The infrastructure in Michigan is crumbling. That’s what one gubernatorial candidate is saying.
Gretchen Whitmer says horrible roads are costing Michiganders hundreds of dollars in car repairs.
She took her “Fix the Damn Roads” campaign tour to an auto shop in Southfield. The name, she says, is from the complaints she’s heard all over the state.
This comes a couple of weeks after Governor Rick Snyder signed a bill for a $175 million boost in road spending.
Whitmer says that isn’t enough and calls for $3 billion to make more permanent fixes the roads. She tells us, the road to success for the state starts with the roads.
“Frankly, it’s an embarrassment. You have to be able to get to your job. We have to be able to get our kids to school and the state of the roads right now is downright dangerous.”
Her plan is to fill an infrastructure bank with money only being used for the roads. So where would the $3 billion come from?
Whitmer's campaign says the plan is to work with the legislature through mechanisms like user fees. User fees could include a higher gas tax. If the legislature refuses, her campaign says Whitmer would go to the voters to pass a bond.
“A good solution to a bad, bad problem that’s impacting every one of us. We are all paying for lousy roads. We are paying a road tax right now in the form of car repairs as opposed to fixing the damn roads.”
The gubernatorial candidate also touched upon the importance of clean water and net neutrality as issues she would focus on if she becomes governor.
