Between Two Shovels with Derek Minnema

Drago Vantage’s first grant application won $103 million for the Yolo 80 managed lanes project. At the time of recording, tolls on those lanes were planned to move with traffic, from $0.75 up to $10. Carpools of three or more would ride free. Sabrina Drago, founder of Drago Vantage and former executive director of the Sacramento Transportation Authority, joined me on Between Two Shovels to talk ab...

Harvest Water’s state funding comes with a contract to deliver ecological benefits to the Sacramento region for 84 years. At the time of recording, the $597 million project had close to $420 million in outside funding lined up, most of it from the state. Water is set to start flowing in program year 2027. Jofil Borja, Environmental Legislative & Regulatory Affairs | Harvest Water APMO, Sacrame...

A subdivision in the region once got approved in a single night. Today, Folsom's development south of Highway 50 went from planning in 2005 to a groundbreaking in 2017. By Jim's estimate, something like 250,000 more housing units are in the regional pipeline. Jim Ray, a civil engineer in his 50th year with MacKay & Somps Civil Engineers, joined me on Between Two Shovels to talk about h...

Mariah Ray, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Glydways, breaks down Automated Transit Networks and how on-demand, autonomous public transit is getting built, regulated, and paid for. The conversation covers the Glydcar and its dedicated guideway, the 50-year-old Morgantown PRT system it builds on, project procurement across the San José Airport Connector and a 28-mile East Contra Cost...

Prices go up. Then the same policymakers who drove those costs go on television promising to bring them down. This conversation traces the price of rock, sand, gravel, asphalt, and concrete back to a mix of energy costs, regulation, and local opposition that pushes production out of the state entirely. When California's largest cement plant in the north shut down, the market lost a major local...

This episode goes deep with Joe Cruz, Vice Chair of the California Transportation Commission and Executive Director of the California State Council of Laborers. From his start on the campaign trail to representing 75,000 workers statewide, Joe shares the real story behind SB1, the political battle over Prop 6, and how high speed rail almost never made it onto the ballot. Joe also opens up about th...

Kiana Valentine is Executive Director of Transportation California, a labor and management coalition founded in the 1990s that brings together building trades organizations, heavy civil contractors, equipment providers, and material suppliers around one mission: securing sustainable funding for the state's multimodal transportation system. She has spent more than twenty years in transportation...

Clifton Taylor is President of Taylor Builders, a company he and his wife founded eight and a half years ago. Since then they have delivered over 10,000 housing units across Northern California and built roughly $750 million in infrastructure improvements. He is also past chair of the North State Building Industry Association and co-owner of the Lincoln Potters, a collegiate wood bat baseball team...

James Corless has spent nine years as Executive Director of SACOG, the regional planning agency for the greater six-county Sacramento area. Before that he was in Washington D.C. fighting to keep federal infrastructure funding alive through the Tea Party era. In this episode of Between Two Shovels, Derek Minnema sits down with James for a wide-ranging conversation about what regional planning actua...

California high-speed rail has been called a train to nowhere and a budget disaster. Nancy Miller, Vice Chair of the California High-Speed Rail Authority, has heard every version of that argument. She has also been on the board since 2017, guiding the project through lawsuits, funding gaps, route changes, and two very different presidential administrations. In this episode of Between Two Shovels,...

Just days after Congress released the Build America 250 Act, Derek Minnema sits down with ARTBA President and CEO Dave Bauer for a full breakdown of what is inside the bill, why it matters, and what it will take to get it across the finish line. Timestamps:0:00 - Introduction and welcome 0:24 - Initial reactions to the Build America 250 Act 2:01 - Why transportation reauthorization matters for eve...

Matt Lampa is the lead civil engineer on a 34-mile regional expressway. In this episode of Between Two Shovels, we walk through what it actually takes to design, fund, and deliver a corridor-level infrastructure project from inside a small public agency. The conversation covers Matt's path from baseball to civil engineering, the difference between working as a consultant versus managing one, how d...

Chris Cox is a land planner, landscape architect, and development consultant who helps property owners, builders, and developers unlock the potential of their land through feasibility, permitting, and compliance. In this episode of Between Two Shovels, we dig into what it actually takes to develop property along the Capital SouthEast Connector corridor, from wetland constraints and California tige...

John Merchant has lived in Rancho Murieta for 40 years. In this episode of Between Two Shovels, he sits down with Derek Minnema to talk through what four decades of growth in southeast Sacramento County actually looks like from the ground, and why the roads connecting his community to the rest of the region have not kept pace. The conversation covers the deteriorating state of Scott Road and Grant...

From forming one of the nation's first MPOs in Las Vegas to serving as Caltrans' Chief Environmental Engineer, Steve Borroum has spent decades at the intersection of transportation, air quality, and land use policy. In this episode, he breaks down what the data actually says about Vehicle Miles Traveled, why induced demand isn't the full story, and what really drives traffic growth. St...

Most people have never heard of a freight broker. Travis Dodge has spent 11 years as one, and in this episode he pulls back the curtain on how freight actually moves across the country, how brokers make their money, and what is really happening in the trucking industry right now. Travis is the founder of Wheelhouse, a freight brokerage based in Oakland. He launched the company in September 2024 af...

Eric Sauer, CEO of the California Trucking Association, and Chris Shimoda, principal lobbyist for CTA, join Derek Minnema for a full conversation on what is happening in the California trucking industry right now. From the regulatory environment and electrification challenges to supply chain fragility, freight bottlenecks, and the fight for transportation funding. Chapters:00:00 Introduction and G...

GoodFellow Brothers built the Capital SouthEast Connector's White Rock Road expressway, the first modern four-lane expressway in the Sacramento region. In this episode, Vice President John Hovde and Project Manager Josh Nichols break down exactly how they did it, from winning the bid during COVID lockdowns to finishing with a bike path that was never in the original contract. Chapters: 00:00 I...

Steve Miklos served as Folsom's mayor and was chairman of the Connector JPA when Derek Minnema was hired as executive director. This conversation covers the origin story of the Capital SouthEast Connector, from forming the JPA in the early 2000s to securing 75% voter approval in 2004. Steve shares what it was like navigating ideological opposition at SACOG, building regional consensus across f...

Will Kempton shares five decades of transportation infrastructure experience, from creating California's first local sales tax measure to leading Caltrans through historic emergency responses. This conversation covers the origins of self-help counties, lessons from the MacArthur Maze collapse, and what it takes to build unanimity for major infrastructure projects. KEY MOMENTS: 0:00 Introductio...

Right-of-way acquisition has changed dramatically from the days when governments simply took land for railroads. Ann Grava, Real Estate Program Manager at the City of Elk Grove, breaks down the modern process cities follow to acquire property for public infrastructure projects, from early relationship building through final compensation. Learn how independent appraisals work, what rights property...

Mike Sturino, President and CEO of the Illinois Road and Transportation Builders Association, discusses cutting-edge transportation technology including wireless EV charging roads, AI-powered infrastructure, and smart highway systems. Learn about Sweden's successful wireless charging pilot on Gotland Island, Chicago's ongoing programs, and how Middle East innovations are shaping the future...

California's supply chain is more vulnerable now than during COVID—and most people don't even realize it. In this episode of Between Two Shovels, Derek Minnema sits down with Amanda Blackwood, Strategic Advisor at the Supply Chain Federation, to discuss the mounting challenges facing America's goods movement infrastructure. From ineffective indirect source rules to tariff uncertainty a...

Matt Smeltzer, Deputy Director of Engineering for El Dorado County, takes us inside the largest capital improvement project in county history: the $20+ million Mosquito Road Bridge that crosses a 400-foot canyon. This isn't your typical bridge project. For nearly 30 years, Matt has been working to replace a century-old swinging bridge that emergency vehicles couldn't even cross. The new br...

Sacramento State civil engineering graduate Orgil Batchuluun sits down to share his first-year insights from the transportation industry. From passing the EIT exam early to navigating private vs public sector decisions, this conversation covers the real challenges new engineers face. Derek Minnema dives deep into career advice, AI adoption in engineering, mentorship strategies, and what it takes t...