The Department of Transportation's "Roads Innovation Task Force" says the state of our state roads is down from 82% to 54% and our roads could get worse before they get any better.
"We know we're on a steep, you know, downturn. There's a curve in the pavement, that all Michigan roads is going to continue to decline without more investment" said Jeff Cranson of MDOT.
In November, Governor Snyder signed a $1.2 Billion road funding package. Of the $1.2 the Department of Transportation gets 39% and they're planning on using every penny.
"We planned to do everything we can to maximize that and stop the steep decline of pavement" Cranson said. "Now is there still going to be some decline? Yeah, it's just not going to be as bad. Think of it as sort of stopping the bleeding."
Cranson tells News Ten that to see better roads that last longer, taxpayers will have to be willing to pay for it.
"It's about investment and if you want to pay a lot more than you can build pavement that lasts for 50 years but you'd have to pay a lot more for it," said Cranson.
He knows homeowners aren't willing to pay now but says it will have to happen eventually.
"We expect it to be smooth and we expect it to be clear of snow and properly salted and all of these things cost a lot of money and transportation system," Cranson said. "A good safe transportation system is an expensive thing to have."
If taxes were to go up, Jonathan Wendt says he'd pay it.
"In Michigan we've got harsher weather than most people have to deal with so we're gonna have to pay more for roads. That's just the facts of life," Wendt said.
He says since he avoids many city roads, a haul of the current roads would be worth a higher tax.
"I don't drive as much in the city, I'm more of a highway country driver. So yeah I'm sure they'll get worse before they get better," Wendt said.
