- New road funding plan introduced by state lawmakers in Michigan.
- Proposals include increasing gas tax, car registration fees, and adding toll roads.
- Estimated costs include a 19-cent increase per gallon of gas, $100 extra for car registration, and varied toll road fees.
- Funding is critical with an annual need of $4 billion for transportation infrastructure.
- Current funding will run out by 2026, leading to a 'road funding cliff'.
For your convenience, the skimmable summary above is generated with the assistance of AI and fact checked by our team prior to publication. Read the full story as originally reported below.
Fixing the damn roads is one of Governor Gretchen Whitmer's main priorities during her term.
But fixing the roads costs money.
"And we're talking about very significant money: 4 billion dollars annually needed for our transportation network," Binoniemi said.
Money, Lance Binoniemi with the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Authority or MITA, says is running out.
MITA represents companies that build infrastructure in Michigan.
"Those monies all run out by 2026. We are facing a road funding cliff as we call it," Binoniemi said.
And as this legislative session winds to a close, state lawmakers have introduced different plans to address it as soon as possible.
Democrats introduced three bills Friday that would would increase the gas tax, increase car registration fees, and add some toll roads in Michigan.
I read the bills to figure out how much it would cost my neighbors.
The gas tax is proposed to increase 19 cents per gallon. for a 10 gallon car, that would mean an increase of 1.90 dollars per fill-up.
When you head to re-register your car, neighbors could be looking at an extra 100 dollars to do so.
And toll road fees around Michigan could vary. Drivers on I-69 would pay about 8 dollars for a round trip drive from Charlotte to Bath Township.
"We need funding severely right now and its in an urgency matter and so we are pretty agnostic when it comes to the funding source that is put into place but the time is right now. The timing is really short. We're hopeful that lawmakers can come together and fix this problem that we had in Michigan for decades," Binoniemi said.
I reached out to Governor Whitmer and Democratic House Leadership on the bills and received no response.
For the next few weeks, democrats control the state house and senate, as well as the governor's office.
Come january, republicans will control the house.
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