In this Thursday, April 23, 2015 photo, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, center, helps patch a pothole on Michigan Ave., in Detroit. Michigan voters will decide the fate of a sales tax increase linked to road improvements because that’s what lawmakers proposed after deadlocking on directly raising taxes themselves. But in the months since, legislators have mostly kept quiet on what Gov. Snyder says is the most pressing issue facing the state. Few, in fact, replied to an Associated Press survey asking how they intend to vote on May 5. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio) The Associated Press

By DAVID EGGERT, Associated Press

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Drivers in the state that put the world on wheels are flat-out embarrassed by the state of Michigan's roads, and some are even scared.

But whether they can stomach tax increases to improve the roads is in doubt.

A May 5 ballot measure proposes a 1-cent sales tax hike to put an additional $1.2 billion a year into fixing deteriorating roads and bridges.

Michigan and some other states have been asking voters to decide whether to raise taxes or shift revenue to pay for road needs no longer fully covered by fuel taxes. The problem is particularly acute in Michigan, which spends less on highway infrastructure, per capita, than any other state except Georgia and is a major trucking route to and from Canada, the U.S.'s largest trade partner.