36,375.155 lane miles of Michigan roads that are eligible for federal-aid repair costs have been rated poor in 2018, according to the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council’s annual report.

That represents 41% of all federal-aid roads in Michigan and is the highest percentage of “poor” ratings over the last 10 years. It’s also slightly more than the 34,490.69 “fair” ratings, and almost double the number of roads rated “good,” at 18934.17.

By county, Barry had the highest percentage of “good” rated roads at 40%, the only county with more than half of all miles rated good. Manistee County had the highest percentage of “poor” ratings at 67%.

Road agencies report on the condition of all paved federal-aid roads over the course of two years. About 66% of the 88,000 lane miles of paved federal-aid roads were rated in 2018, with the remaining 34% taken from ratings performed in 2017 to complete the statewide coverage.

Although the number of “poor” ratings have been on the rise – with an increase in each of the last six years – the number of “good” ratings has also seen an increase, though that’s only been the case over the last three years. The number of “fair” ratings have dropped significantly every year since 2010.

12 years ago, a “poor” rating was issued for 25% of the roads.

To determine the ratings, surface condition of roads are assessed and placed in a 10 point category system, which are then grouped into the three “good,” “fair” and “poor” ratings. TAMC has the different variables that are assessed during inspection on their web site.

For funding, the Federal Highway Administration provides an 80 percent match of local or state funding to fund repairs. Routine maintenance projects are not eligible for funding.

This data is from the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council and is based on total lane miles of a road, not center line. Total lane miles takes into account both directions of traffic and multiple lanes on a road. Center line is just the raw miles a road stretches, regardless of the number of lanes or directions.

Read more at https://www.mlive.com/news/2019/05/more-than-40-of-federally-funded-roads-in-michigan-are-poor-are-your-towns.html