LANSING ? Some $215 million will soon be available to repair Michigan?s crumbling roads as part of a supplemental appropriations bill unanimously adopted by a conference committee on Wednesday and passed in both chambers by wide margins. It is now headed to Gov. Rick Snyder?s desk for his signature.

The final agreement on SB 608 includes $215 million for roads — $100 million for special winter road maintenance and $115 million for priority road projects, both General Fund. The Senate had originally proposed using $100 million from the Roads, Risks and Reserve Fund to put toward special winter road maintenance, but the money in that fund will remain intact for now.

“I appreciate the Legislature’s working together to approve this budget supplemental that provides much needed funding to help fix Michigan’s deteriorating roads. This has been a significantly harsh winter on many fronts, and particularly devastating in terms of potholes,” Governor Rick Snyder said in a statement following the final approval of the bill in the House. “While this funding will be of great benefit in the short-term, Michigan still very much needs a comprehensive long-term solution to fix our state’s aging roads and bridges. This remains a priority and I am confident that we can work together on a solution.”

The County Road Association of Michigan, Michigan Association of Counties, and Michigan Municipal League applauded the additional funding for roads in a joint statement.

“These additional road funding dollars will provide immediate and much needed relief to our communities that have been hard hit by this year’s winter,” said John LaMacchia, legislative associate for the MML. “We are appreciative of the legislature’s effort to deliver a short-term solution to cities and villages throughout Michigan and are hopeful that they will now turn their attention to finding a long-term solution for the transportation needs of this state.”

Rep. Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City), chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he is encouraged by the funding provided for roads in the supplemental. He said it was a good “first down payment.”

“I would like to see, obviously, more funding for roads,” he said. “I think by this supplemental, and using General Fund monies, quite frankly, shows a commitment by the Legislature on where we stand on road and bridge funding. It also sets a good tone to make sure we get our federal match back and sets the table for hopefully some long-range funding options.”

Schmidt also said he believes the momentum on increased road funding is increasing.

“I think people have recognized more so because we’ve neglected properly funding our infrastructure network, and because of this harsh winter, which exacerbated the problem, yes it has moved it to the forefront,” he said. “More of my constituents are calling, more and more of my colleagues are hearing from people. We have always had potholes … but they’re that much worse this year.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), the minority vice chair of the House Appropriations Committee and member of the conference committee that unanimously adopted SB 608, said she was pleased with the bipartisan effort to pass the supplemental but said there is still more work to do.

“We came to a bipartisan agreement that puts a date on when we have to solve the Health Insurance Claims Assessment shortfall, so that’s good for hospitals and the state budget,” Ms. Tlaib said in a statement. “Hutzel Women’s Hospital will get only half of the state and federal funding that it deserves which is unfortunate because the infant mortality program it runs with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is critically important for Detroit and Michigan families who rely on it to save the lives of their babies. We will continue to fight for full funding.”

The Senate passed SB 608 30-5, with Sen. Jack Brandenburg (R-Harrison Township), Sen. Patrick Colbeck (R-Canton Township), Sen. Joe Hune (R-Hamburg), Sen. Phil Pavlov (R-St. Clair) and Sen. John Proos (R-St. Joseph) in opposition. The House passed the bill 106-2, with Rep. Rose Mary Robinson (D-Detroit) and Rep. Tom McMillin (R-Rochester Hills) opposed.

Colbeck, in a speech on the Senate floor, cited appropriations for the expansion of Medicaid as the primary reason he voted against it, and that the long-term implications of Medicaid expansion far outweigh the short-term benefits of the bill.

“We’re asked to spend more money to save money: $80 million that could’ve also been put toward our roads,” he said. “I share the concerns that have been addressed about community mental health funding, but I should put out there would have been adequate funding for these services if Medicaid expansion would’ve not reset our fiscal year ’14 budget to reduce these expenditures.”

He continued: “Embedded within the Medicaid expansion bill was an automatic repeal provision if state savings were not realized. Until that formula is nailed down, it is conceivable that the supplemental funds we are proposing to allocate under this bill could lower the bar for the realization of these so-called savings. I would prefer to wait until June to see what this formula looks like.”