LANSING - A large chunk of money to repair Michigan's roads and bridges has been lost and found.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Republican leaders in the state legislature moved their budget priorities around and found money to resume work on 17 road projects around the state.

"The road projects I am recommending today will help create at least 6,000 direct construction-related jobs and thousands of indirect jobs," Granholm said. "After discussions with the legislature and the Michigan Transportation Commission, and input from local communities, we were able to craft a fiscally responsible plan that preserves our current transportation system first while moving forward on expansion projects vital to our state's economy."

A state budget deficit of more than $1 billion threatened the cancellation of some 34 highway projects costing about $250 million around the state, but the governor and legislature compromised and came up with a deal to fund half of them. Loss of those projects would have amounted to hacking about one-fifth of the entire $1.3 billion state transportation construction budget.

The bulk of the funding to make these improvements, which are scattered around the state, will come from the issuance of up to $200 million in bonds authorized by the state Transportation Commission, with the remainder coming from other sources.