenditures will be more than offset by fewer costs linked to such challenges as traffic delays, roadway crashes, bridge backlogs, and extra vehicle repairs and maintenance.
“By working smarter, doing things differently, and reorganizing the department to create unprecedented efficiencies, the Michigan Department of Transportation has reduced spending by nearly $50 million,” said Kirk Steudle, MDOT director and AASHTO president, in a statement. “We will continue to find ways to do more with less, but that will not change the need for new spending to rebuild the state’s vital infrastructure system. The TRIP report’s findings validate those facts and cast a spotlight on an economic development imperative.”
TRIP found that inadequate roads and bridges presently cost the average Michigan household $3,014 per year. If the Great Lakes State continues to invest in its transportation network at current funding levels, the report estimates that costs per household will jump to $3,649 by 2022. On the other hand, TRIP notes that those expenses will drop to $1,745 per household by 2022 if Michigan instead invests in its transportation infrastructure at a level that would significantly improve the condition and performance of roads and bridges statewide.
As the report outlines, 35% of Michigan’s major roads have been rated as poor and, at current funding levels, that number will nearly double over the next decade to 65%. TRIP further notes, however, that the percentage of poor roads in the state will drop to only 14% during that same time frame if the investment level is instead sufficient to substantially improve that part of the transportation infrastructure.
“Michiganders have an opportunity to literally decide where their state is going based on the investment decisions made over the next decade,” said Will Wilkins, executive director of TRIP, in a statement. “Michigan must decide whether its future will be one of well-maintained, safe, and efficient roads, highways, and bridges supporting the state’s economic recovery or a state of further deteriorated roads, highways, and bridges, a less than optimal level of roadway safety, and a congested transportation system that is inadequate to support the state’s economic development goals.”
The 30-page report, “Where Are We Going? Current and Future Pavement and Bridge Conditions, Safety, and Congestion Levels of Michigan’s Roadways and the Impact on Michigan Households, Based on Investment Levels over the Next Decade,” is available at bit.ly/TRIP-MI-Report.