Every driver knows how bad the roads are in southeastern Michigan, especially those motorists sitting in tire shops getting a new tire or wheel from dive-bombing into a pothole.
But how bad, really, are the roads?
Pretty bad, according to the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments, which at last count, listed 41% of pavement on federal aid-eligible roads in the seven-county area as being in poor condition. Another 40% were listed in fair condition.
That means only 19% of the road pavement in southeastern Michigan is considered in good condition.
But the real shocker may be the cost to fix the roads.
Bill Anderson, local government finance and operations specialist at SEMCOG, said that $400 million a year is currently spent on concrete for about 8,000 miles of federal aid-eligible roads in southeastern Michigan.