Executive Directive 2022-2: Fixing Potholes in Michigan Roads

To: State Department Directors and Autonomous Agency Heads
From: Governor Gretchen Whitmer

When I took office, more than 1 in 4 miles of Michigan roads were in poor condition. Fixing the roads is a top priority for my Administration, and we have been making the necessary investments of time and money. These investments keep more money in Michiganders' pocketbooks, since the average Michigan driver spends $646 per year on car repairs.

To provide the needed investment in Michigan's roads and bridges, I launched the Rebuilding Michigan Plan, a five-year, $3.5 billion investment in our highways and bridges without an increase at the pump. Rebuilding Michigan is aimed at highways and bridges that are critical to the state's economy and carry the most traffic. This focus on high-volume routes will improve the quality of road infrastructure for the greatest number of users, while supporting more than 45,000 jobs throughout all sectors. The Plan has already moved dirt on more than 130 miles of I-96, I-69, and I-94 without raising taxes, and this is just the beginning.

In 2022, the Michigan Department of Transportation will make significant investments in heavily traveled corridors across the state, including a $300 million investment in western Wayne County, continued work on a $100 million project to rebuild the freeway between Fenton Road and M-54 on the busy commuter and commercial I-69 corridor near Flint, continued work on the $82 million rebuilding of the I-496 freeway from Lansing Road to the Grand River in Ingham County, and $60 million to rebuild I-196 over the Grand River west of Grand Rapids.

However, these major investments with their focus on heavily traveled corridors are not enough. Michiganders need to be able to safely navigate all of Michigan's roads, including those in their hometowns, regardless of whether they live in a city, a rural area, or anywhere in between. Michiganders need to be able to drive to work, take their children to school, and get where they need to be safely, efficiently, and affordably. 

Deterioration of road surfaces is particularly evident during the spring thaw, when the snow and ice clears and reveals potholes and other damage. These potholes are dangerous, damage vehicles, can present equity issues, and impose real costs on Michigan drivers. This is money that families can better spend elsewhere. While the State of Michigan does not maintain local roads, the state must do everything it can, in coordination with federal and local partners, to fix potholes and other road surface deterioration quickly and efficiently once weather conditions allow. While winter weather response activities must continue to be a priority in the short term, spring 2022 must bring a renewed focus on repairing and improving road surfaces.

Acting under sections 1 and 8 of Article 5 of the Michigan Constitution of 1963, I direct the following:

1. The Michigan Department of Transportation must take all appropriate action to prioritize activities related to addressing deteriorating road surfaces, including, but not limited to, the following:

     (a) As weather allows, prioritize patrols of state trunkline highways to assess road surface                    conditions and identify and prioritize those areas that need repair;

     (b) Ensure that the public can easily communicate the location of potholes or other issues                   with road surfaces on state trunkline highways and assess and respond to these reports;

     (c) Plan for road repairs to begin as soon as conditions are appropriate;

     (d) Use all available resources to expedite repair of road surfaces, including overtime pay and             contracted services where appropriate;

     (e) Ensure timely disbursements of Michigan Transportation Fund dollars under Public Act 51             of 1951 to local road agencies to ensure that local authorities have the resources they need             to repair potholes and other road surface deterioration;

     (f) Continue broader road improvement projects, including those that are part of the                            Rebuilding Michigan Plan, to prevent potholes and other road surface issues from                            developing in the first place.

2. The Michigan State Police must take all appropriate action to provide work zone enforcement and other needed support for road crews working on road surface repair projects or other road improvement projects to ensure a safe working environment for workers, drivers, and passengers.

This directive is effective immediately. Thank you for your cooperation in implementing this directive.

Click to view the full PDF of the executive directive.