State Rep. Rodney Wakeman today testified before the House Transportation Committee in support of his bipartisan plan giving local governments more flexibility to fund necessary road repairs.

The plan, which is separate from ongoing budget negotiations, maintains a commitment to repair Michigan’s infrastructure and would give communities a better opportunity to work on roads that are in the most serious need of repair.

“The current state law is too restrictive because it stipulates that 75 percent of funding be spent on primary roads and 25 percent on local roads,” said Wakeman, of Saginaw Township. “This legislation will help solve the problem by allowing local road agencies to use their funding in a way that prioritizes fixing the worst roads first.”

Wakeman’s plan, House Bill 4965, would provide local governments with more flexibility in deciding how to spend road repair money that has already been allocated and in determining which roads get repaired.

“Local roads, including those in Saginaw County, are in bad shape and residents are reminded of their bad conditions every day,” Wakeman said. “Kicking the can down the road with unnecessary restrictions only makes the conditions of our roads worse. I wouldn’t want my family driving on some of these routes out of fear they lose control of the vehicle and get injured in an accident, or incur significant damage to the vehicle.”

The legislation would require local governments to submit their asset management plans – which include road condition data, an outline of performance goals and risk of road failure analysis – to a commission to ensure there is proper oversight when using the new spending formula.

The purpose behind asset management plan spending is straightforward, Wakeman said. Locals know their bad roads better than Lansing does.

“There still will be important oversight as plans must be approved by the Transportation Asset Management Council,” Wakeman said in testimony. “The Michigan Department of Transportation is not subject to these kinds of restrictions so why are we demanding this from locals? Road repair is a top priority. A significant way to accomplish this is by giving local road commissions more discretion to fix their roads how they see fit.”

The legislation remains in the House Transportation Committee for further consideration.

Photo Information: State Rep. Rodney Wakeman testified before the House Transportation Committee on Tuesday in support of his plan that would alter the state’s road funding formula in order to provide more flexibility to local road agencies by allowing them to spend their road funding according to their asset management plan.