Michigan roads are falling apart faster than they’re being fixed

In a decade, 48% of Michigan’s busiest roads will be in poor condition

By Jamie A. Hope | January 3, 2024

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has taken to arguing that she’s fixed the roads in Michigan. What she leaves out is that Michigan’s roads continue to fall apart faster than they’re being fixed.

“We kept on fixing the damn roads, up to 20,000 lane miles and 1,400 bridges since I took office,” Whitmer posted on Dec. 20 on X.

Although road conditions did not deteriorate substantially, according to Michigan’s 2022 Roads and Bridges Annual Report, travelers may face a bumpy ride in the future. The report is published by the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council.

“This trend is not expected to continue as paved federal-aid roads are expected to deteriorate, outpacing the potential funding available to maintain the network,” the report says.

At the current trajectory, roads will fall apart faster than they are fixed.

The rating categories for roads are good, fair, or poor condition. Of the roads studied, 25% are rated as good, 42% as fair, and 33% as poor. Forecasts show that only 20% of these roads will be in good condition in 2034. The percentage of roads in fair condition will drop to 32%, and a plurality of Michigan’s federal-aid roads, 48%, will be rated as being in poor condition.

Local roads and bridges will not fare much better, as previously reported by CapCon. In March 2023, Senate Democrats rejected a budget amendment that would have taken $800 million of a proposed $1.3 billion corporate pork package and used it to fix local roads and bridges.

“All the gains in reduction of poor bridges over the last 10 years have been lost,” the transportation council’s 2021 annual concluded.

Whitmer did not respond to a request for comment.

Michigan Capitol Confidential is the news source produced by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. Michigan Capitol Confidential reports with a free-market news perspective.

EV mandates, energy transition threaten grid, regulator warns

Decline of ‘resource adequacy’ in Michigan will cause shortfalls starting in 2028

By James David Dickson | January 2, 2024

Energy reliability could worsen over the next decade, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation warned last month. Two of the culprits named by the 2023 Long-Term Reliability Assessment are the forced transition to electric vehicles and the mandatory phasing out of reliable energy sources without suitable alternatives.

The corporation is an international regulator that assesses risks to the North American energy grid and warns of threats to its reliability.

“In recent years, we’ve witnessed a decline in reliability, and the future projection does not offer a clear path to securing the reliable electricity supply that is essential for the health, safety and prosperity of our communities,” said John Moura, NERC’s director of reliability assessment and performance analysis, in a statement accompanying the assessment.

The regulator warns that the grid covering Michigan, served by the Midcontinent System Operator, will face shortfalls before 2030, even if all the expected wind and solar resources expected come online.

“Beginning in 2028, MISO is projected to have a 4.7 GW shortfall if expected generator retirements occur, despite the addition of new resources that total more than 12 GW,” NERC warns.

Electricity demand had been flat or declining prior to 2023 but has risen significantly since the 2022 assessment, NERC says.

“Resource adequacy concerns arise throughout the next 10 years, stemming from higher demand, generator retirements and the potential for replacement resources to fall short of capacity and energy needs,” NERC says.

The corporation notes that many coal and nuclear facilities will be retired through 2033, while more wind and solar infrastructure is expected to be built.

“The 2023 (assessment) finds that most areas are facing resource adequacy challenges, with many projected to have reserve shortages or emerging energy risks in future years,” the corporation said in its announcement of the 2023 assessment. “In addition, the new mix of resources heightens fuel supply concerns as the reliance on just-in-time delivery of natural gas fuel to generation increases.”

Read it for yourself: NERC warns of ‘resource adequacy concerns’; NERC 2023 Long Term Reliability Assessment