Road repair funding 'may be painful'

PORTAGE, Mich. (WOOD) - The 19-cents-per-gallon road tax Michigan drivers pay each time they go to the pump is not enough to keep up with repairing the state's highways, MDOT officials say.

Gov. Rick Snyder signaled he would speak about road and infrastructure funding in his third State of the State speech.

If increased funding is approved, MDOT officials said the biggest priority projects are major roadways like I-94 and US-131 that have a lot of commercial and private traffic.

To effectively maintain the roadways, MDOT said they would need more than $1 billion each year.

Many ideas about how to get those funds have been tossed around, but it seems any plan would likely be based on how much people use roadways -- how many miles they travel in a year and what type of vehicle they drive.

MDOT spokesperson Nick Shirrippa told 24 Hour News 8 road funding may be painful for state residents, though he won't really know until any plan is released.

"But I think as Michiganders we have to accept that we have to do something, something has to change," he said. "Something has to change if we want the infrastructure to improve."

The very earliest any new funding could go into effect, he said, is this upcoming construction season. But that is unlikely.