While Senate Democrats dither on a plan approved by the House last month to fund road repairs with no new taxes, Michigan’s construction trade association is stepping up.

“Michigan is heading straight for a road funding cliff that threatens thousands of construction jobs, and our leaders must take action before it’s too late,” Rob Coppersmith, executive vice president of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, said in a statement. “Our roads are crumbling, and Michiganders deserve real, lasting solutions. While the legislature fails to act, we’re shining a light on this crisis and helping families with car repairs.”

The MITA on Wednesday launched a new Pothole Payback contest for “peak pothole season” that allows Michigan residents to submit evidence of the severe damage the state’s deadly roads are inflicting on its residents.

Each month through June the MITA will select five of the worst victims to receive up to $758. The contest, run through the association’s Fix MI State infrastructure education site, “is giving drivers a platform to speak out – and a chance to get compensated.”

The $758 comes from a July 2024 report by the national transportation research nonprofit TRIP that found “driving on rough roads cost the average Michigan driver $758 annually in additional vehicle operating costs – a total of $5.9 billion statewide.”

“These additional vehicle operating costs include accelerated vehicle depreciation, additional vehicle repair costs, increased fuel consumption and increased tire wear,” according to the report.

In metro areas with higher numbers of low-income residents, the added expense is much higher – $1,148 in Detroit, $1,136 in Flint, $943 near Saginaw, and $898 in Grand Rapids.

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Combined with other factors including congestion and lack of desirable safety features on Michigan roads, the report concluded the state is unnecessarily costing its motorists a total of $17 billion.

“We know the road industry is doing all they can to fix our roads given current funding and resources,” Coppersmith said. “The Pothole Payback contest will remind our lawmakers of the depth of our road maintenance problems and the pain drivers face when they receive a new bill for skyrocketing car repair costs.”

Winners must agree to allow the MITA to use images and other materials submitted to advocate for a solution to the state’s $3.9 billion road funding shortfall, which Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has struggled to address since voters put her in office on a promise to “fix the damn roads” in 2019.

The governor borrowed $3.5 billion to fund some road repairs after lawmakers rejected her plan to hike the state’s motor fuels tax by 45 cents to the highest rate in the nation.

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That money is now gone, and “roads are deteriorating faster than agencies can repair them,” according to an annual road and bridges report.

Michigan taxpayers are spending $340 million a year to pay off the $3.5 billion the governor borrowed, which came with $2.5 billion in interest, according to Michigan Department of Transportation data cited by The Detroit News.

The MITA points to a nine-bill package that received support from all Republicans and seven Democrats when it cleared the lower chamber in mid-March. The legislation would pump $3.2 billion annually into the state’s crumbling roads without raising taxes by utilizing existing funding from corporate tax credits, business subsidies, and higher-than-anticipated tax revenues.

“Industry experts, business and community leaders, and politicians on both sides of the aisle agree the state needs to pass a long-term, equitable and sustainable road funding plan before the end of this year,” the association said.

Whitmer has proposed a different $2.7 billion plan that would instead increase corporate sales taxes to squeeze Michigan businesses for $1.6 billion, and impose $470 million in new taxes on wholesale marijuana, among other new taxes.

While the governor’s “MI Road Ahead” plan is light on specifics, legislation recently introduced by House Democrats aims to hike the corporate income tax rate from 6% to 8.5% to fund road repairs, which would put the state on par with California with one of the highest rates in the nation.

“This increase penalizes the entire economy and creates a new challenge for doing business in Michigan,” Detroit Regional Chamber officials told MLive.

Regardless, Whitmer continues to insist she’ll only approve a road funding solution that includes higher taxes, telling WGHN “she will work with the state Senate on a compromise.”

Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, D-Grand Rapids, has already panned the no-tax roads plan as a “nonstarter,” according to Bridge.

“Republicans are asking you to pay more but get less,” Brinks alleged.

Since Whitmer took office, Michigan’s annual budget has increased by 43% to a staggering $86 billion in the governor’s spending plan for next fiscal year, a jump of roughly $30 billion in six years. And yet the roads continue to crumble.

“Our plans for local roads don’t shake down taxpayers for more of their hard-earned money and don’t strap our children and grandchildren with debt like the governor did for highways,” state Rep Jamie Thompson, R-Brownstown, said in a statement.

“The money is there. We don’t need higher taxes to fix our roads,” Rep. Ann Bollin, chair of the House Appropriations Committee said in a statement. “We need leadership that respects taxpayers, spends responsibly, and makes roads a priority.”