LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Michigan ranks 30th in the country in road funding but drops down to 40th in road conditions, according to a recent report published by the Citizens Research Council of Michigan.
Questions about spending effectiveness.
The report questions whether Michigan is spending its road maintenance money in the most effective manner.
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The report recommended repealing Michigan’s road funding law, Public Act 51 of 1951, and replacing it with “new legislation that provides a rational formula for the distribution and allocation of state revenue-sharing based on the needs of today’s transportation system and citizens.”
For the national ranking, the study looks at road data in Michigan from 2012 to 2021, when total funding for the Michigan Department of Transportation increased from $3.3 billion to $6.1 billion, not adjusted for inflation. Total funding for MDOT in 2025 was $6.8 billion, according to the Senate Fiscal Agency. The study pointed out that 15% of MDOT’s budget goes to aeronautics, including airports, and transit.
The worst period.
The study, which didn’t include local revenue spent on local road projects, said the effectiveness of maintaining the public road network got worse from 2004 to 2024.
When adjusted for inflation, the roads budget increased from $5 billion in 2004 to $5.9 billion in 2024.
The study stated Michigan has done a better job of maintaining bridges than its roads.
“Michigan roads are sub-par.”
As for road maintenance, the study said, “many states are making better use of available funding than Michigan.” It reported that Ohio ranked 24th in road funding but 11th in pavement condition and Indiana ranked 34th in road funding and had the fifth-best road system in the country.
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“For the proportion of Michigan’s road network that can be analyzed, it is evident that Michigan’s roads are sub-par,” the report stated. “Further, there is very little evidence that these system conditions are primarily a result of underfunding. Better information is needed to enable more effective management of the transportation system.”