MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – Thursday morning, city and state officials met in Marquette to assess road conditions across the state.
It was part of a biannual conference which looked to address the main concerns of the public.
Local and regional road experts such as MDOT, Michigan Works, and others met at the Holiday Inn in Marquette to discuss the current condition of the roads throughout Michigan.
“We’re not getting more funding for roads, the significant funding that we really need,” said Asset Management Council Member Bob Slattery. “So we really need to keep the good roads good. We need to do the best practices that we can. That doesn’t mean rebuilding roads. It means preserving the pavements that we have and rebuilding the ones that we have to.”
In general, the roads across the state are not in great condition.
“The road and bridge infrastructure in Michigan continues to deteriorate under many years of under funding in Michigan,” continued Slattery.
But the purpose of Thursday’s conference was to put some policies into practice such as applying the right fix at the right time. There are innovative solutions to maintain the roads. For example, it’s estimated that preventive road maintenance to keep roads in good condition would cost $85,000 per lane mile, compared with $1.6 million per lane mile for roads in poor condition that need rebuilding.
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