Lansing residents can help shape Michigan’s infrastructure guide

Michigan residents have until Friday, Oct. 30, to tell the state what they want to know about the roads, water systems and power grids they depend on every day.

The Michigan Infrastructure Council (MIC) announced an online survey on Thursday, Oct. 8, asking people to submit questions about roads, drinking water, energy, internet and other essential services, according to the state’s announcement. The 11-question survey takes about 10 minutes to complete and is open to all Michigan residents.

Responses will feed a "Citizen's Guide to Infrastructure Systems" expected to be available in spring 2027. The guide will explain how the state's infrastructure works, how it is funded, who maintains it and what drives decisions about projects and improvements.

MIC Chair Palencia Mobley said the council wants residents to help shape the guide by sharing questions about systems many people don't fully understand. She pointed to decades of underinvestment in essential infrastructure.

"There are multiple things that have led us to where we are now, and we just really believe that an engaged and an informed citizenry are our best advocates and our best allies for ensuring that we can meet the infrastructure challenges that do exist," Mobley said in a Michigan Public report published Sunday, Oct. 11.

The survey asks which infrastructure issues matter most, how service disruptions affect daily life and how residents currently get information about local projects, according to the state's press release.

The backdrop

The American Society of Civil Engineers' (ASCE) 2023 infrastructure report card gave Michigan an overall grade of C-minus. Roads earned a D, drinking water a D-plus, energy a D and stormwater a D. One-third of the state's paved federal-aid-eligible roads were rated in poor condition.

The ASCE report also found Michigan faced an $860 million to $1.1 billion annual gap in water infrastructure needs, driven by decades of deferred maintenance. These are statewide findings from 2023, not separate grades for Lansing-area systems.