Are we really getting our money's worth on roads? The real answer just might surprise you.

Hey, did you know that the sky is blue?

Okay, maybe not in your part of Michigan and maybe not at this exact moment, but just go with me on this.

Did you know that if I were to spill coffee on my lap that it would hurt? I mean really, ,really, really hurt…a lot.

Hmmmmm, I wonder if I can get anything for the suffering I’ve endured?

And did you know that Michigan Roads are in terrible shape?

I’m so glad that we have a governor who is just so well-versed in the obvious.

{Oh, you’re going to love where this is going after the fold.}

So as you’ve seen at the clip above, most likely in another variation in your part of Michigan, the governor is at it yet again, hat in one hand (and a blackjack in the other…hidden behind his back, of course) making the same tired sales pitch to more than double the tax that Michigan Motorists will pay at the pump in order to fix Michigan Roads.

Oh, and did I mention that Michigan Businesses will also take a hit in their bottom line as well?

It’s a shame that we don’t live in Wisconsin.

Oh well, let’s get this production going.

MDOT crew in tow…check.

Local media in tow…check.

Obligatory chunks of pavement to use as a stage prop…check.

Thankfully, his staff’s pre-planning located a suitable stretch of crumbling freeway along Six Mile that can accommodate the large pool of reporters and their gear.

Brrrrr, it’s cold outside. Good thing that a follow-up news conference was also scheduled at Larry Tech just down the street.

So to sum up yesterday’s performance from Gov. Snyder and his hand-picked cast of characters at LTU:

• Michigan Roads are bad.
• More money is needed.
• Lansing doesn’t have it (allegedly).
• You will provide that money.
• You will thank me later.

I don’t know about anyone else here, but there are several gaping holes in the governor’s logic that I can drive my truck through.

For starters, didn’t Rick Snyder bill himself as some kind of Cracker Jack business leader who just loves to tackle difficult problems head-on?

I vaguely recall some campaign ads touting that point not that far back.

So, can anyone please tell me what is stopping Gov. Snyder from using those college degrees of his and giving a presentation to Michigan Motorists on exactly where the revenue collected at the pump and Secretary of State, originally slated for roads, is really going?

I would really like to hear his explanation of how bike paths and landscaping improves the quality of Michigan’s Roads?

While he is at it, maybe he can enlighten us on why a significant portion of the revenue that is collected at the pump for transportation, gets siphoned off directly into mass transit (i.e. Comprehensive Transportation Fund).

Gov. Snyder would be remiss if he failed to explain to us the additional taxes that we’ll be paying sometime next year for the RTA, yet another mass transit agency (serving the same area as the SMART & DDOT transit entities).

And why is there still an artificial floor in the cost of construction via prevailing wage laws?

But the one thing that I would love to hear Gov. Snyder talk about is just how well the money that we are currently spending on roads (not counting the above) is used.

Those of us who live in S.E. Michigan easily recognize that stretch of road in the clip above as “The Lodge”.

Ironically. Rick Snyder inadvertently just gave yesterday us Exhibit “A” on why the Snyder(Calley)/Richardville/Bolger(?) gas tax hike is completely unnecessary.

Let me ask the readers here one question: After watching the clip above and looking at the overall condition of the freeway, throw out a guess as to exactly when MDOT built/rebuilt that road?

Fifteen years ago?

Twenty?

No, no, no, no, no!

To have THAT much crumbling roadway, it has to be at least twenty-five years old!

Would you believe me if I were to tell you that those guesses are way off?

Want to know when that section of highway Gov. Snyder used to illustrate the “need” for more money was worked on last?

Try, six years ago.

Yes, you’ve heard that correctly.

That stretch of road that Gov. Snyder was picking up various pieces of cracking roadway and showing them off to the camera was last worked only six years ago!

So you may ask yourself, why are we not getting any value for our money?

I’ll categorize the three most likely pat responses:

• You’re living in a fantasy world!
• You want to get something for nothing!
• You want something that doesn’t really exist!

Time for me to pass along another local tale for those of you reading this from outside of Detroit.

Back in the 1940’s, there was another section of local roadway built called ‘The Davidson” (M-8). It’s creation was prompted partially by the need to relieve local congestion and move workers more efficiently to the area defense plants back in the 40’s

That freeway was used pretty much non-stop until it was shut down (due to capacity issues, not because of poor road condition) and totally rebuilt in the late 90’s.

One more interesting factoid; the contractor needed to use TNT to remove sections of the old roadway since modern road building equipment couldn’t get the job done.

So using that business-savvy education and experience that he possesses, I’m certain that Gov. Snyder can give us all an phenomenal explanation of how a road built using 70+ year old technology, and held up well over that length of time, is in any way inferior to a six-year old section of modern roadway that is literally self-destructing.

Yes, “The Lodge” is the kind of modern work that I want to see my hard-earned money going towards promoting all over Michigan.