A coalition working to secure more funding for Michigan’s roads and bridges today announced three “service station scholarship” winners in a two-week long contest to identify the worst potholes in the state.

The judges chose: Richard Salzwedel’s snapshot of a seemingly bottomless crevice in the 1700 block of North Capitol Avenue in Lansing; Sean Wilcox’s shot of a stretch of roadway north of St. Louis that’s more chewed up than corn on the cob at a county fair; and Brenda Hernandez’s photo of a three-foot deep pothole that is being used as a trash dump on Edward St. between Cicotte and Clippert streets in Detroit.

“Unfortunately, there are no winners, only losers, when it comes to the deplorable condition of Michigan’s roads and bridges,” said Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations for the Michigan Infrastructure & Transportation Association and co-chair of the Michigan Transportation Team. “This was a difficult decision because there were so many horrendous potholes to choose from.”

The contest, sponsored by the Michigan Transportation Team’s (MTT) Drive MI campaign, awarded $250 “service center scholarships” to Salzwedel, Wilcox and Hernandez to help offset vehicle repairs due to the poor condition of Michigan’s roads and bridges. The winners were chosen from numerous entrants from across the state that Nystrom said were a representative sample of the untold numbers of potholes lining Michigan roadways.

“While the contest was a fun way to draw attention to a serious problem, there’s nothing fun about driving on dangerous roads and bridges in Michigan,” Nystrom said.

The contest is part of an ongoing effort to educate policy-makers and others that the dire condition of Michigan roads and bridges poses both an immediate public safety risk to motorists and represents a roadblock for business development in the state.