LANSING – With a new toll free phone number, the Michigan Transportation Team has created a direct line for frustrated drivers who want to voice their opinions to lawmakers about the state of Michigan roads and whether to implement more funding to fix them, a spokesperson said Thursday.

Mike Nystrom, vice president of government and public relations for the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association and co-chair of MTT, said the number (1-888-719-3087) plays a short message urging residents who are tired of potholes and other infrastructure problems to contact their legislators and then connects them to their lawmakers directly. (While MTT said the number is active as of Thursday, when Gongwer staff attempted several calls, a recorded message announced that circuits were busy.)

“This toll-free number is a resource for anyone who has blown a tire, cracked a rim, or spilled coffee in their lap after passing over a famous Michigan pothole,” said Nystrom. “Legislators have told us that they want to hear from their constituents on the issue of Michigan’s failing transportation system – we’re happy to oblige.”

While a handful of House lawmakers in May announced a bipartisan package of bills that would raise fuel taxes and increase registration fees, which was part of a transportation funding plan advanced last year, Nystrom said he’d like to see legislators move past the “exploration” stage and push the package through.

Without increased funding, Michigan “is looking at some serious problems down the road,” said Bill Shreck, director of communications for the Department of Transportation, who agreed that the state’s transportation system is in a funding crisis.

He said the estimate is that between 2011 and 2013, the state would lose somewhere around $1.9 billion in federal dollars because the state can’t come up with matching dollars.

None of the handful of lawmakers who have announced support of the transportation funding package were available for comment on Thursday.

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