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ESCANABA -- They're calling it "Michigan's Transportation Funding Crisis."  There's roadwork to be done and not enough money to fund it.

Wednesday in Escanaba, the Michigan Department of Transportation, Delta County Road Commission and the cities of Gladstone and Escanaba met to search for solutions to the funding crisis.

"We're fast reaching a crisis because we're running out of money," says Randy Van Portflier, PE, MDOT Region Engineer.

At the state level, MDOT receives funding from gasoline tax dollars and vehicle registration fees.  Those fees are based on vehicle weight.  Cars are being made lighter, so those fees are lower.  And there are fewer gas guzzlers on the road, so gas tax dollars aren't adding up like they used to.

"Because people are driving less, they're using more fuel efficient vehicles, they've changed their driving patterns, they're buying smaller cars," Van Portflier said.

With less money coming into the state, road construction is being delayed, jobs are being cut, and the future looks just as bleak. 

MDOT is struggling financially now, but next year, it'll have $550 million less to spend, because it won't be able to match the Federal funding.  At the county level, funding is so low that Delta County is going back to the stone age to cut costs, literally.

"We've got about 40 percent that are in good condition, and we've got 8 percent that have totally failed.  It's definitely a crisis.  If something doesn't change, we here in Delta County have already starting turning some roads back to gravel," says Rob VanEffen, Managing Director for the Delta County Road Commission.

In 1999, Delta County had 43 full-time workers on the Road Commission.  Now, they're down to just 33.

And it's not just a problem at the state and county levels.  Cities like Gladstone and Escanaba are hitting the bump in the road, too, but they've found a short-term fix.  The various government agencies are starting to share equipment and services.

"When we buy things such as plow blades, sign posts, crack-fill material, we do that as a large group now," says Bill Farrell, PE, City Engineer and Director of Public Works for the City of Escanaba.

That method is cost effective, and the various agencies say the penny-pinching does add up. 

No long-term plans were discussed at Wednesday's round table.