Michigan Central, opened in Detroit in 1913 and designed by the same architects as New York's Grand Central Terminal, was a towering landmark and the tallest train station in the world at the time. It was a symbol of the city’s industrial might and later, sadly, became a symbol of blight instead. Now, through the vision of Ford Motor Co. officials and others, it is a symbol again, this time of a great city’s rebirth. 

This week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer joined others in announcing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Michigan Department of Transportation, the City of Detroit and Michigan Central to begin preliminary assessments for a new multimodal transportation hub located within the 30-acre Michigan Central Innovation District, on a parcel just southwest of the station.

This week’s podcast features two participants in the MOU announcement: Arun Rao, Amtrak senior director for network development in their Central Region, and Sam Krassenstein, chief of infrastructure for the City of Detroit.

With Michigan’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget agreement now signed into law, this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast focuses on a long-discussed pilot project for a road usage charge (RUC) system, which received funding.

First, State Sen. Veronica Klinefelt of Eastpointe, who chairs the Senate Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee and has been a strong advocate for studying alternative ways to fund transportation, explains why she advocated for the RUC pilot.

Later, John Peracchio, a senior adviser to Michigan’s Council on Future Mobility and Electrification (CFME), offers his insights on how a RUC system has worked in other states and how the council can help with the education process.

As lawmakers complete a Fiscal Year 2026 budget agreement, one component involves removing the sales tax on fuel and adding a commensurate amount to the fuel tax and putting it toward transportation.

This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast revisits a 2024 conversation with a veteran Michigan pollster about his survey then showing an overwhelming number of voters 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 to roads and bridges. By law, the proceeds support the school aid fund, revenue sharing for local municipalities and a minor portion helps fund local transit services.

Bernie Porn, president of the polling firm EPIC-MRA, explained that all survey respondents were asked, “Do you think that all of the taxes that you pay at the gas pump should or should not go toward funding improvements to Michigan’s roads and bridges?”

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, news that a federal grant will allow for the study of wildlife crossings to protect motorists and animals alike.

Amanda Novak, a resource specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation who helped lead the effort to secure the grant, returns to explain the benefits.

The grant award comes at a good time as State Farm released an annual report this week that shows Michigan ranked fourth among states for vehicle collisions with animals.

As reported previously, these crashes pose tremendous risk and costs to drivers. For example, white-tailed deer alone account for more than 55,000 collisions and a $130 million cost to drivers per year.

Novak talks about what she’s learned from other government agencies, which have studied the problem and implemented mitigation efforts.

A previous episode of the podcast featured a conversation with a connectivity specialist with the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative about creative and successful solutions implemented on the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park.

Podcast photo: An animal-crossing sign for tortoises. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith on Noun Project.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the Michigan State Police (MSP) deploying added enforcement in freeway work zones.

MC Lt. Jason Zylstra of MSP’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) explains why they launched special enforcement in segments with major work like the heavily traveled I-96 in Ionia County.

MSP observes that 97 percent of at-fault crashes involving large trucks and buses are caused by driver behavior.

Zylstra also discusses:

• The need for trucks to maintain a proper distance to other vehicles.
• The dangers of trucks blocking lanes in zipper-merge zones and why law enforcement issues citations for that behavior.
• Special inspections for tires, equipment and other components of commercial vehicles.

As unscrupulous actors continue to impersonate government agencies and target unknowing people with texts about unpaid tolls, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel this week reissued a consumer alert.

With that in mind, this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast is a reprise of a conversation in June 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.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation recapping a Sept. 4 panel discussion in Lansing featuring a thoughtful discussion among experts from various fields on the need for sustainable transportation infrastructure funding and why it’s such a challenge.

John Peracchio, who helped organize the event and moderated the discussion, says he was pleased with the comments of the panelists but hoped for a more robust question-and-answer session that followed.

Some key themes:

• Chad Livengood, politics editor and columnist at the Detroit News, talked about reporting when he was at Crain’s Detroit on subdivisions being built in outer-ring suburbs with no sustainable source of funding for their roads.
• Lance Binoniemi of the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association reiterated the job losses that would result from a lack of increased investment in road and bridge building.
• Baruch Feigenbaum of The Reason Foundation explained the long-term benefits of switching to a road user charge (RUC) system for funding roads, as some other states have piloted. He has previously talked about the topic on the podcast.
• Jane McCurry of Clean Fuels Michigan provided perspective on how fees on alternative-fuel vehicles contribute to the road funding mix.

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 informs decisions about priorities and which roads and bridges to address.

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.   

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a focus on jobs tied to road and bridge building.

Gov. Whitmer sent a letter Aug. 7 to the directors of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), calling on them to compile and publicly release data on the impact of the state’s road funding cliff and federal funding rollbacks and policies on Michigan’s economy and employment. 

First, Heath Salisbury, financial secretary and training director for Operating Engineers 324, talks about what investments in infrastructure mean to people in the skilled trades and the thousands of jobs involved. 

Salisbury offers his perspective as a veteran of the industry, working in the trenches, then later in training workers and developing a work force capable of building in a modern environment where technology is evolving rapidly.

Later, Karen Faussett, who manages MDOT’s statewide and urban travel analysis section, talks about how her team tracks the economic benefits of investment in transportation infrastructure.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, analysis and takeaways on two major announcements related to the future of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure.

Joann Muller, who writes the Axios Future of Mobility newsletter, discusses her coverage of an announcement from Ford Motor Co. on Monday, Aug. 11, billed ahead of time as the next "Model T moment." 

As she wrote in her coverage, "The headline is that Ford will introduce a new family of EVs priced under $40,000 and will use a new manufacturing process to try to make them profitably." 

In 2024, MDOT awarded a state Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant to the Calhoun County Road Department (CCRD) for road improvements related to Ford Motor Co.'s BlueOval Battery Park that will improve safety, reduce congestion and support 1,700 new jobs and $2.5 billion of private investment in Emmett and Marshall townships.

 Later, Muller discusses an announcement from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), also this week, about new guidance for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which surprised many who feared a withdrawal of funding.

 USDOT is reopening the spigot for federally funded EV chargers after freezing the program (created in the previous administration) for six months.

 "If Congress is requiring the federal government to support charging stations, let's cut the waste and do it right," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement Tuesday, Aug. 12.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with the state’s chief bridge engineer about the dire forecast for bridges without additional funding.

Beckie Curtis, director of the Bureau of Bridges and Structures at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), explains the stark reality.

• Bridges must maintain a minimum condition to keep the transportation system open.
• Bridges are expensive investments in the highway network.
• Bridges are long-lived assets, and many bridges on the trunkline system were built in a short window of time as part of the interstate and other freeway systems.
• Because of these factors, combined with historic underfunding, widespread bridge closures can be expected in the next 10-20 years unless funding is increased.

On this week’s edition of the Michigan Department of Transportation podcast, Scott Bowen, director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), addresses concerns about access to the beach for campers at the highly popular Traverse City State Park, which is divided by US-31.

Bowen explains that the MDNR is investing in major improvements at the park, including changes that require removing the 60-year-old pedestrian bridge over US-31 (Munson Avenue). The bridge pre-dates laws that require accessibility for people with disabilities. 

The existing bridge is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "This creates accessibility challenges, especially for pushing strollers, carrying coolers, etc.," the MDNR posted on Facebook. "Some campground patrons opt to drive between the campground and the day-use area, increasing traffic congestion and using limited beach parking."

When the agreement was inked to build a pedestrian bridge over the highway in 1965, MDOT was the Michigan State Highway Commission and the MDNR was the Michigan State Department of Conservation. 

Photo credit: Traverse City State Park photo taken by Tyler Leipprandt and Michigan Sky Media LLC.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Garrett Dawe, engineer of traffic and safety for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), talks about a pilot project to study the use of safety cameras for automated enforcement in school zones. 

An appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget called for MDOT to conduct a pilot project on automated speed enforcement in school zones. Dawe explains that his team has been studying proposals and will make an announcement soon of a vendor to conduct the pilot. 

According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), at least 12 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington) conduct school-zone automated speed enforcement. In Georgia and Rhode Island, school zones are the only locations where automated speed enforcement is allowed in the state. 

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics, between 2011 and 2020,  218 school-age children (ages 18 and younger) died in school transportation-related crashes; 44 were occupants of school transportation vehicles, 83 were occupants of other vehicles, 85 were pedestrians, five were bicyclists and one was an “other” nonoccupant. 

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Baruch Feigenbaum of the Reason Foundation returns to talk about developments in Michigan for a road user charge (RUC) model for funding roads. 

The concept is also referred to as mileage-based user fees (MBUF) by some.

Feigenbaum, senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason, testified June 24 at a Michigan House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about the concept, addressing concerns about privacy and other aspects. 

A pilot program included in both the Gov. Whitmer’s and the Senate’s proposed budgets would gather feedback from residents and examine implementation strategies. 

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Gregg Brunner, chief operations officer at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), about recent deadly crashes in or near work zones. 

On June 24, a truck driver was killed and MDOT workers were injured in a crash on I-75 in Monroe County. 

In another, July 1, two people were killed in a crash in a work zone queue on I-96 west of Portland. 

Brunner composed a poignant message to department employees with a reminder of the need to be vigilant about safety. 

From his message:                

We talk often about safety, but these events are painful reminders of just how critical it is every single day, in every single task. Whether you're in a work zone, near active traffic, in one of our garages or facilities, or behind the wheel, your actions matter. Safety is a mindset, not a checklist. It's about being present, engaged and always looking out for one another. 

Brunner talked about benefits to be found in developments in technology to alert drivers and the promise of driver-assist technologies in vehicles, as outlined by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Podcast features a reprise of a 2022 conversation with a veteran Michigan pollster about the public’s view of road conditions, repairs and funding. At the time, the pollster, Richard Czuba, talked about perceptions of improvements because of Gov. Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program, which allowed MDOT officials to capitalize on a favorable bond market to rebuild many of the state’s busiest roads. The department leveraged debt to make vital improvements, but the need for a sustainable funding solution persists.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, some context from elsewhere on freeway ramp metering, where it works well and why.

First, Angie Drumm, deputy director of traffic and safety for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) region that includes Metro Denver, joins the conversation to talk about the history there and what’s been learned.

Later, Lawrence Dwyer, director of safety and mobility at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), offers a national perspective on the concept and other innovations in traffic safety.

This podcast is the second of two focusing on ramp metering. Last week, the conversation focused on implementation of the approach on I-96 in Michigan’s western Oakland County.

After a long hiatus, Michigan is again implementing ramp metering, which helps regulate the flow of traffic from ramps onto busy freeways. It will be used on the I-96 Flex Route portion in western Oakland County.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Sarah Gill, operations engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Metro Region, talks about how it will work and the history of ramp metering in Michigan. 

Gill explains the key reasons for implementing ramp metering, which include improving merging, reducing crashes and reducing travel times. An MDOT how-to video offers guidance on the concept.

Next week’s episode will delve farther into the topic and include conversations with a traffic safety engineer with the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), who will talk about how successful the concept has been in the rapidly growing Denver area. You’ll also hear a national perspective from the director of safety and mobility at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

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.