Talking Michigan Transportation

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a followup to previous conversations about why fatal crashes have increased despite traffic volumes declining substantially during the pandemic.   Following up on previous episodes featuring a number of Michigan experts on the topic, this week’s conversation features a perspective from a neighboring state. Michael Hanson, direc...

On Thursday, just a day after final passage in the House of a historic pandemic relief and stimulus bill, President Joe Biden signed it into law .   The bill includes billions for airlines, transit agencies and Amtrak to help with some deep losses suffered the past year.  On this week's edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Susan Howard, program director for transportation f...

While the nation’s roads continue to decline, improvements in rail and some other categories raised the nation’s overall infrastructure grade to C-, a very modest improvement from the D+ grade in the 2017 report card from the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).  Andy Herrmann, a professional engineer, past president of ASCE and a member of the report card committee since 2001, says he is o...

In observance and reflection on Black History Month, this week’s podcast features conversations with two people who served the State of Michigan and the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for four decades. First, Myron Frierson, who retired as MDOT director of the Bureau of Finance in 2019, talks about what he learned during his career in transportation, working on the administration of...

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Matt Chynoweth, chief bridge engineer at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), breaks down a proposal to repair or replace crumbling local bridges across the state. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is seeking $300 million in a Fiscal Year 2021 supplemental budget request to repair or replace hundreds of local bridges that are closed...

Have you heard the names: For Your Ice Only? Gangsta Granny Gritter? Gritallica? Gritty Gritty Bang Bang? Ice Buster?  These are not the names of films or rock bands. These are monikers for Gritters, which is what our friends in Scotland call snowplows.  On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, recorded Jan. 26, Iain McDonald joins the conversation from Perth, Scotland. McDonald works with...

On this edition of Talking Michigan Transportation, Lloyd Brown joins the conversation again to discuss what we learned from the Jan. 21 Senate confirmation hearing for Transportation Secretary nominee Pete Buttigieg. Brown, director of communications for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, says the mostly amicable hearing and bipartisan respect for Buttigieg re...

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about why fatal crashes on Michigan roads in 2020 exceeded those in 2019, despite traffic volumes being significantly diminished because of the pandemic. Preliminary numbers indicate 1,032 people died from crashes on Michigan roads in 2020, while the number was 985 in 2019. This, despite traffic volumes being dow...

On this week's Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Michigan Department of Transportation Director Paul C. Ajegba talks about some of the big projects completed in 2020 as highlighted in this year-end video .  Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrated a significant milestone in her Rebuilding Michigan plan when she joined Director Ajegba to tour the first project financed with the bonds....

On Wednesday, President-elect Joe Biden made official his nomination of Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, to head the Department of Transportation. ( Video from announcement.) Some of the top associations advocating on transportation policy were quick with statements of support. On this episode, a conversation with an official at one of those organizations. Lloyd Brown, dire...

This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about the rich history of the Delray neighborhood in southwest Detroit and why an author and archivist believes building the Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB) is helping to fuel a rebirth of the community. Karen Dybis , who has been researching the history and culture of Delray for several years, talks about what she’s l...

On this week’s edition of Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a discussion about how the pandemic could affect snowplowing. Gregg Brunner , director of MDOT’s Bureau of Field Services, talks about contingency planning for battling winter during a pandemic. An Oct. 26 MDOT news release explained that the goal of MDOT and its partner agencies remains clearing highways to bare pavement as quickl...

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, experts in intelligent transportation systems and connected and automated vehicle research react to Wednesday’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC) action. Guests include Debra Bezzina, managing director of the Center for Connected and Automated Transportation at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), and Co...

On this week’s edition of Talking Michigan Transportation, Detroit Free Press reporter Kristi Tanner talks about her extensive reporting on the condition of bridges in Michigan.  On Thursday, Oct. 29, Tanner spoke about her findings to a virtual conference of Michigan’s Transportation Asset Management Council (TAMC).  She explains how, despite some more funding for roads and bridges included in th...

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a discussion about a new video emphasizing the need for drivers to slow down when driving through road construction projects. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer talks about MDOT’s “drive like you work here” message and why it is important as more major roads will be rebuilt in 2021. The governor explained her Rebuilding Michigan pl...

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation Podcast, conversations about excessive speeds and more traffic deaths since the pandemic began. Despite traffic volumes still being down an average of 20 percent across the state due to the pandemic, fatal crashes are on the rise. In fact, Michigan State Police tell us that 64 more people have died on Michigan’s roads than at this time last year.  Fir...

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a discussion about the long-term challenges for transportation infrastructure presented by a volatile climate. First, Hugh McDiarmid Jr., director of communications at the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, joins to talk about the High Water Action Team convened earlier this year by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Wednesday, G...

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, MDOT Finance Director Patrick McCarthy talks about the process and work leading up to the sale of $800 million in bonds to finance rebuilding several freeways with the state’s heaviest traffic volumes. Later, the discussion focuses on the first high-profile project made possible through the bond sales, rebuilding I-496 west of Lansing , with...

On this week's Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation with state Rep. Leslie Love on the passion and commitment she brought to honoring Aretha Franklin with a memorial highway designation on M-10 (Lodge Freeway) in Detroit. https://housedems.com/leslie-love/about/ https://mdot.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=e4838c1a08b64979b5e08f33909f5575 On Monday, Rep. Love joined...

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a recap of Thursday’s connected corridor announcement. https://www.michiganbusiness.org/press-releases/2020/08/michigan-cavnue-creating-road-of-future-between-ann-arbor-and-detroit/ Guests: Trevor Pawl, State of Michigan chief mobility officer, and Collin Castle, manager of the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT...

Why does a foundation promoting libertarian ideas support tolling for transportation infrastructure funding? Feigenbaum expands on his commentary supporting Michigan’s tolling study and also talks about: https://reason.org/commentary/michigan-moves-to-study-interstate-tolling-as-way-to-improve-highways/ - The value of being able to travel freely on a road whenever you choose, not just the use but...

Last week, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the creation of the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification and named Trevor Pawl as the state’s chief mobility officer. Pawl has extensive experience in business development for the Michigan Economic Development Corp. (MEDC) and has been a leader for PlanetM, a mobility initiative representing mobility efforts across the state. https://www...

On this week’s edition of Talking Michigan Transportation, Jeff talks with Andy Doctoroff, the governor’s point person on the Gordie Howe International Bridge, about a significant Michigan Court of Appeals ruling related to the project. Later, Mark Butler, director of communications for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA), talks about last week’s Community Organization Investment (COI) ann...

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation about mid-Michigan flooding and MDOT efforts to restore roads and bridges. Guests include Jocelyn Hall, MDOT’s Bay Region media relations representative, and Matt Chynoweth, MDOT’s chief bridge engineer who oversees the MDOT Bureau of Bridges and Structures. After days of heavy rains that began May 17 and breached dams near Midland, se...

This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast includes conversations about whether the federal government will provide any relief for transportation agencies in the wake of declining fuel tax revenues because of the pandemic. First, Lloyd Brown, director of communications at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, offers his analysis of the ongoing Congression...