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PODCAST

Talking Michigan Transportation

Michigan Department of Transportation

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.

government

All Episodes

31:19

Reprise: A veteran Michigan pollster talks about...

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/07/02

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 improve...

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27:35

Take 2: Regulating traffic flow with stop lights at...

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/06/25

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 (AA...

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29:19

Why do we need a green light to enter a freeway?

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/06/18

After a long hiatus, Michigan is again implementing ramp metering, which helps regulate the flow of traffic from ramps onto busy freeways. It will be used on the I-96 Flex Route portion in western Oakland County. On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Sarah Gill, operations engineer for the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Metro Region, talks about how it will work and the history of ramp metering in Michigan. Gill explains the key reasons for implementing...

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24:31

EVs, magnets and drones. Oh, my!

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/06/12

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 ...

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24:55

Dr. Fraud: Do NOT respond to texts about unpaid tolls

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/06/04

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 t...

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23:46

Reprise: Managing traffic during road construction;...

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/05/29

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 challe...

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21:53

Predicting how long a road will last

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/05/22

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, w...

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23:55

Will congress move quickly on a highway bill?

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/05/08

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 Cap...

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25:15

The future of road funding

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/05/01

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 ...

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18:15

Some good news for understanding wildlife-vehicle...

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/04/24

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 North 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 abo...

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23:40

Transportation funding in Michigan, some history

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/04/18

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 agen...

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20:32

Work progresses on the final phase of rebuilding I-696

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/04/10

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 millio...

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25:15

MDOT crews, other agencies respond to historic ice storm

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/04/03

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 special...

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22:39

Tariffs, automated vehicles and zero-emission planes

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/03/26

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...

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23:27

Road building 101

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/03/19

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 mai...

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22:25

Bill to protect Mackinac Bridge moves forward

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/03/13

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 bridg...

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28:48

Evidence mounts that distracted driving laws make a...

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/03/06

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 inc...

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31:09

The vital role of transportation in Detroit’s resurgence

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/02/27

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 int...

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21:24

Highlights of Gov. Whitmer’s road-funding plan

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/02/13

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 abo...

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24:25

Breaking down the federal funding challenges for...

Talking Michigan Transportation ·

2025/02/06

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 th...

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248 results

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