Study Shows Road Conditions in Northwest Michigan Could Bring Federal Dollars to the Area

A new survey looked at the condition of roads across Northwest Michigan, and it could help bad roads get some attention.

Networks Northwest’s annual Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating looked at the condition of all federal-aid eligible roads across the ten counties they serve. This year’ survey shows 30% of roads in Northwest Michigan are in good condition and 35% are either in fair or poor condition.

“Compared to this year and last year, it’s actually about the same. I would say for the good roads the percentage was less this year,” Networks Northwest’s Hannah Yurk admits.

Roads that are eligible for federal aid in Northwest Michigan are roads like US-31 and M-72 as well as Garfield and Airport Roads in Traverse City. The Grand Traverse County Road Commission’s Director, Brad Kluczynski, says their roads are in good shape.

“Based on our calculations we were somewhere in that 18 to 19% on our federally fundable that are in poor condition. We have about 33 to 35% of our federally fundable roads are fair and 40 to 45% are in good condition,” Kluczynski states.

Once the survey is complete the Federal Highway Administration decides how much money to give and where, but some fear there may not be much money to go around.

“It’s a limited source of funds for what needs to be done, but there’s just not enough money out there especially as inflationary pressures hit us. And when the price of gas goes up and consumption goes down, we’re not getting anymore revenue, we’re getting less,” Kluczynski explains.

They say they’re not sure what kind of federal funding the region could see, but say they’re glad to at least let the public know that the roads are not being ignored.

Click here to see Networks Northwest’s survey results.

You can also click here to see the state’s map of road conditions.