By Governor Gretchen Whitmer
It’s pothole season once again in Michigan. Countless drivers are white knuckling their cars and hoping they don’t pop a tire or bust a rim. Michigan has notoriously bad roads, and I ran for office in 2018 to fix them. While I’m proud of the historic progress we’ve made, there’s still a lot more work to do. Today, I want to talk about how we can work together this year fix the damn roads for the long-term so we can keep people safe behind the wheel and lower costs for families today and in the future.
Roads are the backbone of our communities. They connect us, ensuring deliveries show up on time, people get where they need to go, and families can put down roots in our communities. Bad roads hinder growth and delay goods and services. Workers face longer commutes and higher repair costs. In Wayne County just 18% of roads are considered “good.” In Detroit, drivers pay more than $3,000 a year in road-related costs. This is unacceptable. To grow our economy, create jobs, and make Michigan a better place to live, it must change.
Over decades, we’ve consistently refused to invest in our roads. In 1997, we needed a 10- to 12-cent-per-gallon gas tax increase to raise the necessary revenue. But we got less than half that. The same story repeated in 2012. While Governor Snyder signed a $1.2 billion road funding package into law, it was just a start.
In 2018, I ran for governor to finish the job and fix the damn roads. After going to all 83 counties and meeting people from all walks of life, what I heard everywhere was that the fundamentals were broken. People wanted better roads so they could go to work, drop their kids off at school, and run errands without popping a tire or cracking their windshield. In 2020, I launched Rebuilding Michigan, a bond plan to fix our busiest highways and bridges. It’s made an enormous difference, especially in Metro Detroit, making long-term upgrades to important highways like 96, 275, 75, and 696. Since 2019, we’ve fixed more than 23,000 lane miles of roads and 1,600 bridges, all without raising taxes on drivers.
As I said in my state of the state address this year, however, Rebuilding Michigan was always a short-term fix for a long-term problem. Our roads are still crumbling faster than we can fix them. That’s why I’m working with Speaker Hall and Majority Leader Brinks to find a long-term, bipartisan solution to fix the damn roads once and for all. I’m committed to getting this done without taking money away from police officers, firefighters, housing, or economic growth. I’m grateful for Speaker Hall’s engagement on this issue.
But I need your help. If you’ll benefit from fixing the damn roads—whether through more money in your pocket thanks to fewer car repairs or a shorter and safer commute—please make your voice heard. Reach out to your elected officials and tell them how you feel. Together, we can fix the damn roads and grow Michigan’s economy.
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