Study reveals bleak picture of Michigan's roads, bridges

LANSING — According to a newly released study, Michigan’s roads and bridges are in worse shape now than they were a year ago.

The Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council delivered its annual report to the Michigan Legislature this week. Of the 52,000 plus miles of paved roads that were inspected, only 16% are in good condition.

Forty-five percent of the roads are listed in ‘fair’ condition and 39% are defined as being in poor condition. Marquette County Road Commission Engineer Manager Jim Iwanicki says that road crews are constantly working on maintaining roads and bridges and keeping all of the work on budget.

“Here in Marquette County if you ask me what we needed today to make everything good, I’m going to tell you I need $160 million,” said Iwanicki. “When our state budget is less than $6 million a year, you can see that there’s a big difference of what I need to make it happen and what I have.”

In addition to the roads, 11.7 percent of state bridges are rated as being structurally deficient. You can find a link to the entire report by clicking HERE.