Talking Michigan Transportation

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...

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, inclu...

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 Transport...

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 r...

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 O...

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 an...

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 $...

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 abou...

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 thi...

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...

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 Delt...

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 en...

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 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 t...

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 accessibili...

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...

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...

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 q...

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...

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...

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 a...

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....

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 conversat...

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 perc...

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 Officia...