Back in 2015, Gov. Rick Snyder and Republican lawmakers declared victory and said they passed a plan to fix our roads.

Imagine their surprise this week when MDOT reported in a Senate committee hearing that the percentage of our state roads that are in poor condition will more than triple over the next 10 years.

Only 20 percent of our state roads were in poor condition last year. According to MDOT, 67 percent of our roads will be in poor condition 10 years from now, a 335 percent increase.

Unfortunately, the outlook is even worse for our local roads. But there isn’t a willingness to talk about how we can work together to actually fix our roads.

As past Legislatures have kicked this can down the road, it has only made matters worse as the cost to repair our roads continues to rise.

I hope we can find a way to honestly discuss the severity of this issue and work together to find solutions.