Dive Brief:

• Michigan is about to become the 18th state to start replacing the orange construction barrels it stations near roadway work zones — at a cost of more than $10 million, according to some estimates.

• But the Michigan Department of Transportation said the new cylinders, which sport fluorescent, reflective orange sheeting and white stripes that make them easier to see at dusk and on cloudy days, will cost only $2 million because the state can buy them on sale, according to the local media. Some have said the sheeting is not durable, so the new barrels will need to be replaced more often than those with the old design.

• The price of new barrels reportedly is 32% to 43% more than the old ones, according to several media reports.

Dive Insight:

“This is... the biggest waste of money I’ve ever seen Michigan do,” barrel supplier Frank Powelson told the Detroit Free Press. Another distributor, however, said the newer design is safer. “If there is a safer option out there, why wouldn’t we go to that?” he asked.

But the controversy over the barrels is less about safety than it is about money.

The Michigan Legislature has been unable to pass a $1.2 billion-a-year transportation bill that would pay for much-needed road repairs.

“Michigan cannot afford to fill a pothole, and we are now going to spend millions of dollars to change the sheeting on a drum so someone can see the drum better in the daytime?” Powelson asked.