The Michigan Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released the 2023 Report Card for Michigan's Infrastructure today, with 14 categories of infrastructure receiving an overall grade of ‘C-’, an improvement over the ‘D+’ grade issued in the state’s 2018 report card. That means Michigan’s infrastructure systems are improving but are still in average condition and require attention. Michigan’s grade is on par with the national average of ‘C-’ given in the 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure. Civil engineers graded Michigan’s aviation (C), bridges (D+), dams (C-), drinking water (D+), energy (D), inland waterways (C), public parks (C), rail (C), roads (D), schools (C-), solid waste (C+), stormwater (D), transit (C-), and wastewater (C). The report also included a chapter on the state’s broadband infrastructure, which did not receive a grade due to insufficient available data. 

Michigan policymakers have driven progress in the last five years to improve infrastructure assets by implementing short-term funding solutions to address decades of deferred maintenance, including surface transportation funding through the Rebuilding Michigan plan and improved water infrastructure systems through the MI Clean Water Plan. The state will also benefit from recent federal infrastructure investments included in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). However, Michigan generally lacks sufficient long-term funding mechanisms to ensure all infrastructure sectors reach and sustain a state of good repair. 

"Michigan residents, tourists, and businesses alike have all felt the impacts of worn-down roads, bridges, and the occasional water and energy services disruptions," said Rep. Haley Stevens (MI11). "We depend on these systems working properly to keep our economy moving forward and our communities safe, along with protecting the natural environment that draws so many people to the Great Lakes state each year. Under Governor Whitmer, we have begun to dig our state's infrastructure out of a deep hole, resulting in higher grades, and I remain confident that we will embrace future opportunities to make Michigan more efficient and resilient. I am committed to working across all levels of government to deliver the A+ that Michiganders deserve."

Increasingly severe weather events are putting additional strain on legacy systems. There have been seven federal disaster declarations in Michigan related to severe storms in the past 10 years. To address age, deferred maintenance backlogs, and severe weather impacts, nearly all infrastructure sectors in Michigan are being led by asset management programs, which helps agencies and departments best determine when and how to carry out necessary maintenance projects and make the most of limited resources.  

“State leaders should be commended for the progress they’ve made addressing Michigan’s aging assets, which had been neglected for far too long,” said Brad Ewart II, P.E., president, ASCE Michigan Section. “Although we’re moving in the right direction, we need to continue to prioritize the built environment to keep Michiganders safe and the economy strong.” 

Roads (D) and Bridges (D+)

Annually, $1.25 trillion in goods are shipped throughout Michigan, 78% of which are carried by trucks. An efficient surface transportation system is essential to the regional economy. Michigan took action to address road maintenance with a funding package starting in 2017 which helped state and local roads improve conditions, but only moderately. Of Michigan’s 120,000 miles of paved federal-aid-eligible roads, 25% are in good condition, up from 20% in 2017 but still far less than the national average of 42%. According to the Transportation Road Information Program (TRIP), poor road conditions cost each Michigan household $1,093 per year in additional vehicle operating expenses, such as flat tires or alignments. Governor Whitmer’s 2020 “Rebuilding Michigan Program” included $3.5 billion of one-time bond financing, accelerating major highway projects.

Approximately 11% of Michigan bridges are in poor condition, which is the same percentage reflected in the 2018 report and well above the national average of 7%. Good condition bridges dropped to 35% of the total in 2022 from 40% in 2018, meaning the percentage of bridges in fair condition rose from 50% in 2018 to 54% in 2022. 

The BIL will provide Michigan highways and bridges approximately $7.9 billion between 2022-2026 in federal formula funding alone, and $3.1 billion has already been announced for these projects in the state. 

Drinking Water (D+) and Wastewater (D+)

The state faces potential problems with drinking water systems that are more than 50 years old and some approaching 100 years old, yet less than 1% of pipes are being replaced annually. The state also faces a massive funding gap due to decades of deferred maintenance. Michigan’s water investments are falling short by anywhere from $410 million to $710 million per year. These estimates do not include addressing emerging contaminants such as PFAS, nor lead service line replacements. 

Since 2013, Michigan has been making great strides in asset management through their Stormwater, Asset Management & Wastewater (SAW) grant funding and creation of the Michigan Water Asset Management Council (WAMC). However, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) estimates $2.71 billion is needed for Michigan’s aging wastewater treatment systems. Michigan has combined sewer areas which are designed to collect everything from domestic sewage to rainwater runoff, to industrial wastewater in the same pipe, which leads to combined sewer overflows (CSOs) when excess rainwater overwhelms the system and allows untreated wastewater to discharge into nearby bodies of water. Untreated CSO discharges have been reduced from over 10 billion gallons annually between 2016-2018 to less than four billion gallons per year in 2019-2020. Michigan’s Clean Water initiative provided a historic $500 million investment to address large infrastructure issues such as PFAS, undersized sewers, failing septic systems, and SSO/CSO elimination, although long-term funding mechanisms are still needed.

Energy (D)

Energy had one of the lowest grades in the report with a ‘D.’ Michigan averages 1.5 interruptions per customer per year, which is higher than the national average of 1.3, and is 37% above average in the number of minutes taken to restore non-momentary electric interruptions. Michigan has the highest propane consumption for residential use of any of the 50 states. Michigan’s aging fossil fuel-based fleet is slowly converting to other sources backstopped by dispatchable natural gas and nuclear sources, with an emphasis being placed on decarbonization and ensuring that increasing the state’s renewables portfolio does not destabilize the transmission and distribution network.

Solutions

The report also includes calls to action to raise the grades, some of which include:

• Enhance and expand dedicated funding for infrastructure at state and local levels: In the last five years, Michigan roads have improved condition, airports have held steady or sought new capacity, schools have increased facility spending, and water systems have started chiseling away their project queues. Looking ahead, these infrastructure systems cannot sustain progress or seriously reduce investment gaps without greater predictable funding.
• Proactively attack workforce development challenges: The infrastructure workforce makes improvement possible, and most employers are now struggling to retain, hire, or train staff. Government leaders, the private sector, and educational institutions should coordinate efforts so Michigan can maximize the positive benefits of recent federal and state investment.
• Focus planning and design on resilience and reliability: Michigan’s energy grid was unreliable in recent storm events and stormwater infrastructure is not sufficient to endure increasingly unpredictable and high-magnitude threats. Decision-makers should advance upgrades to infrastructure systems which stay operational during adverse events, using redundancy and other methods to withstand the worst expected environmental conditions.

The Report Card was created as a public service to citizens and policymakers to inform them of the infrastructure needs in their state. Civil engineers used their expertise and school report card-style letter grades to condense complicated data into an easy-to-understand analysis of Michigan’s infrastructure network. ASCE State and Regional Infrastructure Report Cards are modeled after the national Infrastructure Report Card, which gave America’s infrastructure an overall grade of ‘C-’ in 2021. 

To view the report card and all 14 categories, visit https://www.infrastructurereportcard.org/michigan.

For more information, visit www.asce.org or www.infrastructurereportcard.org and follow us on Twitter, @ASCETweets and @ASCEGovRel.