Study: Wayne roads worst in Michigan
Jim Lynch / The Detroit News
Wayne County residents probably already knew it, but their roads are now officially the worst in the state, according to a study released Monday.
A total of 1,841 miles of roads in the county are rated as poor. Roads in the City of Detroit account for 586 of those miles. Detroit ranks first -- or worst -- in the number of bad road miles. Roughly 20 percent of the city's road miles are in poor condition
The study was released by the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, a group that blamed deteriorating roads on declining state revenues. It puts Oakland and Genesee counties next on the list behind Wayne. Oakland has 1,292 miles of poor roadways, and Genesee has 1,216. Rounding out the top five worst counties are Washtenaw and Calhoun.
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"Our legislative leaders need to stop 'watching' the funding problem evolve into a crisis and take appropriate action to correct it," said Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations for MITA and co-chair of the Michigan Transportation Team. "This isn't a case of road agencies not doing their jobs. Michigan's local road systems are collapsing because funding continues to plummet."
The findings are based on the Michigan Asset Management Council's Annual Report of Roads & Bridges, which evaluated federally funded roads in 83 counties and almost 1,800 municipalities across Michigan.
jlynch@detnews.com (313) 222-2034
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