Talking Michigan Transportation

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features another conversation with Joann Muller, who writes the Axios Future of Mobility newsletter. 
Muller talks about her recent reporting on Amazon’s Zoox (pronounced "zooks") robotaxis. The National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) granted a temporary exemption to commercially deploy up to 2,500 robotaxis annually for two years. 
All of this comes as Waymo, Uber and other companies make investments in the rapidly evolving automated vehicle (AV) industry and encounter hiccups along the way. 
Muller also talks about a recent road trip she made through Wisconsin in a Rivian R2. She was pleased to find a robust charging network eliminating any range anxiety. She was also impressed with Rivian’s use of adaptive driving beam (ADB) headlights and talked about why the technology has been developed more slowly in the U.S. 
From the newsletter: 
A decade after shape-shifting headlights changed nighttime driving in Europe, the technology remains remarkably scarce in North America - a case study in how U.S. regulations can slow the arrival of proven safety innovations.
 Photo by Remy Gieling on Unsplash

On July 27, with little fanfare, the long-awaited Gordie Howe International Bridge (GHIB) opened, creating a vital commercial link between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with two people who played important roles in the earliest days of conceiving and planning what became the GHIB.
First, Kirk Steudle, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) from 2006 to 2018, talks about the early planning and discussions about a location, environmental clearance and why it took so long as the name changed from the Detroit International Trade Crossing (DRIC) to the New International Trade Crossing (NITC) to finally becoming the GHIB.
Steudle recalls the support and advocacy from previous Michigan governors, Jennifer Granholm and Rick Snyder, and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s work to get the project over the finish line.
The discussion includes some observations from a Detroit News story outlining the timeline and battles.
Later, Mohammed Alghurabi, a senior project manager at MDOT who led community outreach efforts and built vital relationships in the southwest Detroit neighborhood where the bridge is anchored on the U.S. side, recalls the trials and tribulations and his thrill at seeing the bridge open to traffic.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Amy Winn, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) administrator at the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron, talks about completion of the first of four components to fulfill long-time hopes to improve the flow of traffic at the bridge.
Officials from MDOT, the City of Port Huron and others are celebrating the completion of Component 1 and highlight a sound wall and pedestrian path completed as part of the larger plaza expansion project.
This component came with a $36.3 million investment, including a $25 million federal INFRA grant.
Also discussed was the bridge’s rich history.

It has been five years since adoption of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which, among many things, included federal funding for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program. Michigan was fortunate to receive $110 million of those funds.  On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Steve Minton, who heads the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Office of Major Projects, provides an update on progress in executing contracts and installing chargers across the state’s NEVI program. 
Minton helped launch the MDOT program and offers his insights on the challenges and rewards of contracting, installation and meeting the needs of electric vehicle users.

A national effort, entitled the “Reimagining America’s Interstates” initiative, is collecting comments on new interstate facility suggestions, feedback on major upgrades needed on existing routes, and how the system can better meet the needs of the 21st century traveling public. 
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced this new initiative during a June 30 media event that also celebrated the 70th anniversary of the “Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways,” created when President Dwight Eisenhower signed into law the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956, along with the unveiling of “Freedom 250” highway signs in celebration of that anniversary. 
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Jim Tymon, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), who participated in the event, talks about what the Interstate system has meant to the country and what could come out of the initiative. 
The initiative will spur renewed conversation about the benefits of the system as well as some unintended consequences and focus on ideas for improvement.