LANSING – Unless there’s a sharp U-turn in Michigan’s economic fortunes, the state’s roads and bridges are course for further deterioration – and that’s a job-killer for the building trades.

On Nov. 9 the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) issued a list of the state’s worst roads in conjunction with a report by the Michigan Asset Management Council Annual Report of Roads & Bridges.

Citing the Michigan Asset report, MITA said Michigan’s roads “are deteriorating rapidly.” Said Mike Nystrom, vice president president of government and public relations for MITA: “This isn’t a case of road agencies not doing their jobs. Michigan’s local road systems are collapsing because funding continues to plummet.”

An economic model completed in August by the University of Michigan concludes that Michigan will lose an estimated 25,000 jobs from 2006-2014 due to declining MDOT road and bridge program. “Largely due to the front-loading of (American Resource and Recovery Act) funds in 2009, there is a considerable drop-off in the economic effects of the program post-2009,” said the University of Michigan report, prepared by the Economic Development Research Group and the Institute for Research on Labor, Employment, and the Economy at the U-M.

The U of M study said that in 2006, MDOT’s investment in Michigan’s highway infrastructure created 30,824 jobs across all sectors of the economy. However, those jobs will drop by nearly 24,000 jobs to only 5,944 total jobs by 2014, due to plummeting state revenues. More than 7,000 jobs will be lost in 2010 alone and another 9,000 more will be lost in 2011, when the state is scheduled to lose almost $600 million in federal aid, according to further analysis by MDOT.

The Michigan Asset report found that over the course of a single year, the percentage of Michigan roads in “poor” condition increased from 25 percent in 2007 to 32 percent in 2008. The latest figure represents more than 17,378 lane miles of federal-aid-eligible roads. Federal aid roads are those eligible for at least some federal dollars in addition to state dollars. They are often considered the best-maintained roads because of their high traffic volumes.

In 2009, the Michigan Department of Transportation will spend $1.1 billion on the state’s Highway Program. But the program was bolstered with the infusion of $490 million in stimulus money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

In 2010, based on its anticipated revenues, MDOT announced there would be a $1.44 billion investment in the state’s 2010 Highway Program. Part of that number includes $148 million in stimulus money.

In 2011 and beyond, the funding situation grows much more dire for the state’s roads. MDOT said it is “conservatively” projecting annual shortfalls of $600 million in the Highway Program starting in 2011 as a result of anticipated declines in state transportation revenues. Those falling revenues – the vast majority of much of which come from the state gas tax and vehicle registration fees – mean that the state loses out on matching funds from the federal government.

A year ago, the 13-member Michigan Transportation Funding Task Force – a bipartisan group appointed by the governor and legislature that included labor, political and business representatives – reviewed the state of the state’s transportation system for 10 months and concluded that if current funding levels continue, “The financial and practical impacts of this inadequate level of investment are so profound that this is clearly not an option for Michigan.”

Apparently, the status quo is an option. Michigan’s per-gallon motor fuel taxes (19 cents per gallon for gasoline and 15 cents for diesel fuel) currently provide about half the revenue to the state Transportation Fund. Michigan’s per-gallon motor fuel taxes have not increased in 11 years, and were not increased for ten years prior. “This helps explain why under-investment in transportation is an ongoing problem in Michigan,” the group said.

Road construction spending generally increased through this decade, after motorists’ outcries in the 1990s about the state’s horrible roads led to greater spending.

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Following are the rankings of the conditions of local roads by Michigan Asset Management Council Annual Report of Roads & Bridges.

Federal aid roads are those eligible for at least some federal dollars in addition to state dollars. They are often considered the best maintained roads because of their high traffic volumes.

The report rated each road on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the worst. It analyzed the municipalities with the most roads rating a 4 or lower. Roads in this condition are considered “poor” and require a complete structural overhaul, usually costing four to five times as much as the cost of routine maintenance.

Counties with the most miles of roads rated in poor condition:
1. Wayne, 1,841 miles
2. Oakland, 1,292 miles
3. Genesee, 1,216 miles
4. Washtenaw, 977 miles
5. Calhoun, 932 miles
6. Kent, 805 miles
7. Macomb, 753 miles
8. St. Clair, 586 miles
9. Menominee, 550 miles
10. Oceana, 534 miles

Municipalities with the most miles of roads rated in poor condition:
1. Detroit, 586 miles
2. Grand Rapids, 200 miles
3. Ann Arbor, 189 miles
4. Flint, 165 miles
5. Livonia, 143 miles
6. Southfield, 142 miles
7. Lansing, 136 miles
8. Sterling Heights, 119 miles
9. Saginaw, 114 miles
10. Mt. Morris Township, 114 miles

A total of 24 municipalities had 100 percent of their federal aid roads in poor condition. The county with the greatest percentage of roads in poor condition was Oceana, with a whopping two-thirds of its federal aid roads in poor condition.