LANSING, MI -- Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, continuing his push for road funding through Proposal 1, donned a Tigers hard hat as he filled potholes in Detroit near the corner of Michigan and Trubmull, where Tiger Stadium once stood.

"The answer's not filling more and more potholes," Snyder told reporters after the photo opportunity. "The answer is getting the resources we've been missing, which are additional dollars that can go to building better roads and keeping them up so we don't have potholes."

Proposal 1, set to appear on the May 5 ballot, is projected to generate $1.25 billion a year for state and local road agencies once fully implemented. It would also generate a combined $600 million for schools, cities, mass transit and the state's general fund.

The ballot measure will ask voters to increase the state sales tax from six percent to seven percent but exempt fuel. It would trigger a series of other laws to create new and higher wholesale fuel taxes, eliminate registration fee discounts and more.

The Detroit road work was Snyder's second such event in as many days. He was scheduled to assist road crews in Caledonia on Wednesday, and with less than two weeks to go before the election, the governor said he is also planning a mini bus tour around the state.

The historic road in Detroit was unique, Snyder said, but the experience helped him appreciate the work that construction crews are doing around the state.

"Around Michigan there are a number of cases where, instead of doing potholes, we could be rebuilding the whole road," he said. "Doing it from the base up. Doing the bigger construction projects that would make them last much longer without potholes."

Proposal 1 is not polling particularly well, and some pundits are calling it a long shot. Critics, pointing to the money it would generate for non-road purposes, say the measure became bloated in an attempt to win votes in the Legislature.

"The more voters learn about prop 1, the more concern they have," Paul Mitchell, chairman of the Coalition Against Higher Taxes and Special Interest Deals, said earlier this week. "All the polls are showing that."

State Sen. Patrick Colbeck, who voted against the proposed constitutional amendment last year, said Wednesday that he is working on a road funding alternative that would focus on re-prioritizing spending and cuts in other areas of the budget.

"I get a little bit upset when we're not looking at the other side of the ledger, when we're only looking at tax increases, because there are plenty of alternatives," Colbeck said.

Colbeck wants to revisit last year's House plan, which was opposed by Snyder because it would have diverted future revenue growth from schools and cities. Other ideas listed on his website, some of which could be politically controversial, include defunding Planned Parenthood and the University Autism Program.

"A lot of the good things that people are now promoting on the campaign, like warranties and such, we can get the votes for that any day of the week," Colbeck said. "It's stuff they don't want to talk about that we've got to address.

Supporters have argued that there is no viable "plan B" to Proposal 1, which was sent to the ballot by lawmakers after a lengthy legislative debate

"The choice was to do nothing," said Snyder. "Doing nothing is the very worst answer. So let's press ahead, let's get Proposal 1 passed, and let's have a better economy and safer roads."

Tanya Moutzalias of MLive Detroit contributed to this report. Jonathan Oosting is a Capitol reporter for MLive Media Group. Email him, find him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter.