MACKINAC ISLAND — As Lansing struggles with having enough money to fix the state's crumbling roads, Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey has a new proposal — get rid of some of them.

"We've got too many roads," Shirkey told the Free Press in a weekend interview on Mackinac Island.

The number of lane miles in Michigan has increased significantly since 1980, at a much higher rate than the state's population, Shirkey said.

As a result, "we have way more roads per capita than most states do," and reducing the number of roads should be considered as part of a comprehensive road funding plan, he said.

Would he actually favor closing some roads?

“I wouldn’t be afraid of it," said Shirkey, R-Clarklake. "But it’s not an easy conversation."

Shirkey said roads would not necessarily have to be closed, but "maybe some roads need to be allowed to go back to gravel, for instance."

Shirkey made his comments as the Republican-controlled Legislature is close to finalizing a 2020 budget to send to Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that includes an extra $400 million in one-time road funding from the state's general fund but no comprehensive plan to dedicate additional funds to roads on an annual basis.

More:GOP lawmakers add $400M more to fix state roads, ignoring Whitmer's gas tax hike

More:Whitmer, GOP leaders: Budget now first priority, even without road funding deal

Whitmer initially said she would not sign a budget that did not include a comprehensive plan for the state's roads. But with the looming prospect of a partial state government shutdown on Oct. 1, Whitmer said on Sept. 9 she would agree to shifting the focus to finalizing the budget first and then returning to work on a road deal. That's what Shirkey had wanted from the beginning.

Shirkey had previously expressed concerns about the growth in suburban roads and the lack of a plan to pay for their maintenance in a June article in Crain's Detroit Business. But in that article, he had not raised the issue of returning some paved roads to gravel.

Census figures show Michigan's population has increased by about 8% since 1980.

In 2017, Michigan had about 253,000 lane-miles of state and local roads, according to data from the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council. Comparable data for 1980 was not immediately available, but Shirkey said the number has roughly doubled since then.

"Nobody wants their roads left alone," and that's why the issue is a tough one to tackle, he said.

Both Shirkey and House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said they are ready to return to discussions on a long-term road funding plan as soon as the budget is completed.

“Our state needs a comprehensive road funding agreement and I remain committed to doing that," Chatfield said.

Jeff Cranson, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said some local road agencies have already returned some local roads to gravel.

A 2015 U-M survey of local officials found that 12% said they had returned to gravel at least one paved road they could no longer afford to maintain.

"The Senate majority leader has raised some legitimate concerns about subdivisions in suburbs and exurbs creating unfunded liabilities because of the cost of infrastructure, including the local roads," Cranson said.

"The governor’s Fixing Michigan Roads Fund is sensible because it calls for putting the money on the heaviest commercial and commuter corridors where people already drive."

Whitmer called for a 45-cent gas tax increase to allow Michigan to spend about $1.9 billion more annually to fix roads while returning about $600 million in general fund money targeted for roads to other purposes.

Legislative Republicans said that was a non-starter.

Shirkey said he personally believes an undetermined amount of new revenue is needed, but his caucus does not necessarily agree.

"I’m insisting that we re-prioritize spending first, re-evaluate our cash flow second, and only if those two don’t produce enough do we even begin to talk about revenue," he said.

Under re-evaluating cash flow, Shirkey wanted to borrow against or free up cash by slowing payments to the Michigan Public School Employees Retirement System. Whitmer opposed those ideas, saying they would be fixing potholes on the backs of Michigan students.

Both Shirkey and Chatfield said on the weekend that they see removing the sales tax from gasoline sales is an important first step in any road funding agreement. Doing so would allow for the fuel tax to be increased without bumping up the overall price of gasoline. However, the lost sales tax revenue would reduce payments to the School Aid Fund and to local governments.

Contact Paul Egan: 517-372-8660 or pegan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @paulegan4. Read more on Michigan politics and sign up for our elections newsletter.