Yesterday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a new plan to fix the state’s aging infrastructure.
The $3 billion plan, Mi Road Ahead, aims to bring more funding to fix the roads. It comes after Whitmer announced a budget last week to fund a road project.
"Right now, support any increases in revenue to our transportation network, especially as significant as $3 billion," said Lance Binoniemi, the vice president of government affairs for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA).
Binoniemi said that studies from MITA have found that Michigan would need about $4 billion to really tackle decrepit roads.
He said the governor's plan, "does come close to that number."
"We are deteriorating at a rate that we can't maintain. That $3 billion a year will make sure that we stop doing that," Binoniemi said.
An outline of the plan released by Whitmer's office on Monday would pull revenue from different sources, like changing where the money from our current gas tax goes and possibly changing Michigan's corporate income tax. The Michigan Chamber of Commerce is already opposing this move.
"We do have significant concerns out of the gate," said Wendy Block the senior vice president of business advocacy with the Michigan Chamber of Commerce. "The rate is not yet disclosed, but we believe that they're eyeing somewhere between 7.5% to 8%, up from our current 6%. While we at the Michigan Chamber have long been proponents of finding new revenue sources for the roads, we think the first goal of government needs to be to look within, to look at Michigan's current spending."
Source: Michigan Advance, CBS Detroit
