It seems there is at least one thing we can agree on in our state: the need to fix our roads, potholes, crumbling bridges, and decades-old infrastructure. But we can’t seem to agree on how to pay for it.
As we’ve talked about before on Stateside, Gov. Snyder says he wants more than a billion dollars just this year to fix the state’s roads and bridges. The Governor floated the idea of an increase in the gas tax and drivers paying more vehicle registration fees. Neither of those proposals, however, has gained traction in Lansing.
Now the state budget becomes almost complete with only some $350 million in road funding.
All of this leads to the question: Why is it so hard to find a way to fix our roads?
Craig Thiel is a Senior Consultant at Anderson Economic Group here in Michigan. He recently wrote a piece in Bridge Magazine entitled “Will there ever be a good time to fund road repairs?”
Thiel joined us in the studio today to discuss the issue.
Listen to the full interview above.
