Michigan’s bridges are fast approaching dangerous. That’s the message from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, who made her case for changing the road funding model at the Mackinac Policy Conference Thursday. Whitmer highlighted one bridge in Dearborn held up by more than 500 temporary supports.
“It’s a threat to our economy,” Whitmer said. “If that bridge outside of the Ford Rouge factory goes down, think about what it means to our economy, but the more important thing, think about what it means to our safety.”
Whitmer says the roads are falling apart due to 40-years of shifting the money from the general and school aid funds while never raising revenue to address the long term needs. The governor says Michigan would need to spend $2.5 billion a year just to keep the roads in their current condition.
