Beverly Hills, Mich. — Officials from county road commissions across Michigan, including the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), have collectively invited the state’s legislators to meet with them March 10 to discuss the state of the state’s roads.
The event is will take place in Lansing as part of the County Road Association of Michigan (CRAM) Annual Highway Conference. CRAM represents Michigan’s 83 county road agencies, which are responsible for 75 percent of all public roads in the state.
“This will be a great opportunity for our legislators to hear first hand from the 83 county road agencies the challenges we are facing,” stated RCOC Board Member Greg Jamian.
Among the points road commission representatives are likely to make to the state legislators are:
- Michigan has been among the bottom 10 states in the nation for at least 45 years in per capita state and local road funding (according to US Census Bureau data).
- Over the last three years, 38 Michigan road commissions have been forced to return more than 100 miles of paved roads to gravel because there is not the funding to maintain or resurface the roads.
- At least 74 road commissions have eliminated staff in recent years, resulting in reduced service levels, including for plowing and salting roads in the winter.
- There is insufficient funding available to repair or replace numerous aging bridges around the state that have become unsafe or where weight restrictions had to be applied, restricting the size of loads that can be carried across them.
In Oakland’s case, RCOC Board members and administrators are expected to point out to legislators representing the county that:
- RCOC has eliminated 79 positions in the last two years (including 40 snowplow drivers), representing a more than 14 percent total staff reduction.
- These reductions have reduced RCOC’s staff to levels not seen since the 1960s.
- RCOC’s operating revenues (generated primarily from the state fuel taxes and vehicle registration fees), have declined by 4.6 percent in the last 10 years.
- During the same period, all of RCOC’s expenses associated with maintaining roads have gone up dramatically, with many costs, specifically materials, rising more than 100 percent.
- As a result of these revenue declines and cost increases, RCOC has been forced to reduced service levels in all areas of its operations.
“Without some recognition of this problem by our elected officials, resulting in a funding increase, RCOC expects a reduced level of service from the infrastructure that serves our residents’ daily needs, our commuters, our economic development and the ability to attract jobs to our county and state. Additionally, with a continued decrease in gasoline consumption and a move toward more hybrid vehicles, one of the primary method through which roads are funded -- gasoline taxes collected at the pump -- is quickly becoming obsolete,” Jamian stated.
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