On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a check-in with Joann Muller, the Detroit-based transportation correspondent for Axios.

Muller explains the thinking behind General Motors officials’ announcement to invest $4 billion in the U.S. and move some vehicle production back from Mexico.

She also offers some insight she gained in reporting on negotiations between the U.S. and China over rare earth magnets, underscoring the need for the U.S. to develop a long-term strategy.

Also discussed: The likely result of easing regulations that have held back commercial drones in the U.S. 

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with J. Michael Skiba, also known as “Dr. Fraud,” a national expert on scams, like those proliferating in Michigan and other states, where text messages tell people they have unpaid road tolls. 

Skiba is department chair at Colorado State University Global where he oversees the Criminal Justice Department, including specializations in fraud, financial crime, and cybercrime. He discusses the psychology that prompts so many victims of online fraud to engage with scammers on smishing attempts. 

If you’ve been targeted, the FCC offers many tips. 

In April, the Michigan Department of Transportation released a video of Director Bradley C. Wieferich urging people not to respond to the texts.

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 Services at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and a former supervisor of the Work Zone Safety section, explains the challenges.

Among innovative methods in use are rumble strips to alert people as they approach a work zone, speed trailers and law enforcement employing a Ghost Rider program to identify distracted drivers.

Renner also talks about the zipper merge as a means of encouraging drivers to alternate when work requires a lane to be closed.

Other relevant links:

MDOT Work Zone Safety
Michigan.gov/MDOT/Travel/Safety/Road-Users/Work-Zone-Safety

The Zipper Merge Explained With Kids
youtu.be/TLAISm1XuHQ

Operation Ghost Rider
bridgemi.com/michigan-government/ghost-riders-lookout-distracted-drivers-michigan 

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with a trunkline pavement strategy specialist about how the work in his area helps inform investment decisions. 

Tim Lemon, who works in the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Bureau of Transportation Planning, talks about how pavement condition is measured and how the data is used.  

He explains that remaining service life (RSL) is MDOT’s primary pavement condition performance measure, which indicates the number of years before the pavement is anticipated to reach poor condition. It reflects the anticipated time in years that a pavement section can continue to provide acceptable levels of service, considering factors such as distress, structural integrity, ride quality, and functionality. 

He also explains that while state trunklines (I, M and US routes) don’t account for the majority of road miles in the state, they carry 53 percent of total traffic and more than 75 percent of commercial traffic in Michigan. 

Congressional leaders of various infrastructure committees have shown some interest in adopting a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, offering departments of transportation and contractors some certainty, well ahead of the current act’s expiration in 2026. 

Susan Howard, policy and government relations director for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), returns to the podcast to share what she’s hearing in conversations on Capitol Hill. 

Late last month, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves released a budget reconciliation proposal. 

Howard explains what that means, where the conversations will move from here and what the reduction in work force at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other U.S. Department of Transportation agencies could mean.

On this week’s episode of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about states studying or piloting road usage charges (RUC).

John Peracchio, a strategic adviser on intelligent transportation systems and mobility, and member of the Michigan Council on Future Mobility and Electrification, talks about key takeaways from a recent conference of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), where RUC programs were a key topic.  

Also discussed is what has been learned from other states and what it means that a proposal in the Michigan transportation budget would fund an RUC pilot. Hawaii has been especially aggressive in implementation, and Peracchio explains the unique nature.  

As an advocate for increased funding for public transit, Peracchio also discusses how RUC could be structured to help.

Earth Week 2025 came with a positive development for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) on efforts to implement a pilot program for analyzing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) and learn ways to design safer crossings.

Amanda Novak, a resource specialist in MDOT’s Bay Region, returns to the podcast to talk about a recently awarded $476,000 federal grant and how it will be put toward the pilot program. She previously spoke about the grant on the podcast in September 2024.

While we think of white-tailed deer most commonly when it comes to WVCs, other species to be considered include elk, moose, black bear, wild turkey, pine marten, eastern massasauga rattlesnake and Blanding’s turtle. 

As laid out in the project abstract for the grant, the number of WVCs in Michigan continues to increase annually, worsening risks and costs to drivers. For example, white-tailed deer alone account for more than 55,000 WVCs and cost motorists an average of $130 million per year in Michigan. Additionally, WVCs are a major threat to many wildlife populations in the state, including documented impacts on several threatened and endangered species. Projected increases in tourism, housing development and climate change effects are likely to exacerbate WVC effects on motorists and wildlife in Michigan.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, another conversation with Bill Hamilton, a senior analyst at the Michigan House Fiscal Agency (HFA). The HFA is a nonpartisan agency that helps the Michigan House of Representatives in developing the state budget.  

Hamilton explains that the HFA has 15 analysts specializing in specific budget areas, typically departmental budgets. He also talks about overall Michigan transportation budget, which supports roads and bridges for 615 road agencies.  

Also discussed: the Act 51 distribution formula. He explains that while the act dates to 1951, it has been amended a number of times over the years. This includes a breakdown of the distribution of money from the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) and the three buckets where money flows: the State Trunkline Fund (STF), county road agencies, and cities and villages.

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, which began in March and will continue through most of 2027, involves closing the eastbound lanes of I-696 from M-10 and Lahser Road east to I-75.
 
 Travis explains that this is the last of three phases of the "Restore the Reuther" project, a $275 million rebuilding of the freeway. In 2019, the state completed work along the easternmost portion, along with the western end in 2023 and 2024.

The conversation also includes an update on MDOT’s second flex route, this one on I-96 in Oakland County. The project is nearing completion as crews prepare for the use of ramp metering to regulate the flow of traffic to the freeway. 

A video explains the benefits of the flex route and ramp metering.

A few days after a massive ice storm rocked northern lower Michigan, many thousands remain without power while crews from power companies, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and other state and local agencies continue the cleanup and rebuilding process.

Bill Wahl, MDOT North Region associate engineer for operations, who is coordinating department efforts, joins the podcast to provide an update on the recovery.

Also joining is James Lake, MDOT North Region media relations specialist, who assists the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) with communications. He talks about why falling ice necessitated closing the bridge three times in three days, including a record 30-hour period.

Wahl and Lake grew up in the region and neither has seen anything like this ice storm and the resulting destruction. Wahl recounts utility workers who had been on power-restoration projects following hurricanes in the Southeast saying the scenes are as bad or worse as anything they’ve seen.

Wahl says crews from several counties to the south, including Kent, Ottawa, Mason, Missaukee, Muskegon, Roscommon, Iosco and Wexford, were helping to clear roads.

While the Mackinac Bridge re-opened Thursday morning, April 3, after a 30-hour closure, officials will continue to closely monitor conditions for falling ice. 

The MBA posted a video message on X from Bridge Director Kim Nowack about the falling ice, along with some photos from the bridge. More videos of falling ice that prompted the current closure were also posted on X. 

The bridge has closed roughly 30 times in the past 30 years, and the average closure duration is several hours. More frequently asked questions about falling ice and other topics are available on the MBA website. 

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a repeat appearance by Joann Muller, the Detroit-based transportation correspondent for Axios. She talks about how tariffs are affecting the auto industry, how automakers are reacting and what the future might hold.

Muller also shares insights from reporting on a new design for aircraft (a blended wing body airframe) that Delta Airlines and California-based Jet Zero say could make for net-zero emissions flying by 2050.

Lastly, she talks about driverless Uber vehicles in Austin, Texas, and other developments in the evolution of automated vehicles. 

Muller also previews a new newsletter she’s launching, Axios Future of Mobility.

Jason Gutting joins the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast this week to talk about his role as director of MDOT’s Bureau of Field Services.

As talks heat up between Michigan lawmakers and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer over various road funding proposals, the discussion again turns to paving standards and practices.

Gutting talks about standards and specifications for paving materials and how MDOT engineers confer with counterparts from across the country; innovations in road building, winter maintenance and operations; and ongoing challenges because of inflation and supply chain pressures since the pandemic began.
 
 Gutting was previously the administrator of the Construction Field Services (CFS) division. He also worked in Operations and was the construction contracts engineer for CFS as well as the construction engineer and an assistant construction engineer at the MDOT Lansing Transportation Service Center (TSC).
 
 Other references in the podcast: 

Gov. Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program
www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Projects-Studies/Rebuilding-Michigan-Projects

MDOT winter road maintenance
www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Travel/Safety/Road-Users/Winter-Safety

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with state Sen. John Damoose and Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) Chairman Patrick “Shorty” Gleason about legislation to shore up protections of the bridge from trespassers. 

The Senate voted unanimously on March 13 in support of Senate Bill 71, which now heads to the House. 

This comes three years after some troubling incidents on the bridge involving people climbing a tower or otherwise trying to access the bridge to take photos, and another involving a bomb threat that closed the bridge on a busy weekend and disrupted travel for many hours. The MBA took the rare step at the time of adopting a resolution supporting the key facility designation. 

The Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill, sponsored by then-state Rep. John Damoose, 99-6, in 2022, classifying the Mighty Mac and several other vital structures in the state as key facilities. The legislation later stalled in the Michigan Senate. Now, the Senate has reported out, unanimously, the new bill, sponsored by now state Sen. Damoose, which is narrower in focus, applying strictly to the Mackinac Bridge. The designation means trespassing on the bridge would be a felony offense. 

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, an update from Ryan McMahon of Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts-based firm that tracks data from drivers, participating voluntarily with their insurance carriers, to analyze statistics and driver behavior. 

McMahon spoke on the podcast previously, including a few months after Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed the law making it illegal to use a hand-held electronic device while driving.

His analysis includes data on distracted driving in Michigan broken down by county. His firm is reporting updated numbers that show meaningful strides in the right direction. 

McMahon also cites preliminary data showing a reduction in crashes in Michigan in 2024.

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 freeways were built, how safe mobility and accessibility play into the recovery of the city’s neighborhoods, and the innovative thinking going into the I-375 and US-12 (Michigan Avenue) projects.

Last May, Sen. Gary Peters invited Krassenstein to testify before the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports on the subject of community solutions to the roadway safety crisis.

Krassenstein explains why this is so important as part of those efforts to right-size some streets and make for safer crossings.

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 years. Among some large grants for state roads and bridges was a $73 million award to replace an aged movable bridge in Bay City. 

Talking about the governor’s road-funding plan, Kolodin explains how removing the sales tax on fuel, which does not fund roads and bridges, would allow for every penny drivers spend at the pump to go toward road repairs.

The plan would backfill the sales tax with a combination of cuts and additional revenue from closing the wholesale tax loophole on marijuana and assessing other fees.

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 Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are in early discussions about the next reauthorization and what it should include. Three members of the committee are from Michigan: Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City.

Some key points from an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) analysis of the IIJA:

• The IIJA reauthorizes surface transportation programs, with 34 percent more funding than the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provided.
• The IIJA provided close to $500 billion for road and bridge programs in communities across America.
• The act included 21 new DOT grant programs that will make targeted investments to repair bridges, improve the resiliency of our surface transportation system, and more.
• These funds go a long way to address the $1.2 trillion, 10-year surface transportation funding gap that ASCE identified in the 2021 Report Card.

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 extended sub-zero temperatures. Much of the focus in questions to transportation agencies on social media channels focuses on salt and a lack of understanding about how it loses effectiveness in very cold temperatures.

Green explains how the department maximizes its salt use and mixes in other mitigation efforts.

A $25 million grant will help rebuild the vital East Beltline Avenue bridge at the junction with I-196 and I-96 east of Grand Rapids. Green explains that the new bridge will feature nonmotorized connections for trails to the north and south of the interchange. It will also ease congestion on some of the ramps.

He also talks about a grant to support planning for better connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists between the east and west sides of US-131 just north of downtown Grand Rapids.

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 Road east to I-75.

Travis explains that this is the last of three phases of the "Restore the Reuther" project, a $275 million rebuilding of the freeway. In 2019, the state completed work along the easternmost portion, along with the western end in 2023 and 2024.

A complete closure makes sense, Travis says, for the safety of drivers and the construction contractor’s employees.

Travis also talks about the history of the freeway, which was originally conceived as I-98 in the earliest discussion of the Interstate system. The center segment was completed years later than the eastern and western portions because of various obstacles, including a lack of agreement among community leaders on the corridor about the exact route. Progress came about only after then-Michigan Gov. George Romney forced the various leaders to gather in a room and come to an agreement.

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 categories that make up the program. 

Later, Kapp talks about the office’s 2024 accomplishments, including distributing $23.1 million in Category A grant funds, which: 

• Generated $4.5 billion in private investment,
• Supported 4,414 jobs, and
• Resulted in $262 in private investment for every public dollar. 

See all of the OED’s accomplishments online.

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 for MDOT for 33 years, explains how the act informs planning for transportation projects in Michigan and department efforts to at once protect our air, waterways, wildlife, and plants and minimize inconvenience to travelers.

While critics of NEPA have argued for scaling back the need for environmental impact statements, supporters tout NEPA's role in saving money, time, lives, historical sites, endangered species and public lands while encouraging compromise and cultivating better projects with more public support.

Barondess also talks about the challenges and rewards she and her team have experienced in recent years, including the success protecting some threatened species on a segment of I-75 in Monroe County with a corridor conservation action plan. 

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, police agencies have reported dozens of crashes. Despite ongoing messages from law enforcement and safety advocates, drivers often fail to drive to the conditions.

Wieferich talks about what officials learned from a study conducted after a 193-vehicle pileup on I-94 near Galesburg resulted in the Michigan State Police issuing 58 citations.  

Also discussed:

• The Legislature, following about half of all states, approved bills allowing for the use of safety cameras in work zones. Wieferich explains the benefits.
• Challenges in transportation going into 2025.

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. 

Later, MDOT’s Nick Schirripa joined the conversation to talk about some of the creative names people submitted for plows here.

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 belts, down from 92.4 percent in 2023 and 92.9 percent in 2022.

Gates talks about the demographic breakdown within those numbers, which show younger male drivers are less likely to wear seat belts. He also discusses the different kinds of drivers who populate the roads in the wake of the pandemic, as remote work remains the norm for more white-collar workers.

Also discussed: speeding continues to be a problem post-pandemic, Gates says. 

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 Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.

As someone who has spent a career focusing on the safety of the transportation system and work zones, Brunner said his interest in making improvements was piqued as he pored through crash reports and visited the scenes. He learned of the toll crashes, especially where road work is occurring, takes on the workers. 

Members of the panel shared some chilling statistics, including: 

• Overall, suicides in the U.S. increased to 49,300 in 2023, up from 48,183 since just 2021. In the construction industry, 5,000 workers died by suicide in 2022, which climbed to 7,000 by 2023. By contrast, the industry loses an estimated 1,000 annually to construction site incidents.
• In Michigan, a construction worker is now 12 times more likely to die by suicide rather than due to an on-the-job injury.
• There is a 75 percent remission rate for mental health and even substance abuse issues if one stays engaged six months to a year in a treatment plan. 

Also discussed: The Michigan Senate recently adopted legislation to allow the use of safety cameras in work zones to monitor vehicle speeds and initiate citations for those exceeding work zone speed limits. On a previous episode of the podcast, Juan Pava, Safety Programs Unit chief of the Bureau of Safety Programs and Engineering at the Illinois Department of Transportation, talked about the success of a similar program there.