On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Sam Krassenstein, chief of infrastructure and Department of Public Works deputy director, for the City of Detroit. Krassenstein talks about many things, including the challenges of right-sizing streets built to accommodate more vehicles in an era before freew…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Zach Kolodin, the state’s chief infrastructure officer, breaks down the highlights of a road funding plan released by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office on Monday, Feb. 10. Kolodin first talks briefly about federal grants the state and many municipalities have received the past few …

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Zach Rable, a federal policy specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation, who talks about priorities for funding as a new Congress convenes. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) will expire in September 2026, and members of the House …

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Art Green, manager of the Grand Rapids Transportation Service Center, about some federal grants announced recently for his area. But first, Green talks about his experience with extreme winter events in Grand Rapids, like this week’s lake-effect snow and exte…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Brian Travis, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project manager overseeing the rebuilding of the central segment of I-696. The work will begin in March and continue through most of 2027, and involves closing the eastbound lanes of I-696 from M-10 and Lahser R…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Mike Kapp, who directs the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Office of Economic Development (OED). Kapp explains the origins of the office and how its various programs provide benefits to communities across the state. He also breaks down the six categor…

On this week's edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Margaret Barondess, a manager in the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) environmental section who is retiring from state government, reflects on her career. More than 50 years ago, Congress adopted the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Barondess, who worked f…

On this week’s episode of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Brad Wieferich, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, talks about his background overseeing development and design of road projects and the challenge of balancing mobility and safety. With strong winds churning up lake-effect snow on Michigan’s western lakeshore…

As lower Michigan braces for the first significant snowfall of the seasons, we’re reprising a Talking Michigan Transportation episode from when the department launched a program to name snow plows. This episode features a conversation with Iain McDonald of Transport Scotland, about their program to name the plows, or “gritters” as they call them. L…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Timothy Gates, associate chair for undergraduate studies of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University, talks about a new report on the use of seat belts and hand-held devices by Michigan drivers. The report shows 92 percent of front-seat occupants in Michigan wear seat b…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about mental health challenges for people who build and maintain roads and bridges. Gregg Brunner, chief engineer and chief operations officer at the Michigan Department of Transportation, spoke about the issue last month on a panel convened by the American Associ…

On this week’s 200th edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Bill Milliken Jr., vice chairman of the Mackinac Bridge Authority and son of the state’s longest-serving governor. Milliken talks about the honor and responsibility of serving on the Authority, including his role as chairman of the finance committee as …

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a return visit by Brian Travis, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project manager on the I-96 Flex Route in western Oakland County, which is wrapping up soon. The innovative project, allowing for the use of shoulders as travel lanes during peak travel times, is MDOT’s second use of …

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Ryan Mitchell, marking the one-year anniversary of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Office of Major Projects. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) categorizes major projects as those with a price tag of $500 million or more. Mitchell helped establish …

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the extraordinary efforts that culminated with the opening of a new and improved bridge near Edenville. Jack Hofweber, manager of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Mt. Pleasant Transportation Service Center, reflects on the heavy rains and f…

This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast picks up on themes in a Detroit Free Press story detailing creative efforts by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) to stem the proliferation of deer in the state’s southern regions. Ed Golder, public information officer at MDNR, explains the challenges and how wildlife officials ar…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a follow-up to the previous episode highlighting efforts to protect people and animals with creative wildlife crossings on roads. Amanda Novak, a resource specialist in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Bay Region, helped spearhead the grant application and explains th…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, the first installment of two focusing on ways to enhance the safety of animals, and human drivers, with wildlife crossings. In Part I this week, a conversation with Tim Johnson, a landscape connectivity specialist with the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative. Goin…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Detroit News editor and columnist Chad Livengood about his reporting on misperceptions and contradictions surrounding the development of electric vehicle battery production facilities. As his Aug. 31 column observed: All of this transition to electrification …

This week’s edition of Talking Michigan Transportation is a reprise of a 2020 conversation with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer about her Rebuilding Michigan plan. Now four years into the program, the Michigan Department of Transportation continues to improve many of the state’s busiest roads and bridges. Key links: http://michigan.gov/RebuildingMI https://w…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Joann Muller, a Detroit-based reporter for Axios covering all things mobility, talks about electric vehicle (EV) sales, progress on developing charging networks, consumers buying smaller vehicles, and her experience with a new device that converts a conventional bicycle to an e-…

Despite Michigan’s hands-free driving law being in place for more than a year now, police are still seeing drivers holding their phones or other devices in vehicles. The practice is especially troublesome where road work is going on. On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with a construction engineer fa…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Troy Hagon. For 16 years, Troy has worked in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Office of Government Affairs, the past six as director. Troy will be leaving MDOT soon to become the deputy director of the American Council of Engineering Compani…

Bridge Michigan reported this week on some troubling statistics in Michigan that show that police are not making as many arrests for drunk driving and crashes caused by impaired driving are on the rise. Among key findings: Drunk driving arrests in Michigan have dropped 28 percent since 2014, while fatal alcohol- and drug-related crashes have risen …

By now, you may have seen a photo taken high above the Detroit River of two iron workers, one from Canada and one from the United States, shaking hands to mark the completion of the deck on the Gordie Howe International Bridge. On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with those iron workers, Jason Hugge…

As road work continues across Michigan, police are on high alert for speeding and distracted drivers causing crashes during backups. On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about efforts engineers take to balance mobility and safety during active road work. Lindsey Renner, division administrator for Construction Field…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Mohammed Alghurabi, a long-time MDOT senior project manager being honored this week by the Engineering Society of Detroit. Alghurabi is best known in recent years for his work in southwest Detroit communities to prepare for building the Gordie Howe International Bridge link…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Ryan McMahon of Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts-based firm that tracks data from drivers, participating voluntarily, to analyze statistics and driver behavior. McMahon last spoke on the podcast in November, a few months after Michigan Gov. Whitme…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about legislation that would appropriate economic development funds for community-based programs, including public transportation. This week’s guest, Jared Fleisher, who leads government affairs and economic development for Rock (Dan Gilbert’s family of companies)…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about the past, present and future of MDOT’s Transportation Diversity Recruitment Program (TDRP). The 10-week program allows students to work alongside other on-the-job training program participants, internal staff and external professionals who provide engineering, technical, in…

As lawmakers in the Legislature continue negotiations for the state’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget, one addition specific to transportation involves a $5 million appropriation for a pilot program to assess replacing traditional fuel taxes with a mileage-based road usage fee. This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features another conversati…

Note: This episode originally posted on Aug. 14, 2023. On this week’s podcast, Michael J. Coren, the Washington Post’s climate advice columnist, talks about his recent reporting (subscription) on the cost of filling a vehicle’s fuel tank versus charging an electric vehicle (EV) battery. The answer, he explains, is less straightforward than it seems…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Julie Clark, chief executive officer at the Traverse Area Recreation and Transportation (TART) Trails. Clark talks about how she and her family made their way from North Carolina to Traverse City and embraced the northern Michigan outdoors. TART is among many organizations …

Late last month, a Michigan Senate committee advanced legislation to enable the use of automated technology to enforce speeding laws on segments of roads under construction. Pennsylvania became the latest to join dozens of other states employing the technology, with positive results. This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast revisits the …

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast focuses on National Work Zone Awareness Week. An event in Midland on Monday, April 15, will kick off the week with officials from the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Michigan State Police and several industry advocates and others. First, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist…

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features explanations about how Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) officials prioritize road projects. MDOT Chief Operations Officer Gregg Brunner talks about the factors that go into selection and how planners and engineers strictly adhere to asset management principles. …

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about revisiting the state’s Complete Streets policy, adopted by the State Transportation Commission in 2012. Amy Matisoff, whose duties include strategic alignment and outreach for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), explains why she’s spearheading …

You may have heard about the federal government’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, funded in the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law at $1 billion a year for five years. Michigan was fortunate to receive $110 million of those funds. On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Steve Minton, an innovative contracts …

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a veteran Michigan pollster discusses a recent survey of active and likely November general election voters that shows an overwhelming number want the taxes they pay at the pump to fix roads and bridges. Michigan is among states with a sales tax on motor fuels. That tax, 6 percent, does not go…

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed Fiscal Year 2025 budget include additional funds for MI Contracting Opportunity, a program that supports contractors and suppliers who are socially or economically disadvantaged. The $5 million recommendation represents a renewal of the item in the previous budget, with a $2 million increase. On this week’s…

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with two people who participated in a Feb. 6 announcement by the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) of an additional $2.6 million being invested in 13 community projects as part of construction of the Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB). First, Heathe…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the road usage charge (RUC) survey conducted to gauge citizen’s thoughts on funding transportation infrastructure. Jean Ruestman, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Office of Passenger Transportation, explains how the department sought and won a f…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Garrett Dawe, who was recently named engineer of traffic and safety at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). Dawe succeeds Mark Bott, who is retiring. Dawe talks about what he’s learned in a variety of positions at MDOT, including as a Transportat…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, MDOT’s coordinator for snow plowing and other maintenance on state routes in four west Michigan counties talks about preparations for heavy snow in the forecast for this weekend. Kurt Fritz, who coordinates maintenance on state trunkline (I, M and US routes) in Mason, Oceana, Muskegon and Otta…

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Mike Hayes, who was recently named chair of the Michigan State Transportation Commission (STC). Hayes, who has been active in community affairs in Midland for many years and served in the Michigan House of Representatives, has been a member of the STC since 2011. He talks a…

This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Joann Muller, co-author of the Axios What’s Next newsletter, offers her thoughts on trends in the automotive industry, including electric vehicle (EV) sales and more. Three recent stories explored the rapidly changing landscape: How consumers are finding comfort in hybrid vehicles before ful…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Stefan Tongur, vice president of business development in the United States for Israel-based Electreon, a developer and provider of electric vehicle (EV) charging solutions. He first discussed the technology on the podcast shortly after the contract was announ…

Experts are trying to parse data that shows a dramatic decline in the number of trips Americans take on foot. Axios summarized findings from Streetlight Data, including a 36 percent drop in average daily walking trips in the contiguous U.S. between 2019 and 2022. On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Emily Adler, di…

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a discussion about why distracted driving initially trended down in Michigan after the state's hands-free law took effect and why those numbers are not dropping as rapidly now. Ryan McMahon, senior vice president of strategy for Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts-based…

This week, the Michigan Senate’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee heard testimony on legislation that would allow for the use of safety cameras to monitor the speeds of vehicles driving through road construction projects. Pam Shadel Fischer, senior director of External Engagement at the Governors Highway Safety Association, returns to th…