6,080 miles of county road were improved in 2023, but according to the County Road Association of Michigan’s 2023 progress report they still fell short of benchmarks.
The CRA says counties should be working on about 15% of county roads each year, but counties have stopped gaining on the problem and are fixing less than half of the 13,500 mile benchmark goal. CRA CEO Denise Donohue says increased fuel efficiency and construction inflation are root causes of this issue.
“This year we were only 33 more miles than last year, which is one half of 1%. So basically we’ve stalled out. Our people are treading water funding that they currently have. We do not have enough funding.”
Donohue notes that the funding counties receive to improve roads plays a part in why the benchmark was not met.
“Michigan in 2023 sold the least amount of gallons of gas of any year in the last 25 years, with the exception of pandemic year. And yet 40% of the state money that goes to fix the road is coming from gas tax. And it’s a declining revenue source.”
The CRA expects the 2024 report to not be any different, and hope that legislature looks into a gas tax or license plate increase to help get closer to those benchmarks in 2025.
