Oakland County Needs $112M More Per Year For Roads: Officials

OAKLAND COUNTY — Oakland County needs $112 million per year in additional funding to improve all paved roads, according to a report from the Road Commission for Oakland County.

The asset management plan produced Thursday by the commission revealed the additional money is needed in order to maintain all paved roads to the agency's desired condition. The plan also assessed the value on other assets owned by the agency, including roads, bridges and traffic signals.

The commission said it currently receives about $115 million in state road funding.

In response to road agencies asking the state for more money, the state's legislature told them to produce regularly produce asset management plans to determine the road's needs.

"We did what the Legislature asked, and it clearly showed that additional revenue is needed, which is consistent with studies and reports produced under previous administrations," Road Commission for Oakland County Managing Director Dennis Kolar said "Now, it is time for the Legislature to step up and adequately fund local roads for the long term."

The $112 million in additional funding cited by the agency only addresses the need in maintaining and improving the paved roads. It does not include widening or other improvements to the roads to address congestion.

Officials noted in the report that in 2022, 46 percent of the commission's paved (main) roads were in good condition, which is up from about 9 percent in 2016. Kolar said this improvement was due to the 2015 state road-funding package that generated the first increase in state road funding since 1997 (and which began generating additional funding in 2017).

However, he warned that beginning in 2025, the commission expects the condition of the roads to again begin to deteriorate as the "buying power" of the 2015 road-funding package is eaten up by inflation.

"Essentially, this report explains how we are prioritizing the work on our road system to maximize the benefit of woefully insufficient funding," Kolar said.