Shows / Talking Michigan Transportation
Talking Michigan 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.
Episodes
- Talking Michigan Transportation
Meet three leaders in new and vital roles at MDOT
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with three people recently promoted to major leadership roles at the…
Talking Michigan TransportationExtreme speeds during the pandemic captures police attention
In response to a dramatic increase in speeding drivers beginning with the pandemic stay-at-home advisories in 2020 and continuing now, traffic safety experts…
Talking Michigan TransportationA veteran of the House Fiscal Agency breaks down the transportation budget process
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Bill Hamilton, a senior transportation funding analyst at the…
Talking Michigan TransportationFunding roads like public utilities — through user fees
The fuel tax has long been the preferred method of funding road building and repair in the United States, as this brief history outlines. That has been the…
Talking Michigan TransportationMDOT rail director touts opportunities presented by Sec. Buttigieg announcements
On Thursday, June 2, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Thursday in Michigan $368 million in rail infrastructure and safety grants to 46…
Talking Michigan TransportationVisit a Michigan state park and charge your EV while you’re there
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about an announcement by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of electric vehicle charging…
Talking Michigan TransportationInspecting and managing bridges during a long-term funding shortage
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a discussion about the inspection and maintenance of aging bridges in the wake of a report of a man…
Talking Michigan TransportationRebuilding Michigan projects take shape across the state and an update on bonding
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, an update on Rebuilding Michigan road and bridge projects across the state as the 2022 construction…
Talking Michigan TransportationNew research yields surprises on traffic safety messages
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with two academics studying the effect of safety messages on driver behavior. First…
Talking Michigan TransportationA pioneering agreement between Michigan and federal government for national parks
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with two State of Michigan officials about the announcement of an agreement with the…
Talking Michigan TransportationEven with rising costs, hundreds of road projects take shape
With prices of goods and services up across the board, it is no surprise that inflation is also affecting road and bridge building projects. Road agencies…
Talking Michigan TransportationThe challenges and perils of falling ice on the Mackinac Bridge
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, questions and explanations about the increasing frequency of melting ice falling from the Mackinac…
Talking Michigan TransportationFuel tax pauses, why U.S. transit projects cost so much, and EVs saving lives
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a semi-regular conversation with Lloyd Brown, formerly director of communications at the American…
Talking Michigan TransportationThe perils of decades of under investing in roads
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a focus on the challenge road agencies face trying to make repairs at a faster pace than the pavement…
Talking Michigan TransportationGov. Whitmer joins MDOT, community partners to celebrate a hurdle cleared for I-375
This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast puts a spotlight on the project transforming I-375, a stub freeway built six decades ago, piercing the City…
Talking Michigan TransportationLocal bridge bundling pilot kicks off
This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations about the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) initiative to…
Talking Michigan TransportationA Black History Month view from a veteran Michigan transportation leader
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation with Robert Davis, who retired from MDOT in 2021 after working across three administrations as a…
Talking Michigan TransportationThe Michigan tolling study, an update
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Kari Martin, MDOT’s University Region planner and project manager on the tolling…
Talking Michigan TransportationWireless charging and yet more mobility innovations in Corktown
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about two significant announcements related to the future of mobility…
Talking Michigan TransportationBig snowfall is coming; how MDOT prepares
This week, as meteorologists forecast a major winter storm for much of lower Michigan, the head of statewide maintenance and operations for the Michigan…
Talking Michigan TransportationWhat federal funds can mean to Michigan bridges and innovations with carbon fiber
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Matt Chynoweth, MDOT’s chief bridge engineer, returns to discuss what President Biden’s Infrastructure…
Talking Michigan Transportation“I’m standing on the biggest infrastructure project in North America”
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Nickolai Miotto, a member of Operating Engineers 324 working on the Gordie Howe…
Talking Michigan TransportationWho knew naming snowplows would be so popular?
A year into the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) initiative to engage the public in naming snowplows across the state, an update on progress…
Talking Michigan TransportationWhat the heck is an aerial mobility corridor?
This week, in the wake of an announcement about a first-of-its-kind cross-border initiative to test the feasibility of commercial drone use, Bryan Budds…
Talking Michigan TransportationMDOT’s busy 2021 and more to come in 2022
On the final Talking Michigan Transportation podcast of the year, MDOT Director Paul Ajegba looks back on the historic investment in roads and bridges, as…
Talking Michigan TransportationA veteran researcher talks about why fatal crashes continue to rise in Michigan
Preliminary numbers show fatal crashes increased again in 2021 over 2020, up by about 10 percent, continuing a disturbing trend reflected in national data…
Talking Michigan TransportationAn urban planner talks Complete Streets, collaboration and the future
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation with Suzanne Schulz, the former director of planning for the City of Grand Rapids, who helped…
Talking Michigan Transportation$10 million federal grant will enhance connectivity in Detroit, with Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist and MDOT project manager Jon Loree
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with senior Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project manager…
Talking Michigan TransportationShovel worthy transportation projects, acknowledging past mistakes and why so many crash deaths
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with a regular guest, Lloyd Brown. Now working for the consulting firm, HDR, Brown was…
Talking Michigan TransportationA $1.2 trillion investment in infrastructure, some historic, global context
This week, as President Biden signs the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), a conversation about the historic context of the…
Talking Michigan TransportationThe pandemic brought faster vehicle speeds and more crashes; is automated enforcement one answer?
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations with two people about the ongoing surge in highway speeds that began with the pandemic in…
Talking Michigan TransportationRecruiting plow drivers, preparing for winter travel and the view from the cab
As early-November snow accumulates in Michigan, this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast includes conversations about preparing for winter. First…
Talking Michigan TransportationWhat’s in the infrastructure bill for Michigan?
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, timely conversations about the long-awaited infrastructure bill President Biden has been seeking…
Talking Michigan TransportationRecruiting and training to build transportation infrastructure as a “Sansdemic” looms
This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with two people deeply involved with recruiting, developing and training the…
Talking Michigan TransportationMeet the patient, witty and always engaged MDOT social media administrator
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Jesse Ball, who coordinates social media at the Michigan Department of…
Talking Michigan TransportationUS-23 freeway reopens to traffic after emergency repairs on railroad bridge
The busy US-23 freeway south of Ann Arbor, closed more than two weeks because of safety concerns about an overhead railroad bridge, reopened to traffic Tuesday…
Talking Michigan TransportationGov. Gretchen Whitmer puts Michigan in the driver's seat for electric vehicle charging
This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, following two important announcements from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer solidifying Michigan’s commitment to…
Talking Michigan TransportationAnother bridge hit, another freeway closed
Last week, after inspectors discovered severe damage to a bridge that carries rail cars over the US-23 freeway near Milan, Michigan, engineers made the…
Talking Michigan TransportationMeasuring bridge conditions across the country and progress in Michigan
Coming off the successful return of a cool Michigan tradition, the Mackinac Bridge walk on Labor Day, this week’s podcast revisits the condition of our state’s…
Talking Michigan TransportationThe return of a Michigan tradition — The Mackinac Bridge walk
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. After the pandemic forced…
Talking Michigan TransportationSecond round of bonds fuel Rebuilding Michigan projects
This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, an update on Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's Rebuilding Michigan program as the deal closes on another $800…
Talking Michigan TransportationInfrastructure bill: the big picture and what it means to Michigan
The U.S. Senate this week adopted a sweeping $1 trillion infrastructure bill that includes $550 billion in new revenue for roads, water systems, electric…
Talking Michigan TransportationEasing parking anxiety: a revolutionary idea
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Michigan’s chief mobility officer, Trevor Pawl, about a major announcement Thursday…
Talking Michigan TransportationBuilding the future by recruiting a diverse work force, developing talent
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about the past, present and future of MDOT’s Transportation Diversity Recruitment Program…
Talking Michigan TransportationIn the year 2045, what will transportation look like in Michigan?
On this edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Brad Sharlow, point person on MDOT’s state long-range transportation plan, talks about the…
Talking Michigan TransportationReopening a major freeway after a tanker fire
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation with Adam Wayne, a construction engineer in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s Metro…
Talking Michigan TransportationMore bond sales fuel Rebuilding Michigan
A year after the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) sold the first group, or tranche, of bonds in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's $3.5 billion Rebuilding…
Talking Michigan TransportationRethinking a Detroit freeway and honoring the past
On the latest Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the ongoing process to rethink the 1-mile I-375 freeway in Detroit and consider…
Talking Michigan TransportationSo this is what they mean by building resilience into roads and bridges
After a deluge that caused flooding across Metro Detroit and overwhelmed power sources for pumps that help remove water from freeways, there are a lot of…
Talking Michigan TransportationPandemic brought more severe crashes, a decline in seat belt use, and a disproportionate toll on Black and indigenous people
This week, a discussion about more evidence that the severity of highway crashes increased during the pandemic, seat belt use declined, and the number of Black…
Talking Michigan TransportationEarmarks are back, which Michigan projects will make the cut?
This week, the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee began debating a $547 billion highway bill, which, among other things, resurrects an old…
Talking Michigan TransportationSen. Gary Peters makes his case for the Biden infrastructure plan
This week, U.S. Sen. Gary Peters joins the podcast to talk about his advocacy for President Biden’s comprehensive infrastructure proposal, The American Jobs…
Talking Michigan TransportationAs the pandemic wanes, will tourists return to Michigan roads?
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Dave Lorenz, vice president of Travel Michigan, talks about what tourism industry officials expect as…
Talking Michigan TransportationElectric vehicle charging: Can Michigan meet the demand?
In the wake of a presidential visit to the Dearborn Ford Rouge Electric Vehicle Center and a subsequent announcement about production of the all-electric F-150…
Talking Michigan TransportationWhy I got my shot!
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with three people who participated in an MDOT public service announcement, explaining…
Talking Michigan TransportationMichigan hosts national work zone safety event - one advocate's motivation
On Tuesday, Michigan hosted the National Work Zone Awareness Week event in the midst of a Rebuilding Michigan project on M-59 in Macomb County. On this week's…
Talking Michigan TransportationEarth Day 2021: MDOT efforts to balance mobility and environmental protections
In recognition of Earth Day, this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features a conversation with Margaret Barondess, who manages the environmental…
Talking Michigan TransportationWhat the Interstate Highway System has done for the U.S. and what the future holds
On this week's Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Doug Hecox, acting director of public affairs at the Federal Highway Administration, shares his…
Talking Michigan TransportationPresident Biden’s infrastructure plan — some history and context
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation, a conversation with Andy Doctoroff about his op-ed published in the Detroit Free Press examining President…
Talking Michigan TransportationIs Infrastructure Week about to be more than a punchline?
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, analysis and speculation about what President Biden is likely to include in his…