Michigan Facing Potential 50% Cut In Road Construction Budget By 2012

Michigan could see half of its road construction budget disappear by 2012, taking with it scores of repair projects and thousands of jobs in a state that relies heavily on its freeways.

A freefall in gas tax revenue over the last decade has the Michigan Department of Transportation projecting its repair budget for 2012 to be $626 million, a slice of the $1.4 billion spent in 2010. And Michigan barely escaped the same fate for 2011, said Bill Shreck, MDOT director of communications, when it faced an $84 million shortfall in its effort to qualify for federal matching funds.

"Until the 2011 budget, we were never faced with actually leaving federal money on the table," Shreck said. "We'd move things back and forth and sometimes delay projects, as long they didn't compromise the safety of the public." MDOT shaved funds from its departments and floated a one-year, $40 million loan to avert the crisis for 2011. But the measure only delays the pain for another year. In 2012, the shortage is expected to swell to $120 million.

"We keep kicking this can down the road," said Mike Nystrom, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association. "We need immediate short-term solutions to keep our system from crumbling, and then we need to move on to long-term solutions." The 2012 construction season could be the first road budget below $1 billion since the state gas tax was raised in 1996, according to MDOT.

EDIT

http://www.detnews.com/article/20101123/METRO/11230311/State-to-curb-road-projects-as-gas-tax-revenue-shrinks

china spends billions developing their country while the us spends their money on war.