A wise man with impressively braided hair once said: "Like a band of gypsies we go down the highway/We're the best of friends/Insisting that the world be turnin' our way/And our way/Is on the road again."
Willie Nelson probably has lived three lifetimes' worth of experience on the highway. From the Air Force, Nelson packed up and went to Nashville, Tenn. He wrote songs for the stars of the day and has been living out of a tour bus ever since. He's a multiplatinum legend, a revolutionary songwriter and probably still has changed more tires than your high school auto-shop teacher on Demo Day.
The Red Headed Stranger from Fort Worth, Texas, knew life on the road can be tough. It isn't always an adventure, but a grind. We Michiganians know how it feels to live out of our cars, hopping from here to there, and we also know how handcuffed it feels to have your auto in the shop for a few days.
We're the state that drives the world (or used to be), and the attachment Michiganians feel to their cars is among the strongest in the world. The store is two blocks away? So what, let's drive. Need to visit someone in Chicago? We can be there in 3 hours. To an MSU student native to Michigan, the Capital Area Transportation Authority sometimes is the last method of public transportation available. It's no sleight to the environment or a testament to Michigan's collective laziness; we're just attached to our cars in the state powered by the Motor City.
Which means, like the fortunes of a pair of favorite jeans, overuse of our cars and trucks is tearing our roads apart. Factor in Michigan's less-than-reliable weather patterns - which even the steel, bolts and oil in our rides refuse to accommodate - and the highway has more age lines than Keith Richards' neck. The unfunny joke that Michigan has two seasons - winter and orange barrel - is admittedly true. Our roads are poor.
But thankfully, they aren't the worst. Hawaii, unlikely enough, is the worst in terms of road conditions, and Massachusetts is No. 2. Of all the road miles in Michigan, the U.S. Department of Transportation estimates 30 percent of them are "rough" - resplendent with potholes, chasms, tar and gravel.
What honestly would be more surprising, being caught in a jam on Interstate 94, or cruising from East Lansing to Ohio without being forced to merge?
So, with it established that the state's road infrastructure's best friend is construction, what can Michigan do about it? We are one of 11 states in the union to collect less money than we give to the federal government for road maintenance. We earn less on taxing fuel than other states. We gripe and scowl when whipping out a checkbook to pay for a realignment, yet it's chalked up to just being life in Michigan.
In a fairly aggravating sense of irony, we're a car-happy state without concern for the road surfaces. And unfortunately, it's just a "way of life." Unlike other road-conscious states, it isn't all in the presentation. As long as we're getting from A to B, we would drive on broken glass and ball bearings as long as we're on time or early. It's taking its toll on our cars, our pocketbooks and, finally, our safety, and it's time for a change.
We're seein' potholes we hope we never see again, but we can't wait to get on the road again.
