Along with current Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Republicans and Democrats have made the same promises over the years to fix the roads. So what is Michigan doing wrong? FOX 2 dug around for answers.
I wonder if we started a gofundme for fixing all the michigan roads and sewers and getting rid of all the lead pipes and stop paying taxes until michigan can provide us with the documentation that our tax payer dollars aren't going too half ass companies. By cutting out the middle man we could literally pave the roads with gold. Just saying.
It's not money laundering when the road work is getting DONE. Not JUST done, but completely re-designed with roundabouts instead of old-fashioned traffic signals, in many areas, too.
@@DetroitMicroSound yeah ok money laundering comes in many forms…such as construction one can assume that the government is receiving kickbacks (quid pro quo’s) to give certain companies annual contractual approvals even though their work is poor. Why utilize millions on an annual basis when you know the work is going to go to shyt by the next year instead of going with the best contractor for the job? I’m sure if the tax payers could vote we would know which company to choose. Money laundering can easily be in the form of a $60k job costing $100k both parties profit the addition $40k and no one bats an eye because it’s the amount approved for the job to be completed.
Have you been to Michigan in the last decade? Republicans in Michigan ARE NOT complaining about bad roads any more. Now they all complain about road closures due to road construction. Try to get the facts before you spew right-wing Fox News talking points. (Which are full of lies) I live in Oakland County, but I spend a lot of time down in Detroit. It's road construction going on in Michigan, not bad roads. That michigan is GONE. In Michigan, we are now busy eliminating traffic signals, by rebuilding roads with roundabouts. Yea, more efficient systems ON ALL NEW ROADS. "Poor roads" 🤣👌
@@DetroitMicroSound I've lived in SW Michigan for over 20 years. There are a TON of bad roads still out there. Sure they have redone a lot of the freeways and major thoroughfares but they don’t last. And lets not forget how long these projects take, like when they had to tear up miles of I-75 they just paved because they used the wrong concrete. And the I-94/I-275 construction that has been going on for 2+ years. I can’t count how many times I’ve seen Mound Road, I-696, the Southfield, Woodward and others repaved over and over again. By the time all the construction going on is completed, there roads not getting redone will all need attention. It’s been a never ending round-robin for decades regardless of who is in office.
@@powertothesheeple5422 It isn't just majors, it's also many more rural roads, and small towns. Oakland county is full of new stuff, and it isn't just in wealthy areas. Everywhere I've been, in the more rural areas, is getting modernized.
Yup. Road construction should be done by the lowest bidder and required guaranteed to last 10+ years at least. The corruption in MDOT money goes to friends, family or kick backs who owns certain road construction companies and they use the cheapest material only to fix it again 3 years later at the same price the lowest bidder that can guarantee 10+ years.
Just wait til they hit the part where they reveal MDOT materials testing labs are revealed they have been gundecking test reports... It's more common nationwide than you think.
Here’s how it goes in Michigan. Almost nothing happens except cones and traffic disruption until early November. Then suddenly miles of roads suddenly get coated with lie cost, easy to lay blacktop get done in less than two weeks before the weather goes bad. In less than a year or two those black top roads will start to degrade and you won’t be able to tell anything was ever done. Once in a while they use cheap roll and go. Where they spray a layer of tar and drop a thin layer of gravel over it. Very temporary. Repeat the cycle. Money wasted and politicians get to say they “fixed” the roads.
@@BradiKal61as someone who lived in Ohio and moved to Michigan recently, this isn’t correct. Ohio actually builds shit decently. The major i75 refresh right across the state line through Toledo has been done for many years and still smooth as silk. Michigan i75 stretch is shut down every other year and still sucks ass lmao.
@@Emmy-Jthe only toll road I know of there is I-80. I was shocked when I moved to Michigan and saw huge, beautiful homes on unpaved roads in metro Detroit. They paved all the country roads in the early 90’s in Ohio so you don’t have to zigzag when going through the country to stay on a paved road.
@@Emmy-J That is not the reason - watch the report, they only use the toll road money on that one toll road not all the other roads. Ohio has 50K of roads, Michigan 25K - the do more with less. Simple, Michigan is not doing a good job.
Something tells me that all of you probably complaining about the insane amount of construction going on and blame Democrats for that too. Damned if they do, damned if they dont. If only you held both parties to the same standards. But i suppose that makes it harder for you to show up at rallies, bellies full of beer body painted red, white and blue! Go Red team!! Goooo politics!!! 🎉 Youre all such rubes!!
Sounds like Michigan needs to fire all their DOT directors and start over. If they just adopt all of Ohio's processes and follow exactly what Ohio does they'd have an instant solution. You gotta love stupid politicians who think they're smarter than everybody else. Maybe now Ohio can come and teach the DOT idiots in the southern and south/west states how to build good roads as well.
Unfortunetly I've been driving Michigan roads for 57 years, it was a problem from the 60s up till today , doesn't matter who's in charge, Mich is one of few states with a .06 cent sales tax on gas, at $3 or 4 a gallon do the math, .18 to .24 a gallon that's $3.50 to $5.00 on a 20 gallon fill, that money goes into the general fund for pork barrel projects not roads.
Oh, I wouldn't do that. Ohio just wastes tax money, on the same goddamn roads, for years. They also don't look at maximizing capacity on the highways; instead, they throw bridges up on already crowded dirt.
Ohio, uses new materials, not seconds, they also reinforce the concrete like it's supposed to be done. The ash Ohio use is a foot thick not a 1/4 inch.
My brother used to work for the city of Troy. He asked one of the road department guys, about the condition of the roads. He was told, "they build them for a five year lifespan".
Our road taxes at the pump have been raised many times over the years, all with the promise of repairing the roads. Of course all it has gone to is special interest projects. Never the roads. Just a way for politicians to get more money out of tax payers.
I commute daily from Detroit to Toledo, the contrast is night and day right at the border. The distinction doesn’t just stop at the roads but the maintenance. During the winter, the freeways are covered in snow, slush and aren’t cleaned properly. As soon as I reach Ohio the snow is properly removed and it’s smooth driving from there. But pretty much from my house until Toledo I’m praying the whole way there.
I lived in Ohio in 1980's and the word was that, "What is good for the auto industry is selling more cars, so Michigan roads are designed and not maintained to keep the demand for replacement vehicles high."
Let's not forget 2015 when everybody's registration went up in gas tax for 1.2 billion Road funding package in Michigan and guess what not a damn thing happens Michigan is a crooked place to live
I remember when Obama suspended the gas tax and the oil companies jacked the prices up higher... even though they don't get the tax portion. Gotta love stupidity.
Michigan has the highest truck weight limits in North America, that can be utilized on a regular basis, with a limit of 164,000 lb gross weight limit, and truck trailer combinations limited to 11 axles.
No surprises there regarding taxation in Michigan. “The lottery money will be for schools”, “The gas taxes will be for roads”. It’s eye opening that our governor wasn’t available for an interview. I hope that in the second segment you asked, or learned how long does Ohio roads last vs Michigan roads.
Its been decades since the Michigan Legislators voted to put the Lottery in the genneral funds but blame Whitmer for that if AM radio tells you to think that way 😅
@@BradiKal61 I’m not blaming anyone but the state itself! When these things are passed they state one thing, and do entirely another thing with the money and then the finger pointing starts.
@@BradiKal61it’s definitely been both parties and unfortunately the same thing for 30+ years. I don’t think the OP was picking sides but more so blaming the whole.
As an old construction worker who worked with a lot of Mdot inspectors I can personally say that they did Not do their job. Pumpkin truck drivers were doing everything they could to let us get away with as much as possible. They didn't care how it was built, they only cared about how fast it was built.
Excellent reporting! My father was in the road construction work, was an equipment operator, and he helped build the original I94. He is passed now, but, long ago we didnt have pot hole problems, the roads were strong and held up. His claim for the more modern road quality issues were, the pavement recipe was purposely changed, made weaker, so it would require more frequent repairs and work...which equated to more jobs to repair or replace. So, if they build them correctly, they would hold better. And some say we run too heavy now, i dont believe that. We've always run heavy in Michigan, its just now you see more axles than back then, and thats a good thing because it disperses the weight easier & more evenly onto the road.
One of the things I immediately noticed when I moved out of Michigan was the quality of the roads in Utah. When I lived in Michigan my car was constantly in the shop for tires and alignments. I’ve saved a lot of money on my car insurance and car repairs since leaving the Mitten.
How many times has I-275 been completely rebuilt in my lifetime? I was born in 84. I've counted three, including this current rebuild. That is unacceptable. A road should last at least 100 years. Anything less is lazy incompetence.
The University of Michigan had a group design a tough type of asphalt formula and GAVE IT to the Road Commission. They paved some overpasses with it, but didn't say which ones and that's the last heard of that. I believe it used old tires too, to help get rid of them... There's a lot of money in road repair. Plenty enough to go 'round to every official who can keep the sad state going. Everyone with oversight powers must be on the payroll.
Another thing that would help when the people patching the roads would care about what they are doing by not just tossing a heap of cold patch in the whole so the plows take it back out on the first snow
Its not only ohio. I have been in 6 different states. Lived in northern virginia, dmv area for around 4 years. Just about any state has better roads than michigan
Same here in Washington State. Our gas tax use to go to the roads exclusively, now it goes to the general fund. We now have the highest gas tax and piss poor roads.
Yup! I'm a truck driver, and can vouch michigan by far is the worst. I've been to every state in the upper 48. It's not even close. I do see a lot of overweight trucks on michigan roads, too.
Also a truck driver. Illinois is much worse than Michigan. Ohio has toll roads which adds money to the budget. Also the US23/I75/I475 though Toledo has been under construction for at least 10yrs STRAIGHT. Its never full open. Sure the surface is better but its never finished.
I am a truck driver and I work Chicago to Detroit back-and-forth from what I can tell Michigan is very good at putting out barrels and driving around with flashing lights I don’t understand their methodology it takes very very very very long or very, very very, very little progress.
@@ajaxbacExactly. They shown Republican and Democrat governors saying that they will get the roads fixed at the beginning. I guess he didn’t play close enough attention.
michigan manages half as much miles of roadway and yet gets more in gas taxes and yet never fixes the roads properly because of the corruption with awarding the contracts and kickbacks
What about the semi weight limits? Michigan has the highest weight limit. Also triple trailers that are allowed in Ohio but not michigan distributes the load better.
I talk with a local guy who worked on the road repair crew, I said nice job security! You patch the holes in the Summer then rip it back out in the Winter with the plows! and he just gave me that look with a half smile....yeah!
I don’t see why so many bring up politics. Both political parties have failed when they were in power. Corruption, half ass work, little oversight, the roads have been horrible forever.
We complain when there's construction but want smooth roads. Too bad we weren't able to take advantage of Covid-time to fix even more roads since no one was driving.
I'm surprised that nobody realizes that "Fix the damn roads" is nothing more than an election talking point. I have lived in Michigan, Illinois, and Wisconsin...Michigan roads are the worst, it's not even close. If you put Stevie Wonder in a car and drive him from Ohio to Michigan, he could tell you exactly where the border is. Toll roads do make a difference, but our Democrats would funnel the tolls into some other bridge-to-nowhere project and then try to come up with another reason to raise registration fees or gas taxes.
I use to work in Pennsylvania and spent a few winters there and noticed they have very nice roads in their state. I didn’t have to do much research to notice they use sand with straw over it during the winter months rather than salt. In which salt will not only eat up your paint job but cause rust. It does tend to play a part on causing the roads to crack and break up the concrete also. That’s a good place to start at to make these roads last longer. Yeah it might cost more to do it that way but you’re not paying the road crews repeatedly to come back and do a poor patch job.
MDOT is a complete joke and is owned by certain big road construction companies. They build them for jobs, not longevity. It needs a complete overhaul.
The Unions have all the control. Over everything, they have every incentive. To patch and keep repairing the same road every 5 years. The most u can get is asphalt resurfacing. Then after 5 years it looks the same again.
@@BradiKal61 There are 1,739 labor unions in Michigan. Combined, these Michiganian unions employ 11,080 people, earn more than $825 million in revenue each year, and have assets of $2 billion. Uaw - International Union Uaw, Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employes Div of Ibt, Michigan Education Association, International Union UAW Local 598, and UAW Local 600.United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners - Michigan Regional Council, International Union of Operating Engineers' Local 324, and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No 58 earn the majority of revenues among nonprofits in Michigan unions.
Can’t wait to see part 2, maybe more funding should go to MDOT instead of Health and Human Services. Michigan has mounds of revenue coming in and the roads are lacking. 😮😮😮😮😮
10 minutes and they gloss over one of the most important factors. Maximum allowed weight in Ohio 80,000 lbs. Maximum allowed weight in Michigan 160,000 lbs
@@bluesman311 Federal law controls maximum gross vehicle weights and axle loads on the Interstate System. Federal limits are 80,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, 20,000 pounds on a single axle, and 34,000 pounds on a tandem axle group. 160k load is illegal in every single state including Michigan.
@@moeal5469 Michigan has the highest truck weight limits in North America, that can be utilized on a regular basis, with a limit of 164,000 lb gross weight limit, and truck trailer combinations limited to 11 axles. if its within the state it is legal just cant cross state lines, cause that would be multi-state and that's a federal thing at that time.
I lived in Romulus in 1971, 1972,1973, and drove through Ohio to Tennessee. Ohio had concrete and every joint was uneven. Budump, Budump, all the way to Dayton. You can SCHEAMER the asphalt. Here in Houston, Texas, they had a five foot sub base of alternating layers of concrete, asphalt, concrete, asphalt. GUMBO SOIL, AIN'T NO ROCKS IN HOUSTON. Building construction begins with pouring tons of concrete to support the sky scrapers.
Funny I worked at ODOT testing lab as a college intern back in the 90's. As a side note the Turnpike is a cash cow it was supposed to become toll free decades ago. It's not the party in charge it's testing, the contractors and materials used. So, look at who's leading MDOT and not the arty of the governor.
@@Milfordbeach I don't know how it works in Michigan but if that's the case both Dems and Repubs seem to be making the same bad choices which comes back to my point.
A better question is what the qualifications of the leadership are. Are they engineers, do they have a background in road construction, or did they land into the job because of political connections?
I lived in Newport Michigan 20 years ago and when we would go to Toledo Ohio the roads were instantly better when we crossed the state line. We had to drive in the middle of the paved back roads because they were damaged so bad if they were even paved at all. Apparently someone is still stealing all the road repair money 20 years later. 😢
In Colorado, the potholes get filled before every election. The roads are great now!👍 Last year, two of my neighbors actually filled a pothole themselves, because they were worried a cyclist would get hurt.
If your not afraid dig a little deeper . You will find that they get the money for the propper building then hire the cheapest contractor and pocket the extra money .
It’s very simple America knows how to build a road but they just don’t do it. Time after time they do a 4” base with 2” top layer. Then it breaks and few years later rinse repeat just do a single pour of 12” thick and be done for several years and when it comes to concrete it’s the same thing just do it 14” thick.
I live right off the Ohio Turnpike I-80 in NE Ohio. I have never been to Michigan, but I drove to Chicago last July. OMG! The Indiana Turnpike I-90 is a bleeping mess. What a horrible roadway. There rest stops that were constructed in the last 10 years are even worse than the roads, especially the first one just over the stateline going eastbound from Ilinois. It looked like it had been hit by a tornado or bomb. There was water all over the bathroom floor. It was disgusting. I would love to go back to Chicago, but I am going to have to find a better route.
I only drive up into Michigan from Ohio, to visit my Daughter, who lives up in the Commerce TWP area. Yes, it's not only like navigating a bombed out airfield runway, it's also like driving in a NASCAR Demolition Derby ! My hats off to both the ODOT, for keeping the Ohio Highways in great shape , and the OSHP for keeping the Moronic Drivers in check also ! Michiganders have to admit, that once they cruise over the State Lines from Michigan into Ohio, the Cops down here don't play the same game. Love Michigan for all of the great places to Vacation , the Lakes, the Beautiful Scenery ( Especially the Northern Half & UP ) and all that goes along with these things. Fix your Highways the Right Way & Complete the Experience for all of us . Yes, I am originally from the Great State of Michigan, Sterling Heights / Utica Area. Have a Great Day !
Because they never did maintenance. Took our gas tax for nothing. Started every project at once. Then you drive by and no one is working. They need to be working 24/7 to get this crap done.
