Michigan’s roads, bridges, dams, harbors, water and stormwater systems are all in need of long-term repairs. That costs lots of money. What would cost more? Not making plans to start paying that money now. (Bridge/Crain’s photo by Michael Lee II) LANSING — In the summer of 2003, a massive power outage brought a swath of the eastern United States and Canada ‒ including much of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula ‒ to a standstill. The blackout, which started when a single electrical wire touched a tree in Ohio, left roughly 50 million people in the dark for days, and exposed the vulnerability of the electric grid.