Now that Michigan lawmakers have finalized a budget for fiscal year 2008, transportation officials are crying foul at funding decreases.

One of the largest cuts in the state’s fiscal 2008 budget was an 18 percent decrease in funding to build and maintain the state’s roads and bridges, according to the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association (MITA). MITA released a statement Friday, saying the state road and bridge program for fiscal year 2008, which Michigan lawmakers approved last week, is $1.32 billion — a $300 million cut from the current fiscal year program.

“This budget is going to hit the average Michigan citizen in the pocketbook,” said Mike Nystrom, MITA vice president of government and public relations, in a Nov. 2 press release. “Currently, each year driving on crumbling and congested roads and bridges costs Michigan motorists on average $318 annually. As necessary road and bridge repairs are postponed, those costs to motorists will escalate.”