Despite the state’s reputation as the auto capital of the world, Michigan ranks 31st in road quality. Ann Arbor residents have long been frustrated by the potholes and road deterioration that plague their daily commutes. Despite promises from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to “fix the damn roads,” the state’s road infrastructure remains among the worst in the nation. For many, the question is simple: Has anything changed?
Michigan’s road troubles are not new. From former Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s call for better roads to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2018 campaign slogan, the state’s leadership has repeatedly promised improvements.
According to the most recent data from the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments from 2022-2023, road conditions in Ann Arbor show some improvement, particularly with fewer “poor” rated lanes. However, the percentage of “good” roads has decreased slightly. As of 2023, 22% of lane miles in Ann Arbor are rated “good,” 51% are rated “fair” and 27% are rated “poor.” In comparison, Washtenaw County as a whole has 37% of lane miles rated “good,” 41% rated “fair” and 22% rated “poor.” While Ann Arbor’s road conditions are improving in terms of fewer “poor” roads, the overall road quality still lags behind the county as a whole.
SEMCOG uses a Pavement Surface Evaluation Rating system, which helps city officials determine which roads require immediate attention. Ann Arbor has a pavement condition dashboard that allows residents to track the status of road repairs.
In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA junior JP Perron, president of the Michigan Motor Club, said the reality on the ground of road conditions can be drastically different from place to place.
“From my experience, Ann Arbor’s roads can be quite variable,” Perron said. “While some areas have seen improvements with resurfacing and repairs, others still face significant issues, particularly with potholes and uneven surfaces. It seems to be a mixed picture overall.”
Washtenaw County resident Nathan Buchanan told The Daily that, although he acknowledges improvements in certain areas, he feels overall that the condition of Ann Arbor’s streets has worsened.
“The roads the city and state have worked on are great, but the overall quality of roads has declined in my time in town,” Buchanan said. “Ann Arbor roads aren’t any better or worse than most places in the state in my opinion. The patching work is terrible most of the time, resurfacing is working out better … the redone Hill Street is great.”
A combination of harsh winters, concrete road construction and insufficient funding contribute to the poor state of Ann Arbor’s roads. In an email to The Daily, Sherif El-Tawil, professor of civil and environmental engineering, explained how these factors can accelerate road deterioration.
“In general, there are two main reasons for poor performance in Ann Arbor or any other Michigan city,” El-Tawil wrote. “One, use of de-icing agents, which promote corrosion in steel rebars in concrete and contribute to an increase in damaging freeze-thaw cycles, and two, weather which contributes naturally to freeze thaw cycles.”
In Michigan, where many roads are made of concrete, the material is prone to cracking and damage from freeze-thaw cycles. According to Robert Kellar, public services communications specialist for the city of Ann Arbor, the city’s concrete roads have issues including faulting, curling and warping, which create a bumpy ride for drivers. The severe winter conditions exacerbate the problem, leading to potholes and uneven surfaces. Asphalt is more flexible and less likely to crack under the pressure of heavy loads and temperature fluctuations.
El-Tawil, who is leading the development of an ultra high performance concrete, said the material can improve long-term road durability.
“There is a new type of concrete that has extremely high durability: ultra high performance concrete,” El Tawil wrote. “It’s quite impermeable, which prevents ingress of chlorides, and also water, which kills the freeze thaw cycle. It is expensive so it is used in specialized applications.”
While Washtenaw County has been hesitant to adopt ultra high performance concrete, according to El-Tawil, the Clare County Road Commission and St. Clair County Road Commission have successfully used the material in their bridges. El-Tawil added that the Michigan Department of Transportation, which helped fund research on the material, appears to be gearing up to use it more broadly across the state.
To further extend the life of Ann Arbor’s roads, the city coordinates utility projects with road resurfacing to save money and avoid the need to tear up newly paved streets for utility line replacements. This collaboration allows the city to improve drainage and stormwater management.
In addition to the Pavement Surface Evaluation Rating system, the City Council passed a $15 million road bond in 2022 to accelerate road repair work. By 2024, the city had spent the entire $15 million to address some of the most pressing road quality issues.
In Ann Arbor, city crews have used some of this money to address standing potholes with patch treatment. In an email to The Daily, Kellar emphasized that pothole patching is often only a temporary fix, as potholes can reappear before a permanent repair can be made.
“Pothole patching is inherently not a permanent solution as it does not address the underlying issues,” Kellar wrote. “However, in the end, roads inevitably degrade over time and will eventually need to be completely resurfaced or reconstructed.”
The city relies on patch material in the winter since asphalt plants are closed during the colder months, but this solution is less durable than the patch materials used in warmer weather. As a result, many roads need repeated patches, making it feel like pothole season is year-round.
Kellar highlighted the city’s ongoing efforts to improve road quality, emphasizing the long-term investments made to address the issue.
“If you speak with anyone who has lived in Ann Arbor a long time, they will tell you that Ann Arbor’s roads have gotten considerably better,” Kellar wrote. “Since the 1980s, Ann Arbor has had a dedicated funding source, a local millage, that voters have continued to support, and the city uses it to do road resurfacing. While Ann Arbor roads continue to need a great deal of work, we are in a far better position than we’ve ever been.”
Daily News Editor Emma Spring can be reached at sprinemm@umich.edu.
The post Ann Arbor’s pothole problem: A look at the city’s road woes appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
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