Talking Michigan Transportation

Latest Episodes:

EVs, magnets and drones. Oh, my! Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

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.S. and China over rare earth magnets, underscoring the need for the U.S. to develop a long-term strategy.

Also discussed: The likely result of easing regulations that have held back commercial drones in the U.S.

Dr. Fraud: Do NOT respond to texts about unpaid tolls Jun 04, 2025

Show notes

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, including specializations in fraud, financial crime, and cybercrime. He discusses the psychology that prompts so many victims of online fraud to engage with scammers on smishing attempts.

If you’ve been targeted, the FCC offers many tips.

In April, the Michigan Department of Transportation released a video of Director Bradley C. Wieferich urging people not to respond to the texts.

Reprise: Managing traffic during road construction; and what about the zipper merge? May 29, 2025

Show notes

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 Transportation (MDOT) and a former supervisor of the Work Zone Safety section, explains the challenges.
Among innovative methods in use are rumble strips to alert people as they approach a work zone, speed trailers and law enforcement employing a Ghost Rider program to identify distracted drivers.
Renner also talks about the zipper merge as a means of encouraging drivers to alternate when work requires a lane to be closed.
Other relevant links:
MDOT Work Zone Safety
Michigan.gov/MDOT/Travel/Safety/Road-Users/Work-Zone-Safety
The Zipper Merge Explained With Kids
youtu.be/TLAISm1XuHQ
Operation Ghost Rider
bridgemi.com/michigan-government/ghost-riders-lookout-distracted-drivers-michigan

Predicting how long a road will last May 22, 2025

Show notes

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 remaining service life (RSL) is MDOT’s primary pavement condition performance measure, which indicates the number of years before the pavement is anticipated to reach poor condition. It reflects the anticipated time in years that a pavement section can continue to provide acceptable levels of service, considering factors such as distress, structural integrity, ride quality, and functionality.

He also explains that while state trunklines (I, M and US routes) don’t account for the majority of road miles in the state, they carry 53 percent of total traffic and more than 75 percent of commercial traffic in Michigan.

Will congress move quickly on a highway bill? May 08, 2025

Show notes

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 Officials (AASHTO), returns to the podcast to share what she’s hearing in conversations on Capitol Hill.

Late last month, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves released a budget reconciliation proposal.

Howard explains what that means, where the conversations will move from here and what the reduction in work force at the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and other U.S. Department of Transportation agencies could mean.

The future of road funding May 01, 2025

Show notes

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 and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), where RUC programs were a key topic.

Also discussed is what has been learned from other states and what it means that a proposal in the Michigan transportation budget would fund an RUC pilot. Hawaii has been especially aggressive in implementation, and Peracchio explains the unique nature.

As an advocate for increased funding for public transit, Peracchio also discusses how RUC could be structured to help.

Some good news for understanding wildlife-vehicle collisions Apr 24, 2025

Show notes

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 $476,000 federal grant and how it will be put toward the pilot program. She previously spoke about the grant on the podcast in September 2024.

While we think of white-tailed deer most commonly when it comes to WVCs, other species to be considered include elk, moose, black bear, wild turkey, pine marten, eastern massasauga rattlesnake and Blanding’s turtle.

As laid out in the project abstract for the grant, the number of WVCs in Michigan continues to increase annually, worsening risks and costs to drivers. For example, white-tailed deer alone account for more than 55,000 WVCs and cost motorists an average of $130 million per year in Michigan. Additionally, WVCs are a major threat to many wildlife populations in the state, including documented impacts on several threatened and endangered species. Projected increases in tourism, housing development and climate change effects are likely to exacerbate WVC effects on motorists and wildlife in Michigan.

Transportation funding in Michigan, some history Apr 18, 2025

Show notes

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 about overall Michigan transportation budget, which supports roads and bridges for 615 road agencies.

Also discussed: the Act 51 distribution formula. He explains that while the act dates to 1951, it has been amended a number of times over the years. This includes a breakdown of the distribution of money from the Michigan Transportation Fund (MTF) and the three buckets where money flows: the State Trunkline Fund (STF), county road agencies, and cities and villages.

Work progresses on the final phase of rebuilding I-696 Apr 10, 2025

Show notes

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 this is the last of three phases of the "Restore the Reuther" project, a $275 million rebuilding of the freeway. In 2019, the state completed work along the easternmost portion, along with the western end in 2023 and 2024.
The conversation also includes an update on MDOT’s second flex route, this one on I-96 in Oakland County. The project is nearing completion as crews prepare for the use of ramp metering to regulate the flow of traffic to the freeway.

A video explains the benefits of the flex route and ramp metering.

MDOT crews, other agencies respond to historic ice storm Apr 03, 2025

Show notes

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 an update on the recovery.

Also joining is James Lake, MDOT North Region media relations specialist, who assists the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) with communications. He talks about why falling ice necessitated closing the bridge three times in three days, including a record 30-hour period.

Wahl and Lake grew up in the region and neither has seen anything like this ice storm and the resulting destruction. Wahl recounts utility workers who had been on power-restoration projects following hurricanes in the Southeast saying the scenes are as bad or worse as anything they’ve seen.

Wahl says crews from several counties to the south, including Kent, Ottawa, Mason, Missaukee, Muskegon, Roscommon, Iosco and Wexford, were helping to clear roads.

While the Mackinac Bridge re-opened Thursday morning, April 3, after a 30-hour closure, officials will continue to closely monitor conditions for falling ice.

The MBA posted a video message on X from Bridge Director Kim Nowack about the falling ice, along with some photos from the bridge. More videos of falling ice that prompted the current closure were also posted on X.

The bridge has closed roughly 30 times in the past 30 years, and the average closure duration is several hours. More frequently asked questions about falling ice and other topics are available on the MBA website.

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