LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – British TikTok duo Josh and Jase are back in Michigan, and they’re hitting the same bumps in the road — literally.

“What’s going on with the holes in these roads?”

Josh and Jase are Joshua Cauldwell-Clarke and Jason “Jase” Riley from across the pond. They visited Michigan in the winter and are back for a Pure Michigan summer. They’re lamenting the potholes again, just as they did during their winter visit.

“Michigan, we need to have a chat, mate. What’s going on with the holes in these roads?” Josh asked.

“I’m getting whiplash,” Jase added.

Josh continued, “Absolutely mental. My back’s gonna go again!” referring to the back injury he suffered last winter after sledding down Sleeping Bear Dunes. The injury required a hospital visit.

Jase pointed out, “At least in the winter the potholes were filled in.”

Josh volunteered, “I might have to start filling them in for you. What’s going on, Michigan?”

“Fix the damn roads.”

The British sojourners may not realize they’re poking holes in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s signature 2018 campaign promise to “fix the damn roads.” While running for her second and final term in 2022, Whitmer said at the Mackinac Policy Conference that she “never suggested that in one term we could fix decades of underinvestment.”

The 2025 Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC) report shows measurable improvement since Whitmer took office, but it also shows that roughly one-third of Michigan’s major roads remain in poor condition.

While Whitmer can accurately claim road conditions have improved over the past decade and that thousands of miles of roads have been repaired, critics also have data on their side. Michigan still has more than 253,000 lane miles of public roads, and the latest TAMC report shows that 32% of major roads remain in poor condition, while only 27% are rated in good condition.

But even the potholes can’t keep Josh and Jase away from a Pure Michigan summer. They arrived in Michigan on July 24 and plan to stay through Aug. 17. During their winter visit, they explored the Great Lakes and visited destinations including Traverse City, Sleeping Bear Dunes, Mackinac Island, Detroit, and the Upper Peninsula.