Talking Michigan Transportation

Latest Episodes:

Tariffs, automated vehicles and zero-emission planes Mar 26, 2025

Show notes

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 Delta Airlines and California-based Jet Zero say could make for net-zero emissions flying by 2050.

Lastly, she talks about driverless Uber vehicles in Austin, Texas, and other developments in the evolution of automated vehicles.

Muller also previews a new newsletter she’s launching, Axios Future of Mobility.

Road building 101 Mar 19, 2025

Show notes

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 engineers confer with counterparts from across the country; innovations in road building, winter maintenance and operations; and ongoing challenges because of inflation and supply chain pressures since the pandemic began.
Gutting was previously the administrator of the Construction Field Services (CFS) division. He also worked in Operations and was the construction contracts engineer for CFS as well as the construction engineer and an assistant construction engineer at the MDOT Lansing Transportation Service Center (TSC).
Other references in the podcast:

Gov. Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program
www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Projects-Studies/Rebuilding-Michigan-Projects

MDOT winter road maintenance
www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Travel/Safety/Road-Users/Winter-Safety

Bill to protect Mackinac Bridge moves forward Mar 13, 2025

Show notes

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 the bridge involving people climbing a tower or otherwise trying to access the bridge to take photos, and another involving a bomb threat that closed the bridge on a busy weekend and disrupted travel for many hours. The MBA took the rare step at the time of adopting a resolution supporting the key facility designation.

The Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill, sponsored by then-state Rep. John Damoose, 99-6, in 2022, classifying the Mighty Mac and several other vital structures in the state as key facilities. The legislation later stalled in the Michigan Senate. Now, the Senate has reported out, unanimously, the new bill, sponsored by now state Sen. Damoose, which is narrower in focus, applying strictly to the Mackinac Bridge. The designation means trespassing on the bridge would be a felony offense.

Evidence mounts that distracted driving laws make a difference Mar 06, 2025

Show notes

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 the law making it illegal to use a hand-held electronic device while driving.

His analysis includes data on distracted driving in Michigan broken down by county. His firm is reporting updated numbers that show meaningful strides in the right direction.

McMahon also cites preliminary data showing a reduction in crashes in Michigan in 2024.

The vital role of transportation in Detroit’s resurgence Feb 27, 2025

Show notes

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 accessibility play into the recovery of the city’s neighborhoods, and the innovative thinking going into the I-375 and US-12 (Michigan Avenue) projects.

Last May, Sen. Gary Peters invited Krassenstein to testify before the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Maritime, Freight and Ports on the subject of community solutions to the roadway safety crisis.

Krassenstein explains why this is so important as part of those efforts to right-size some streets and make for safer crossings.

Highlights of Gov. Whitmer’s road-funding plan Feb 13, 2025

Show notes

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 bridges was a $73 million award to replace an aged movable bridge in Bay City.

Talking about the governor’s road-funding plan, Kolodin explains how removing the sales tax on fuel, which does not fund roads and bridges, would allow for every penny drivers spend at the pump to go toward road repairs.

The plan would backfill the sales tax with a combination of cuts and additional revenue from closing the wholesale tax loophole on marijuana and assessing other fees.

Breaking down the federal funding challenges for transportation Feb 06, 2025

Show notes

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 early discussions about the next reauthorization and what it should include. Three members of the committee are from Michigan: Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Grand Rapids, Rep. Tom Barrett, R-Charlotte, and Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet, D-Bay City.

Some key points from an American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) analysis of the IIJA:

The IIJA reauthorizes surface transportation programs, with 34 percent more funding than the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act provided.
The IIJA provided close to $500 billion for road and bridge programs in communities across America.
The act included 21 new DOT grant programs that will make targeted investments to repair bridges, improve the resiliency of our surface transportation system, and more.
These funds go a long way to address the $1.2 trillion, 10-year surface transportation funding gap that ASCE identified in the 2021 Report Card.

Federal grants will benefit some vital Grand Rapids corridors Jan 23, 2025

Show notes

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 questions to transportation agencies on social media channels focuses on salt and a lack of understanding about how it loses effectiveness in very cold temperatures.

Green explains how the department maximizes its salt use and mixes in other mitigation efforts.

A $25 million grant will help rebuild the vital East Beltline Avenue bridge at the junction with I-196 and I-96 east of Grand Rapids. Green explains that the new bridge will feature nonmotorized connections for trails to the north and south of the interchange. It will also ease congestion on some of the ramps.

He also talks about a grant to support planning for better connectivity for pedestrians and cyclists between the east and west sides of US-131 just north of downtown Grand Rapids.

Rebuilding the third segment of I-696 begins soon Jan 16, 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 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 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.
A complete closure makes sense, Travis says, for the safety of drivers and the construction contractor’s employees.
Travis also talks about the history of the freeway, which was originally conceived as I-98 in the earliest discussion of the Interstate system. The center segment was completed years later than the eastern and western portions because of various obstacles, including a lack of agreement among community leaders on the corridor about the exact route. Progress came about only after then-Michigan Gov. George Romney forced the various leaders to gather in a room and come to an agreement.

Meet MDOT’s director of economic development Jan 09, 2025

Show notes

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 about the office’s 2024 accomplishments, including distributing $23.1 million in Category A grant funds, which:

Generated $4.5 billion in private investment,
Supported 4,414 jobs, and
Resulted in $262 in private investment for every public dollar.

See all of the OED’s accomplishments online.

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