A YouTube video released today documents the intentional pulverization of paved roadways in Montcalm County. Faced with dwindling funds for road maintenance, many Michigan counties are being forced to replace paved roads with gravel.

“The destruction of these roads represents a tragic regression of our state’s infrastructure,” said Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA) and co-chair of the Michigan Transportation Team (MTT), which released the video. “It has never been clearer that Michigan is in desperate need of increased transportation funding. We need our legislators to take action immediately.”

The YouTube video shows a section of Lake Montcalm Road, Montcalm County as it was pulverized on May 18, 2009. Since 2007, 25 Counties in Michigan have been forced to let their roads meet the same fate as the road in the YouTube video.

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) recently released a study on a new package of transportation reform bills introduced in the Michigan Legislature. According to the projections, the 10 counties with the highest number of federal aid miles could nearly double their pavement preservation programs and begin critical, overdue infrastructure repairs. In addition to fixing our roads, this legislation would also help combat Michigan’s unemployment crisis by sustaining more than 35,000 jobs.

“Not only is our infrastructure crumbling, now we are being forced to destroy it ourselves,” Nystrom said. “We’ve got a serious problem on our hands. The transportation reform bills that have been introduced represent a real solution.”

Click on the link above to view the video.