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Get ready for more potholes this spring

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Last spring's potholes may be a distant memory.

But road officials warn Michigan residents to get ready for more. 

"If you're seeing patch on patch on your road, you're going to be seeing a lot of potholes this spring," says Brad Lamberg, President of the County Road Association of Michigan.

Lamberg says it wasn't just the harsh winter, but a failure to invest in road repair that has led to the current situation.

"It's from a decade and a half of inaction by various legislatures.  The one that we have now has inherited this problem - and it's getting to be pretty much too big to solve."

Lamberg estimates that it would take $2 to 2.5 billion a year to get state roads back to a decent condition.

But he says members of the state legislature are only considering an appropriation of $1.2 billion - at most.

He says that $1.2 billion would only cover MDOT's needs for state highways, but it's not enough for county, city and township roads.

Tracy Samilton covers energy and transportation, including the auto industry and the business response to climate change for Michigan Public. She began her career at Michigan Public as an intern, where she was promptly “bitten by the radio bug,” and never recovered.