The Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with transportation experts inside and outside MDOT and will touch on anything and everything...
Evidence mounts that distracted driving laws make a difference
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.
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28:48
The vital role of transportation in Detroit’s resurgence
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.
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31:09
Highlights of Gov. Whitmer’s road-funding plan
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.
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21:24
Breaking down the federal funding challenges for transportation
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.
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Federal grants will benefit some vital Grand Rapids corridors
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.
The Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with transportation experts inside and outside MDOT and will touch on anything and everything related to mobility, including rail, transit and the development of connected and automated vehicles.
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