LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A new report says Michigan still has a massive gap in road maintenance funding and the condition of roads is costing drivers in the state.

A national transportation nonprofit, TRIP, released the “Keeping Michigan Mobile” report and says inflation is also an issue. As highway construction costs have increased due to inflation, the buying power of existing transportation funding has been diminished. The Federal Highway Administration’s national highway construction cost index, which measures labor and materials cost, increased by 43 percent in 2022 and 2023, and has increased 68 percent since the beginning of 2021.

MORE NEWS: Guaranteed Income Programs Pop Up Nationwide With Help From Federal Pandemic Relief Money

Twenty-one-percent of major roads in the state are in poor condition, as are six-percent of bridges. Transportation officials are hoping lawmakers find long-term funding solutions.

Michigan drivers lose a total of $17 billion per year in the form of extra vehicle operating costs as a result of driving on roads in need of repair, lost time and fuel due to congestion-related delays, and the costs of traffic crashes in which the lack of adequate roadway safety features.

To download the entire Keeping Michigan Mobile report click here.