Talking Michigan Transportation

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 informs decisions about priorities and which roads and bridges to address.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.   

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a focus on jobs tied to road and bridge building.Gov. Whitmer sent a letter Aug. 7 to the directors of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), calling on them to compile and publicly release data on the impact of the state’s road funding cliff and federal funding rollbacks and policies on Michigan’s economy and employment. First, Heath Salisbury, financial secretary and training director for Operating Engineers 324, talks about what investments in infrastructure mean to people in the skilled trades and the thousands of jobs involved. Salisbury offers his perspective as a veteran of the industry, working in the trenches, then later in training workers and developing a work force capable of building in a modern environment where technology is evolving rapidly.Later, Karen Faussett, who manages MDOT’s statewide and urban travel analysis section, talks about how her team tracks the economic benefits of investment in transportation infrastructure.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, analysis and takeaways on two major announcements related to the future of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure.Joann Muller, who writes the Axios Future of Mobility newsletter, discusses her coverage of an announcement from Ford Motor Co. on Monday, Aug. 11, billed ahead of time as the next "Model T moment." As she wrote in her coverage, "The headline is that Ford will introduce a new family of EVs priced under $40,000 and will use a new manufacturing process to try to make them profitably." In 2024, MDOT awarded a state Transportation Economic Development Fund (TEDF) grant to the Calhoun County Road Department (CCRD) for road improvements related to Ford Motor Co.'s BlueOval Battery Park that will improve safety, reduce congestion and support 1,700 new jobs and $2.5 billion of private investment in Emmett and Marshall townships. Later, Muller discusses an announcement from the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT), also this week, about new guidance for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which surprised many who feared a withdrawal of funding. USDOT is reopening the spigot for federally funded EV chargers after freezing the program (created in the previous administration) for six months. "If Congress is requiring the federal government to support charging stations, let's cut the waste and do it right," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement Tuesday, Aug. 12.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with the state’s chief bridge engineer about the dire forecast for bridges without additional funding.Beckie Curtis, director of the Bureau of Bridges and Structures at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), explains the stark reality.Bridges must maintain a minimum condition to keep the transportation system open.Bridges are expensive investments in the highway network.Bridges are long-lived assets, and many bridges on the trunkline system were built in a short window of time as part of the interstate and other freeway systems.Because of these factors, combined with historic underfunding, widespread bridge closures can be expected in the next 10-20 years unless funding is increased.

On this week’s edition of the Michigan Department of Transportation podcast, Scott Bowen, director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR), addresses concerns about access to the beach for campers at the highly popular Traverse City State Park, which is divided by US-31.Bowen explains that the MDNR is investing in major improvements at the park, including changes that require removing the 60-year-old pedestrian bridge over US-31 (Munson Avenue). The bridge pre-dates laws that require accessibility for people with disabilities. The existing bridge is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. "This creates accessibility challenges, especially for pushing strollers, carrying coolers, etc.," the MDNR posted on Facebook. "Some campground patrons opt to drive between the campground and the day-use area, increasing traffic congestion and using limited beach parking."When the agreement was inked to build a pedestrian bridge over the highway in 1965, MDOT was the Michigan State Highway Commission and the MDNR was the Michigan State Department of Conservation. Photo credit: Traverse City State Park photo taken by Tyler Leipprandt and Michigan Sky Media LLC.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Garrett Dawe, engineer of traffic and safety for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), talks about a pilot project to study the use of safety cameras for automated enforcement in school zones. An appropriation in the Fiscal Year 2025 state budget called for MDOT to conduct a pilot project on automated speed enforcement in school zones. Dawe explains that his team has been studying proposals and will make an announcement soon of a vendor to conduct the pilot. According to the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety (IIHS) and the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), at least 12 states (Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington) conduct school-zone automated speed enforcement. In Georgia and Rhode Island, school zones are the only locations where automated speed enforcement is allowed in the state. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) statistics, between 2011 and 2020,  218 school-age children (ages 18 and younger) died in school transportation-related crashes; 44 were occupants of school transportation vehicles, 83 were occupants of other vehicles, 85 were pedestrians, five were bicyclists and one was an “other” nonoccupant. 

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Baruch Feigenbaum of the Reason Foundation returns to talk about developments in Michigan for a road user charge (RUC) model for funding roads. The concept is also referred to as mileage-based user fees (MBUF) by some.Feigenbaum, senior managing director of transportation policy at Reason, testified June 24 at a Michigan House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee about the concept, addressing concerns about privacy and other aspects. A pilot program included in both the Gov. Whitmer’s and the Senate’s proposed budgets would gather feedback from residents and examine implementation strategies. 

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Gregg Brunner, chief operations officer at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), about recent deadly crashes in or near work zones. On June 24, a truck driver was killed and MDOT workers were injured in a crash on I-75 in Monroe County. In another, July 1, two people were killed in a crash in a work zone queue on I-96 west of Portland. Brunner composed a poignant message to department employees with a reminder of the need to be vigilant about safety. From his message:                We talk often about safety, but these events are painful reminders of just how critical it is every single day, in every single task. Whether you're in a work zone, near active traffic, in one of our garages or facilities, or behind the wheel, your actions matter. Safety is a mindset, not a checklist. It's about being present, engaged and always looking out for one another. Brunner talked about benefits to be found in developments in technology to alert drivers and the promise of driver-assist technologies in vehicles, as outlined by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Podcast features a reprise of a 2022 conversation with a veteran Michigan pollster about the public’s view of road conditions, repairs and funding. At the time, the pollster, Richard Czuba, talked about perceptions of improvements because of Gov. Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program, which allowed MDOT officials to capitalize on a favorable bond market to rebuild many of the state’s busiest roads. The department leveraged debt to make vital improvements, but the need for a sustainable funding solution persists.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, some context from elsewhere on freeway ramp metering, where it works well and why.First, Angie Drumm, deputy director of traffic and safety for the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) region that includes Metro Denver, joins the conversation to talk about the history there and what’s been learned.Later, Lawrence Dwyer, director of safety and mobility at the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), offers a national perspective on the concept and other innovations in traffic safety.This podcast is the second of two focusing on ramp metering. Last week, the conversation focused on implementation of the approach on I-96 in Michigan’s western Oakland County.