Talking Michigan Transportation

Latest Episodes:

Michigan budget agreement ensures continued investment in roads Jul 09, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, State Transportation Director Bradley C. Wieferich talks about the Fiscal Year 2027 budget agreement reached last week between Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and legislative leaders.

The budget negotiations also produced an agreement to advance Senate Bill 71 to the governor’s desk. The bill ensures that unauthorized individuals who illegally climb or breach restricted portions of the Mackinac Bridge will face enhanced penalties.

Wieferich also offers an update on the Rebuilding Michigan program with many projects completed but some major work ongoing across the state, including I-94 west of Detroit, another segment of I-475 in Genesee County, an extension of the US-23 Flex Route in Livingston County, I-96 in Ionia County and I-94 in Berrien County.

More deluges, more washouts on the iconic Tunnel of Trees Jul 01, 2026

Show notes

Just as crews began repairing sections of M-119, also known as The Tunnel of Trees, damaged by April flooding, heavy rains wreaked havoc on more sections of the popular tourist route in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula.

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with State Sen. John Damoose (Harbor Springs), who represents the area, and Bill Wahl, acting North Region engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation. (MDOT).

MDOT is already investing $300,000 to stabilize the slope beneath a section of M-119 near West Stutsmanville Road, between Harbor Springs and Good Hart in Emmet County, damaged in the spring flooding.

Now, engineers are assessing other sections of the roadway washed out by heavy rains on Monday, June 29, as well as sections of M-66 and M-88 in Antrim County. Wahl provides a status report on each of the washouts and short- and long-term planning for both.

Sen. Damoose talks about his conversations with business owners and other constituents affected by the road closures and the ongoing challenges to fund sustainable infrastructure in Michigan.

How research informs transportation decisions Jun 25, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Michael Townley, engineer of research at the Michigan Department of Transportation. (MDOT).

Townley explains the safety and economic benefits of partnering with Michigan universities on research and why it’s important to MDOT.

One specific project discussed examined the value of financing infrastructure improvements through bonding versus a program of pay-go improvements.

Reprise: The people behind a most iconic international handshake Jun 12, 2026

Show notes

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 are second-generation iron workers. Jason’s father helped build the twin span of the Blue Water Bridge linking Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Ontario. Casey’s father worked on the Renaissance Center in Detroit as well as Joe Louis Arena.
They talk about what working on this once-in-a-lifetime project means to both of them and how honored each of them was to participate in the handshake.
They each spoke about it to the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority after the handshake:
Said Huggett: “I said it was about time we got to shake hands after seeing each other from a distance for almost two years, it was really something special. That handshake means a lot to my family, my two sons and my father, who helped build the twin span for the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.”
And Whitson: “We would see each other, but we were far, across the river, apart for all these months working. To actually get to be able to meet each other and shake hands and say hello is really cool. It’s the biggest moment in my career and I now share something with my father, who helped build the Renaissance Center in Detroit.”

ITSA meetings to showcase transportation innovation in Detroit Jun 04, 2026

Show notes

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA) convenes its annual conference in Detroit next week, so John Peracchio, a member of the Michigan Transportation Commission and a long-time participant in the ITSA, returns to the podcast to talk about what to expect.

In its mission statement, the organization “is a leading nonprofit uniting government, industry and academia to champion policies and investments that make our transportation systems safer, more innovative and more efficient. We work with agencies and industry leaders to advance technology-driven solutions that improve how people and goods move - enhancing quality of life, supporting a thriving economy and maintaining America’s global competitiveness.”

Peracchio talks about what that means and how ITSA's work can ultimately reduce crashes.

U.S. House makes progress on transportation funding May 21, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Susan Howard, director of government relations and policy for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), talks about the highlights of the latest federal surface transportation bill making its way through the legislative process.

Leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week formally introduced the BUILD America 250 Act, a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation, and highway and motor carrier safety programs.

With a dollar figure of $580 billion for five years, the bill preserves the core federal-aid formula program structure, puts emphasis on project delivery and streamlining, makes major increases in bridge investments and restructures some climate and equity programs.

Legislation aims to teach new drivers how to navigate work zones May 14, 2026

Show notes

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation highlights proposed legislation to include driving through work zones as a focus of driver’s training curriculums.

House Bill 5767 would amend the Driver Education Provider and Instructor Act to provide, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, that all participants in a driver education course must complete a work zone safety education course, developed in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and approved by the Department of State (DOS).

First, Brian Sarkella, chapter president for the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), talks about his advocacy for the legislation and testimony he provided to a Michigan House committee on Tuesday, May 12.

Later, Tom Robins of Work Zone Safe talks about his work to adopt legislation in work zone driver’s training in Oklahoma and how it has informed efforts in other states.

Three years later, is the hands-free law reducing Michigan crashes? May 06, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, an update from Ryan McMahon of Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts 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 the lawin 2023 making it illegal to use a hand-held electronic device while driving.

Following a report in April from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) showing crash numbers declining to pre-pandemic levels, McMahon talks about how that correlates to distracted driving related to the use of electronic devices. He said the significant drop in 2023 has been sustained but further progress has plateaued through 2025.

“Looking at this year through April 30, I see a slight trend upward,” McMahon said.

A recent State Farm survey found that distracted driving is the top roadway safety concern among U.S. licensed drivers ages 18 to 75. The survey also found that roughly 70 percent of drivers agree that hands-free laws would help reduce driver distraction.

McMahon also talks about his firm’s findings about what areas of Michigan have the highest use of electronic devices while driving and a specific place that has the least.

What we learned from a Michigan maritime policy panel Apr 30, 2026

Show notes

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with two key participants in a panel discussion convened to discuss the need for a Michigan maritime strategy and sustainable funding.

First, Elisha Wulff, a freight policy specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation who has been leading maritime efforts, talks about the potential benefits from implanting the strategy and the challenges in finding agreement on a sustainable funding source.

Later, John Peracchio, a member of the Michigan State Transportation Commission who moderated the panel discussion, talks about his takeaways and why he also believes a key priority is identifying a funding source.

How MDOT is protecting people, animals and plants on Earth Day 2026 Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Amanda Novak returns to talk about progress on a federal grant to implement a pilot program for analyzing wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVCs) in the hope of designing safer crossings.

Novak, a resource specialist in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Bay Region, previously spoke about the grant on the podcast in September 2024. She talks about things she and her colleagues are learning from counterparts in other states, including efforts by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT).

MoDOT described the research as “extremely pertinent” as, from 2019 to 2023, Missouri suffered 17,609 WVCs with 8 to 10 percent of them resulting in an injury or fatality. The state also ranked 17th in the nation for WVCs in both 2024 and 2025, according to the agency’s study.

Michigan ranked fourth in the 2025 State Farm Insurance annual analysis.

A previous edition of the podcast covered some creative things being done in western states and provinces as part of the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative.

Novak also recaps important work being done to expand wildflower and tree plantings at MDOT facilities and medians to enhance habitat for pollinators. The importance of the topic was highlighted in a 2015 issue of “The Scenic Route,” a publication of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas.

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