Creation of County Road Commissions

The creation of County Road Commissions grew out of what was known in the late 19th century as the Good Roads Movement. The momentum for this effort was provided by the League of American Wheelmen (LAW), a group of prominent bicyclists that were tired of rattling down rutted roads. The LAW was organized in 1879 and became the pioneering good roads organization of the country. These good road advocates, however, had their opposition. Farmers were particularly bitter against the bicycle rider and his crusade for better roads. They labeled it as a selfish crusade and said that no one wanted good roads but the bicyclist. As their numbers increased, however, the bicyclists became an important force.

The first significant improvements in the administration of Michigan's highways took place in 1883 when the state legislature passed Public Act 278, which created a Stone Road District in Bay County representing 8 townships. The Act provided for a district road board and authorized it to construct and maintain three stone or macadamized roads between and within the districts. The measure provided many noticeable advantages. It enlarged the road district, making possible a highway plan for a larger area; it created more efficient road agencies; and provided for the raising of funds for road improvements.

The features of the Bay County Act, strongly supported by good roads leaders, resulted in the passage of the County Road Law in 1893 which encouraged other counties to follow the lead of Bay County. The legislature passed the County Road Act of 1893, which permitted a county, by a vote of the people, to establish a county road commission and levy a road tax. By 1905, only 18 of 83 counties had set up county road commissions - by 1916, 59 counties had followed suit. In 1907 another important objective of road reformers was achieved when the statute labor system was abolished and replaced by cash road taxes. This greatly improved the efficiency of road building programs throughout the state and made possible the hiring of full-time trained road personnel and the purchase of road equipment.

The McNitt Act of 1932, intended primarily as a property tax relief measure that returned vehicle weight tax to the counties, also brought about major reform in local road administration as well. While county road administration in Michigan had reached a level of competence not surpassed in any state in the country, road building by 1,269 separate township authorities was widely recognized as wasteful and inefficient. The argument was made that the largest township covers but a small area and has such small taxing powers, that it is entirely unfit to cope with even a small fraction of the road problems in the highly motorized age of 1931. The following were cited by Frank F. Rogers in the "History of the Michigan State Highway Department" as the advantages of a County Road system:

• An equitable plan for raising highway funds, spreading a tax on all of the property of the county including that within the cities. In 1929, over $9 million dollars was raised this way.
• Important roads are made continuous throughout the county and by cooperating with adjoining counties may become continuous for much greater distances, an important feature in main market roads.
• Money enough is secured to improve the worst and most expensive places on the main county roads (for example, bad hills, marshes and bogs)
• The Board is practically continuous. Except in case of accident or death, there are always two experienced men on the Board. Only one goes off at a time, while on average, more than ½ of township commissioners go out of office each year.
• The county can afford enough road building equipment to economize on both construction and maintenance.
• It has been satisfactory for now (1933) and all of the counties have adopted it.
• It produces results! The counties now have more than 17,000 miles of improved roads - more than twice the mileage on the state trunkline system.