Report: Michigan has $4 Billion in Annual Infrastructure Needs

"Michigan must spend an additional $4 billion a year on infrastructure," reports John Wisely from the findings of a report commissioned by Michigan Governor Rick Snyder.

"The report by the 21st Century Infrastructure Commission urges a unified approach to planning, including the creation of a statewide database of assets such as roads, bridges, sewers, water mains, fiber-optic cables and energy supply lines," explains Wisely. "That way, for example, a road project could be coordinated with sewer and gas main replacement, ensuring the road would be torn up only once, and the costs could be shared by all agencies doing work there."

As for how the $4 billion price tag might be funded, the report mentions options at the federal, state, and local level, as well user fees and bond financing.