(WXYZ) — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer swept into office in 2018 with the now-famous tagline “fix the damn roads.”
It’s been a top priority for the past six years now.
Watch Mike Duffy's video report below:
So I’m talking with both everyday Michiganders and the experts to gauge how people are feeling right now and asking what still needs to be done.
“I think it’s a terrible job," said Devon Willis, who lives in Warren. In terms of what she'd like to see done, she says "less potholes, less working on the same road ten times in a row.”
Mary Beth Goran lives in Sterling Heights, she said she waited a long time for 14 Mile Road.
"Now it’s looking pretty good. But there’s still potholes," she said.
Ron Brenke, executive director with the American Council of Engineering Companies of Michigan, is a bit more measured.
“We’re making progress but we haven’t gotten there yet," said Brenke.
Video: Check out Governor Whitmer's first State of the State address from 2019
He explained that in 2023 the American Society of Civil Engineers put out a report card giving Michigan a D for our roads.
“Since that time we have seen some more investment, mainly on the trunk lines through the governor’s bonding program. So that has helped the main line roads. I think local roads are still suffering," he said.
"If there is so much bipartisan support for fixing our roads, why do we have shortfalls? Why can’t we just get it done?' I asked.
“Everybody compares us to other states like Ohio and Indiana. They were funding their roads to a much higher level than Michigan was. And it shows. And so it took us decades to get to this place, and it's going to take us just as long to get out of it," he said.
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As for county road needs, that’s Denise Donohue’s specialty.
“We at the County Road Association like to talk about fixing the damn road funding. And so we would like to think that Michigan Legislature has made a big, historic step forward in terms of that," said Donohue.
She’s specifically talking about the 2025 Michigan transportation funding package, which is designed to generate over a billion in new funding revenue in 2026, moving up to 2 billion by 2030. A large portion of that money is directed toward local road agencies.
“I think that we’re going to be able to take Michigan Roads from predominantly fair and on the low end of the fare scale, and really make some progress restoring the roads in Michigan," she said.
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Governor Whitmer’s original 2020 $3.5 billion road bonding initiative was focused on main MDOT arteries, so county roads have their work cut out for them.
“In 2024, we fixed only 1% more miles than we did in 2023, when our goal is to improve 13,000 miles of roads per year. We’re not even halfway to that goal," she said.
If anyone knows the headaches of fixing local roads, it’s Macomb County Executive Mark Hackel.
“This is one of the roads that’s slated to get fixed this summer here in Macomb County," said Hackel as we took a look at North River Road.
"Have we fixed the damn roads in Michigan?" I asked him.
“You know I’ve always found that very interesting. People say fix the damn roads. I realize there isn’t a damn road or damn bridge we can’t fix if we fix the funding. That has been the biggest challenge and that has become our concern over the years," he said.
He says Macomb will now get about $100 million annually, but there’s a $2.5 billion need.
“The challenge we face, this isn’t something, even though I’m satisfied with what the governor has done with the legislature, it still is going to be a long time coming before we actually are able to fix all these roads the way the public expects them to be," he said.
