Daily Detroit

Wayne County Has A $3 Billion Road Funding Gap


Listen Later

We all want the roads in Michigan fixed. But the price? And paying more for it? That's been a topic of hot debate among politicians and online commenters since Governor Gretchen Whitmer unveiled her plan to raise the gas tax by 45 cents a gallon to raise about $2.5 billion for the roads.

But actually "Fixing the Damn Roads" is harder than a catchphrase. There's a real problem on the ground, with large populations, high traffic volumes and aging infrastructure. The bill is adding up, and getting bigger the longer we don't do anything.

So to dive in on a very local level – specifically Wayne County, Michigan's most populous county – we're joined by Deputy Wayne County Executive Khalil Rahal and Director of Public Services Beverly Watts.

We talk about previous road funding "fixes," where technology really is at to fix roads, where Michigan really stands per capita on funding our roads and some of the restraints Michigan law puts on local cities and counties for raising money for their roads. It's an interesting discussion.

Then, we run down a few quick stories around town.

  • Detroit is the fastest-growing in the nation for walkable places, but still, only 10 percent of the city fits that bill.
  • A Detroit-based Unicorn startup, StockX, has a new round of funding and new CEO.
  • And the old Motorama Motel in Ferndale is going to see new life.

Thanks for listening to the Daily Detroit podcast!

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Daily DetroitBy Daily Detroit

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

172 ratings


More shows like Daily Detroit

View all
Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,430 Listeners

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! by NPR

Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!

38,950 Listeners

The NPR Politics Podcast by NPR

The NPR Politics Podcast

26,012 Listeners

The Rachel Maddow Show by Rachel Maddow, MS NOW

The Rachel Maddow Show

37,247 Listeners

On the Media by WNYC Studios

On the Media

9,238 Listeners

Judge John Hodgman by John Hodgman and Maximum Fun

Judge John Hodgman

7,714 Listeners

Code Switch by NPR

Code Switch

14,655 Listeners

1A by NPR

1A

4,696 Listeners

Pod Save America by Pod Save America

Pod Save America

87,868 Listeners

Runaway Country with Alex Wagner by Runaway Country with Alex Wagner

Runaway Country with Alex Wagner

12,874 Listeners

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend by Team Coco & Earwolf

Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend

59,604 Listeners

#SistersInLaw by Politicon

#SistersInLaw

10,475 Listeners

Countdown with Keith Olbermann by iHeartPodcasts

Countdown with Keith Olbermann

5,553 Listeners

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus by Lemonada Media

Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus

10,883 Listeners

Wild Card with Rachel Martin by NPR

Wild Card with Rachel Martin

1,005 Listeners