
Talking Michigan Transportation
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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.
Talking Michigan Transportation
3d ago
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, an ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
2w ago
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 m ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
3w ago
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 2 ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
1M ago
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 ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
1M ago
On this week's edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Margaret Barondess, a manager in the Michigan Department of Transportation's (MDOT) environmental section who is retiring from state government, reflects on her career.
More than 50 years ago, Congress adopted the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Barondess, who worked for MDOT for 33 years, explains how the act informs planning for transportation projects in Michigan and department efforts to at once protect our air, waterways, wildlife, and plants and minimize inconvenience to travelers.
While critics of NEPA ha ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
2M ago
On this week’s episode of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Brad Wieferich, director of the Michigan Department of Transportation, talks about his background overseeing development and design of road projects and the challenge of balancing mobility and safety.
With strong winds churning up lake-effect snow on Michigan’s western lakeshore, police agencies have reported dozens of crashes. Despite ongoing messages from law enforcement and safety advocates, drivers often fail to drive to the conditions.
Wieferich talks about what officials learned from a study conducted after a 193-ve ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
2M ago
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about mental health challenges for people who build and maintain roads and bridges.
Gregg Brunner, chief engineer and chief operations officer at the Michigan Department of Transportation, spoke about the issue last month on a panel convened by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
As someone who has spent a career focusing on the safety of the transportation system and work zones, Brunner said his interest in making improvements was piqued as he pored through crash rep ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
2M ago
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a discussion about why distracted driving initially trended down in Michigan after the state's hands-free law took effect and why those numbers are not dropping as rapidly now.
Ryan McMahon, senior vice president of strategy for Cambridge Mobile Telematics, a Massachusetts-based company with a stated mission to make the world’s roads and drivers safer, talks about the technology employed to determine the degree of distracted driving.
New data released by the company shows that in Michigan, distraction has increased every ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
2M ago
Jason Gutting joins the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast this week to talk about his new role as director of MDOT’s Bureau of Field Services. He 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 cont ..read more
Talking Michigan Transportation
2M ago
As lower Michigan braces for the first significant snowfall of the seasons, we’re reprising a Talking Michigan Transportation episode from when the department launched a program to name snow plows.
This episode features a conversation with Iain McDonald of Transport Scotland, about their program to name the plows, or “gritters” as they call them.
Later, MDOT’s Nick Schirripa joined the conversation to talk about some of the creative names people submitted for plows here ..read more