OSHA is union blind.

Michigan's transportation plan for the next five years will spend $5.9 billion on the repair and maintenance of state roads through 2009 - with much lower spending on the construction of new roads - the Michigan Department of Transportation announced last month.

A wide-ranging report by MDOT on the state of the state's transportation system said that Michigan's highways, roads and bridges will improve over the next several years. However, there are huge question marks over funding levels beyond 2009.

"This is a forecast; we just don't know what money will be there for brand-new construction," said Michigan Department of Transportation Director Gloria Jeff. "The largest, single most important influence on funding has to be at the federal level."

One thing is for sure: Gov. Jennifer Granholm is moving Michigan away from using taxpayer funds to pay for new roads. MDOT said the governor's "Fix it First" program places "an increased emphasis on preserving our transportation system rather than expanding it." State transportation officials project an average of $1.2 billion per year will be spent on state road construction through 2009 - and of those expenditures, 95 percent will be spent on maintaining the existing road system.

"The philosophy behind the 'fix it first'campaign is a response to our tight state budget," said MDO spokesman Ben Kohrman. "We have to make sure existing infrastructure is in the best possible condition."

Road spending in Michigan is way up from a decade ago. In the three-year period of 1994-1997, Michigan spent a total of $1.7 billion on road work, when public uproar over potholes pushed road spending higher.

Michigan's roads are improving, and will continue to do so up to a point, MDOT says. On state freeways, 86 percent were deemed "good" in 2004, and that's expected to climb to 91 percent in 2007. But MDOT said that "good" condition is expected to drop down to 87-89 percent beyond 2007.

On the state's non-freeway roads: 81 percent were deemed "good" in 2004, which MDOT says is expected to climb to 84 percent "good" by 2007. But after that, progress is also expected to fall off.

Also expected to drop - significantly - is construction employment in the road building industry. MDOT said Hardhat employment is expected to drop from 9,881 in 2005, to 6,818 in 2009.

"The projections were made with some real question marks about how much federal money is going to be available," Kohrman said. "The downturn in jobs and the amount of construction we will be able to do is a direct reflection on how much money will be available from the federal government - which is something we don't know."

Congress and President Bush have been grappling for more than a year to get together on a long-term federal funding plan for the nation's roads. Michigan's budget is tight and lawmakers have been in no mood to impose a higher gasoline tax to pay for better roads.

In recent weeks there have been hints that Michigan could see an increase of $100 million to $300 million in increased federal revenues for transportation spending. But according to a national nonprofit transportation research group, The Road Information Program, Michigan needs to spend an additional $700 million a year on its highway system to maintain and continue to improve road and bridge conditions.

Still, the money that's being spent on Michigan roads has a number of economic side benefits. A University of Michigan study released Feb. 17 said that MDOT's road and bridge program will create 26,550 Michigan jobs in 2005 and will amount to $57.6 million of travel time savings for households and $35 million in savings for businesses as a result of improving pavement conditions and increasing capacity between 2005 and 2009.

These savings will generate $6.5 billion of inflation-adjusted Gross State Product and create $4.2 billion in real personal income for the state. The study was completed by the University of Michigan's Institute of Labor and Industrial Relations with assistance from the Economic Development Research Group, Inc.

Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm welcomed the results of the study, commenting that her administration's transportation priorities "further reinforce the connection between good roads and good jobs for Michigan."

"MDOT's work to preserve state roads and bridges provides residents and visitors alike with a good quality of life, helps promote responsible land use, and ensures that Michigan's businesses keep their global competitive edge," the governor said.

ONE OF THE LARGEST ongoing road construction projects in the state is the $58.6 million project to rebuild I-94 between Beech Daly and Pelham roads. Included is the reconstruction of the I-94-Telegraph interchange, shown above., which will include a new arch bridge.

OPERATORS PREPARE TO move a crane across Telegraph Rd. at I-94 in Taylor.