A Lansing State Journal editorial

Rare are the occasions when major business interests such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce come together with union interests to support, of all things, a tax increase.

But that has happened in the interest of fixing Michigan's roads.

The coalition, some 50 groups calling themselves the Michigan Transportation Team, has brought a variety of business, government and labor interests together behind a common goal: Protect the 120,000 miles of state, county and local roads

The group has used its Drive Michigan campaign to promote facts about road conditions; how far our gas tax pennies stretch; and the economic impact of bad roads on everyone.

Those who drive here may find this a shock, but apparently as of this year, some 92 percent of freeway and non-freeway roads in the state are considered to be in good condition.

And if you think the roads already are not very good, brace yourself for it to get worse. That percentage is forecast to drop rapidly in coming years as bonds used to fund roadwork expire (and interest comes due), coupled with the rapidly increasing construction costs.

Michigan's current gas tax is 19 cents per gallon and 15 cents per gallon for diesel fuel.

That rate is comparable to Illinois (19 cents) and Indiana (18 cents). But both those states collect healthy tolls for many of their busiest interstate routes, a revenue source Michigan doesn't use. Other comparisons include Ohio at 28 cents and Wisconsin at 30 cents.

Vehicle registration fees also go toward road work. Both revenue sources have started to slip, though, as fewer vehicles are purchased and fewer miles are driven.

Problems waiting down the road

All that means fewer dollars to repair roads and fewer miles to be done with the available dollars.

So the transportation coalition has a goal: to spur our lawmakers to do something this session, before they are too close to the election and well before the federal government recalculates its federal road fund distribution formula in 2009.

As for what to do, they have taken a reasoned approach to that, too. The group offers a smorgasbord of options because not all its members support all the possible strategies. They include:

A 3 cent per year increase in the gas tax for each of three years, bringing it to 28 cents per gallon (comparable to Ohio and Wisconsin). Backers say that's important to give Michigan strong standing as the federal government looks at how wisely states do or don't invest in their roads.

An increase in the diesel rate to match the gas tax rate.

A 50 percent increase in vehicle registration fees. Since those fees are based on the weight of a vehicle, larger vehicles would pay more.

A local option gas tax. That would allow individual counties or groups of counties to vote for and collect additional gas tax to support their own road work. Counties get just 6 cents of the current 19 cent gas tax.

All four strategies deserve approval.

The time to fix this is now

Consumers will find some of them unpleasant in the current climate. But gas "taxes" are really user fees, and it is reasonable to expect to pay for our roads. There is a danger of letting roads fall into disrepair as the general fund budget crisis drowns out all other issues. That would be foolish and shortsighted.

The transportation group points out the payback from this money, including better gas mileage, fewer vehicle repair costs, improved safety, and the exponential economic benefits of construction spending.

Also remember that every potential employer, potential resident or tourist who visits this state will experience our roads. Michigan cannot afford to let them crumble.

Treating this problem as the state's structural deficit has been treated - lots of talk, little action - will result in disaster. Michigan can see the trouble ahead, and our leaders have plenty of time to maneuver around it. Now would be a good time to start steering in the right direction.