The Michigan Municipal League has this story on how the House Transportation committee is traveling around the state of Michigan to discuss the funding crisis Michigan roads are facing:

"Due to the continued decline in state gas tax and vehicle registration revenue, MDOT will be forced to leave nearly a half a billion dollars of Michigan’s federal gas tax dollars on the table in DC because they don’t have enough matching money to draw down our full allotment. This is the first time in memory that Michigan, let alone any state, will not draw down their state’s share of federal gas tax revenues.

"As a result of this half billion dollar funding reduction, MDOT has announced the delay of nearly 250 road projects in their recently adopted 5-year plan. This link details the projects within each MDOT region of the state that have been shelved.

"Rep. Pam Byrnes, chair of the House Transportation committee, announced yesterday a series of three public hearings around the state on this 5-year plan, the project delays, and the impact on local communities of MDOT’s inability to match all available federal dollars."

The Traverse City meeting is Monday, March 8th at 1:00pm. It will be at Northwest Michigan College's Hagerty Center.

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Photo: Cedar Swamp by Dr. Farnsworth.