A sea of hard hat-clad workers assembled outside the state capitol in Lansing Wednesday demanding a plan to spend more on Michigan’s roads and bridges.
Various studies have concluded Michigan needs to spend billions of dollars more a year just to maintain the state’s roads.
Jonathan Huggins, a 25-year-old heavy equipment operator from Alcona County, said he came to the state capitol in hopes of convincing Michigan lawmakers to spend more on roads and bridges.
“We all need our jobs,” said Huggins, “And if nothing gets passed here within the near future, there’s going to be a lot of us without jobs.”
In recent years, federal COVID relief funds and special state bonds have accelerated Michigan’s spending on road construction. But those infusions of cash are ending.
There are competing multi-billion dollar road funding proposals on the table in Lansing, but support for those plans is divided along partisan lines.
“Our road funding falls off a cliff as soon as that next fiscal year starts,” said Dan McKernan, with Operating Engineers 324, a union local. “It’s time to get in a room and get it done. We need a sustainable road funding bill that doesn’t rob Peter to pay Paul and actually fixes the problems that we have once and for all.”
The next fiscal year begins October 1.
In addition to road funding, state lawmakers have yet to reach an agreement on many parts of the state budget, including education spending.
