It’s time to unite around an important issue that impacts all of us - INFRASTRUCTURE! Across our state and nation, too many roads, bridges, sewers, water mains and energy supply lines are at risk. Now, while our economy is strong, it’s the perfect time to develop a bold, innovative and coordinated plan to update our aging system.
Nationally, it is estimated that America needs to invest between $1 – 3 trillion by 2020 to improve our infrastructure. The most recent report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers gave our nation and the State of Michigan a “D”.
Late last year, a special commission created by Governor Rick Snyder released its findings. The independent panel of experts concluded Michigan needs to spend an additional $4 billion a year on infrastructure improvements. Working with our federal government will be crucial to achieve this goal.
The good news is a broad cross-section of national, state and local leaders in Detroit, Macomb, Oakland and Wayne Counties have been raising awareness of our infrastructure needs. We’ve all seen memorable examples in our communities of where the infrastructure was inadequate.
The next step is to prioritize what needs to be fixed and how to pay for it. That’s a difficult task that requires a unified approach. But a strong public private partnership has the potential to create jobs and strengthen our economy long-term. Let’s make that a non-partisan goal for 2017!
I’m Mike Murri, Vice President & General Manager
Broadcast: February 2, 2017
