Most Michigan voters believe road conditions in the state have pretty much stayed the same while Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has been in office, according to a new WDIV/Detroit News poll.
A survey conducted between Aug. 29 and Sept. 1 found that a majority of Michigan voters either feel the conditions of the roads have stayed fairly consistent over the last four years, or they feel the roads are getting better. When it comes to taking blame for the bad roads in Michigan, many voters say they blame past governors and state Legislatures.
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Here are some of the key findings from this portion of the survey:
Roads staying the same
- A majority of Michigan voters, 38.7%, believe the conditions of the state’s roads have stayed the same over the last four years.
- 34.6% of voters said the roads have been getting better.
- 23.5% of voters said the roads have gotten worse.
- A majority of Michigan voters, 48.3%, said they are seeing more roads getting fixed now than in the past.
Who’s to blame
- When asked who’s to blame for the bad roads in Michigan, many voters named past governors, past Legislatures, and the Michigan Department of Transportation -- 46% of voters, when added together.
- 8.9% of voters blame Gov. Whitmer for the bad roads.
- Some respondents believe cities and counties are to blame.
Whitmer’s use of bond debt
- A strong majority of Michigan voters, 63.5%, support with Gov. Whitmer’s use of bond debt to fix Michigan roads.
- 27.5% of voters say they oppose Whitmer’s use of the bond debt to fix roads.
Methodology
The Glengariff Group, Inc. conducted a Michigan statewide survey of November 2022 likely general election voters. The 600 sample, live operator telephone survey was conducted on August 29-September 1, 2022 and has a margin of error of +/-4.0% with a 95% level of confidence. 28.0% of respondents were contacted via landline telephone. 72.0% of respondents were contacted via cell phone telephone. This survey was commissioned by WDIV Local 4 News and the Detroit News.
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