LANSING, MI (WTVB) – The Michigan House is back in Lansing for the first time since Speaker Kevin Cotter last week unveiled a one billion-dollar annual road funding plan that stresses dedicating future dollars and shifting additional economic development funds to highways, along with eliminating the Earned Income Tax Credit. A new panel of lawmakers, the Roads and Economic Development Committee, will begin discussion tomorrow on the alternative to the failed Proposal One.
The talks happen as we learn that Michigan’s rural roads are just about the worst in the nation. That’s according a report issued Tuesday by TRIP, a nonprofit national transportation group. Their research looks at rural areas with populations of at least 2,500 and that adds up to about 61-million people across the U.S.
According to TRIP, 37% of rural roads in Michigan are rated in poor condition. By comparison, the report says 15% of major rural roads were seen as in poor shape and 11% of bridges were rated as structurally deficient. The group also points out that 86% of trips taken to rural areas are for leisure and tourism based
