密歇根新闻广播 密歇根修路费太低并且为时已晚

For a few years, we were constantly hearing about how terrible Michigan's roads were–and how the legislature kept ignoring citizens' pleas to fix them.

Then, a couple of years ago, lawmakers did enact¹ what was billed as a road repair package. It doesn't start providing any new money until this year, but four years from now, it's supposed to generate something like $1.2 billion a year to fix the roads.

That's provided the Legislature, which is still talking about cutting taxes and state revenue, is willing to take $600 million out of the already strapped² general fund. But even if that happens, and even if the next few winters are as mild as this one, here's the bad news: The new funding is way too little and considerably³ too late.

Our roads are going to get worse—noticeably and exponentially worse. In the next five years, there is going to be a vast and accelerating increase in the number of roads and bridges in terrible shape. And that means more people will die.

This isn't hyperbole.

Trip, a highly respected Washington-based transportation research group, just released a new report on Michigan. It makes for grim reading.

Trip concluded the road funding package the governor signed in 2015 "is not sufficient to adequately address the significant deterioration⁴ of the system, or to allow the state to provide many of the transportation improvements that are needed to support economic growth."

The study starkly⁵ illustrates⁶ what that will mean. Last year, 20 percent of Michigan's state-maintained roads were in "poor" condition. Three years from now, that figure will be 46 percent – almost half. Bridges are in somewhat better shape. Only one of every nine of those "show significant deterioration and are in need of repair."

But that too is expected to climb rapidly. The Michigan Department of Transportation estimates that within three years, 354 state highway bridges will be in poor shape.

Someday, one will collapse⁷ and people will die.

They are dying now. Few people have noticed, but traffic deaths in Michigan rose 20 percent from 2014 to 2016. I have no doubt text messaging and other distracted driving had a lot to do with that. But so did the condition of the roads.

The TRIP study estimates road conditions are a likely contributing factor in one-third of highway deaths. Last year, more than 1,000 people were killed on our roads. You do the math.

Bad roads are much like tooth decay. The longer you put off fixing the problem, the more complex and expensive it becomes. Trip's report concludes by stating the obvious:

"As Michigan works to build a thriving, growing and dynamic state, it will be critical…to address the state's most significant transportation issues by providing a well-maintained 21st century network of roads, highways, bridges and transit⁸."

Well, we aren't doing it. And unless that changes, we are going to become a backwater.

The best, easiest and roughly fairest solution is simple.

Forget the fancy funding games, and just raise the gas tax per gallon to get what we need. Otherwise, well, maybe we can switch to a fleet of oxcarts. Our economy may collapse, but I'm sure the United Nations will find a way to get some relief supplies to us.

1 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

2 strapped   

adj.用皮带捆住的，用皮带装饰的；身无分文的；缺钱；手头紧v.用皮带捆扎(strap的过去式和过去分词)；用皮带抽打；包扎；给…打绷带

参考例句：

• Make sure that the child is strapped tightly into the buggy. 一定要把孩子牢牢地拴在婴儿车上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The soldiers' great coats were strapped on their packs. 战士们的厚大衣扎捆在背包上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 considerably   

adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上

参考例句：

• The economic situation has changed considerably.经济形势已发生了相当大的变化。
• The gap has narrowed considerably.分歧大大缩小了。

4 deterioration   

n.退化；恶化；变坏

参考例句：

• Mental and physical deterioration both occur naturally with age. 随着年龄的增长，心智和体力自然衰退。
• The car's bodywork was already showing signs of deterioration. 这辆车的车身已经显示出了劣化迹象。

5 starkly   

adj. 变硬了的,完全的 adv. 完全,实在,简直

参考例句：

• The city of Befast remains starkly divided between Catholics and Protestants. 贝尔法斯特市完全被处在天主教徒和新教徒的纷争之中。
• The black rocks stood out starkly against the sky. 那些黑色的岩石在天空衬托下十分显眼。

6 illustrates   

给…加插图( illustrate的第三人称单数 )； 说明； 表明； （用示例、图画等）说明

参考例句：

• This historical novel illustrates the breaking up of feudal society in microcosm. 这部历史小说是走向崩溃的封建社会的缩影。
• Alfred Adler, a famous doctor, had an experience which illustrates this. 阿尔弗莱德 - 阿德勒是一位著名的医生，他有过可以说明这点的经历。 来自中级百科部分

7 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

8 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。