Talking Michigan Transportation

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 40 percent. Experts attribute the rise in crashes...

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 Huggett of Canada and Casey Whitson of Michigan. Both...

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 Transpor...

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 linking Michigan and Canada. However, he’s also manage...

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. Whitmer signed the law making it illegal to use a hand-...

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), explains why he’s passionate about the proposed...

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, inspection, and project management services for stat...

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 conversation with Baruch Feigenbaum, senior managing directo...

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.  He writes, “Just calculating the cost of gasol...

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 around the state with leaders working with local,...

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 issue with conversations with two advocates for sa...

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, who will deliver keynote remarks at the event,...

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. With National Work Zone Awareness Week approaching...

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 a survey of Michigan residents to get feedback on...

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 project manager at the Michigan Department of Tran...

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 to roads and bridges. By law, the proceeds suppor...

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 edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation po...

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, Heather Grondin, vice president of corporate affairs an...

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 federal grant to fund the survey and why the Feder...

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 Transportation Service Center manager and North Region operat...

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 Ottawa counties, talks about his work with the local...

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 about how his background as a community leader and...

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 fully adopting EVs. From the story: “Car buyers - n...

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 announced in 2022. Tongur talks about the significance o...

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, director of content at Streetlight, explains the m...