Drive around Michigan today, try to get through road-construction detours, dodge orange barrels and wonder how on earth to get there from here, but remember: It could be worse.

If Michigan were not pouring hundreds of millions of borrowed dollars into road repairs and improvements, the state's transportation infrastructure would be crumbling ever faster.

Unfortunately, the state is expected to slow spending on road construction next year, when Gov. Jennifer Granholm's two-year construction binge, funded by borrowed money, comes to an end. That means that not only will thousands of road-construction workers lose their jobs, but the pace of road improvements will slow as well.