Talking Michigan Transportation

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 senior adviser and community engagement leader on large projects in Metro Detroit. Sharing his passion for public service, Davis talks about his work as a senior adviser and cabinet member for former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm and his work at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) from 2007 until 2021. Davis, who also worked for the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG) and the administration of former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer, talks about his years working with residents and community leaders to address concerns as various projects took shape. Reflecting on what transportation planners have learned over the years, he talks about the coming transformation of the I-375 corridor in Detroit and how projects that displaced minority residents and supplanted Black neighborhoods are viewed differently now. As discussed on a previous podcast, while discussions about restoring the I-375 corridor to an urban boulevard date back several years, the conversation has added resonance because U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has put an emphasis on connectivity and rethinking freeways.  Buttigieg emphasizes the importance of making sure "a community’s voice and input is baked into a project."Podcast photo: Robert Davis, retired MDOT employee.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Kari Martin, MDOT’s University Region planner and project manager on the tolling study requested in 2020 legislation. Also joining the conversation is Eric Morris, Michigan office lead for HNTB, the transportation consultant selected to complete the study. Martin and Morris explain the process and why the Legislature is looking at extending the study until the end of this year, as reported in Crain’s Detroit Business last week (subscription). Echoing comments from Reason Foundation’s Baruch Feigenbaum on a previous podcast, Martin and Morris talk about how the emergence of electric vehicles (EVs) will further reduce the already inadequate transportation revenue obtained through the motor fuel tax. EVs essentially do not pay for the roads they drive on. Advocates observe that by moving to a more sustainable revenue source, everyone pays their fair share and it provides an opportunity to prepare Michigan's interstate and highway system for future smart infrastructure networks. These innovations offer the prospect of a transport infrastructure system that suffers less congestion, is safer, and can be maintained predictively. Other relevant links: A 2019 Epic-MRA poll of Michigan voter views on tolling.https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Fees_EpicPoll_669728_7.pdf    Some things the study will cover, including managed lanes and how they work. https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/managelanes_primer/   Why Michigan doesn’t have tolling. Some history.https://www.michigan.gov/documents/mdot/MDOT_Toll_Roads_Brochure_548788_7.pdf Photo: Eric Morris, Michigan office lead for HNTB. Photo courtesy of HNTB.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, conversations about two significant announcements related to the future of mobility. First, Stefan Tongur, vice president and managing director of North America for Electreon, talks about his company’s contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to deploy wireless charging infrastructure on a public street. Later, Trevor Pawl, Michigan’s chief mobility officer, visits the podcast again and talks about a partnership announced last week between MDOT, the City of Detroit and other state and private entities for the Michigan Central Innovation District.Tongur explains the significance of wireless charging and why it will be important as Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and state agencies support the auto industry’s rapid development of electric vehicles.He says inductive charging has the potential to ease range anxiety for EV owners and reduce their cost of charging at home or at public charging stations. "It is a privilege to be working with the State of Michigan to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles in the Motor City," said Electreon CEO Oren Ezer in the news release announcing the partnership. "This is a monumental step toward expanding our U.S. presence and team.”Pawl talks about how the Michigan Central Innovation District will be a hub for talent, mobility innovation, entrepreneurship, sustainability, affordable housing, small business opportunities, and community engagement.Podcast photo: Governor Gretchen Whitmer today joined Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford, Google Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Ruth Porat and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to announce a new partnership to activate the Michigan Central Innovation District in an effort to attract and retain highly skilled talent and high-growth companies while supporting the development of neighboring neighborhoods. Photo courtesy of Gov. Whitmer's website.

This week, as meteorologists forecast a major winter storm for much of lower Michigan, the head of statewide maintenance and operations for the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) talks about all the crews are doing to prepare. Mark Geib, who is moving on to private industry after a rich 31-year career at MDOT, talks about the evolution of road maintenance work, innovations and all he’s witnessed.  He also shares an outline for what snowplow drivers and other employees are doing across the state to prepare for the storm. This includes preparation of equipment for MDOT’s fleet and for the 63 county agencies that plow state trunklines under contract. He explains why that hybrid model is unique to Michigan but saves taxpayers money because of economies of scale. He also talks about how MDOT’s plow-naming initiative has put a spotlight on the Mi Drive site and allowed people to track the plows. Geib’s outline for preparation for winter storms: Prior to a storm/winter event:Snowplow trucks are refueled and checked over mechanicallyEmployees are informed and briefed of the coming event in preparationCommunication happens between adjacent maintenance facilities as needed to coordinate, including MDOT's county road association partners As the storm/winter event approaches:Maintenance employees are called in/report to workRoad patrols drive the roads, monitoring conditionsThe storm is monitored via weather outlets and the MDOT Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS)MDOT maintains two work shifts to cover all 24 hours Geib also discusses innovations to limit the use of salt on the roads, including successful measures that save on the cost of salt and help protect the environment by limiting what makes its way into tributaries.  This includes another explanation of how salt loses effectiveness in extremely cold temperatures.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Matt Chynoweth, MDOT’s chief bridge engineer, returns to discuss what President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) means to Michigan bridges. This conversation was already scheduled when news broke about the local bridge that collapsed in Pittsburgh. Two weeks ago, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was in Pennsylvania to announce the state would receive $1.6 billion in IIJA funds to repair or replace some 3,000 poor bridges in the state. Michigan’s share of IIJA funds for bridges is $563 million over five years. Chynoweth explains how investments will be prioritized based on asset management principles. He also puts the funding in context with the overall needs for bridges owned by the state, counties, cities, and villages across Michigan. Later, Chynoweth talks about work MDOT is doing with Lawrence Technological University on carbon fiber as an alternative to steel-reinforced bridges. Some pioneering work in Michigan will allow bridges to last much longer (with estimates of up to 100 years or longer) and save millions of dollars in the long term. Chynoweth also explains how carbon fiber strands have a tensile strength comparable to steel but resist corrosion and require less maintenance over time. MDOT is deploying the materials strategically, using them on higher-volume routes. Two bridges are currently being built with carbon fiber reinforced beams as part of MDOT's massive I-94 modernization project in Detroit.Podcast photo: Strong and durable, carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) strands are changing the way bridges are built.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Nickolai Miotto, a member of Operating Engineers 324 working on the Gordie Howe International Bridge. Following his appearance, Andy Doctoroff, the point person on the project for the Michigan governor’s office, visits again to offer an update on the project’s progress. Ahead of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s 2022 State of the State address next week, Miotto was featured in a video series produced to highlight components of the speech.  Miotto talks about how he made his way into the training program to become an equipment operator and what it means to be working on such an iconic project. In the video, he touts the importance of infrastructure investment to job creation and economic development and why he thinks it spells good things for the future of Michigan.  In the second segment, Doctoroff offers highlights on the project’s status, including significant work on the Michigan interchanges that will serve bridge users. He also marvels at the towers going up, which will eventually soar more than 700 feet into the sky, nearing the height of the Renaissance Center.Doctoroff also talks about the robust engagement process to keep members of communities on both sides of the border engaged and up to date on developments. The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority produced this virtual tour to illustrate progress.Podcast photo: New Gordie Howe International Bridge tower being constructed.

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. Shortly after MDOT launched the project in 2021, inspired by a plow-naming venture by Transport Scotland, Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist visited an elementary school in Benton Harbor where a class of fifth graders named a plow Tiger in honor of their school mascot. Gilchrist visited the school and spoke to the students shortly afterward.  On this week’s podcast, Nick Schirripa, MDOT’s Southwest Region media relations representative, talks about the project, the eye-popping numbers of submissions it inspired and why it has been a fun but important endeavor. He and Courtney Bates, a department analyst and web site administrator, worked together to create the naming contest, sort through the names and even put the names of plows on the Mi Drive site so they can be tracked in real time. As the Detroit Free Press reported in December, ”One year and more than 15,000 possible plow monikers later, and a handful of Michigan Department of Transportation staffers say they see a light at the end of the tunnel. But the project isn't quite over.” Schirripa talks about the interest this has generated and why it helps with education about what’s involved in clearing snow from roads in Michigan winters and how the plow-naming project helps in education efforts about safety. 

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, deputy administrator of the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) Office of Aeronautics, explains the project. Wednesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced that Michigan and Ontario are collaborating on a technology initiative involving unmanned aerial systems (UAS), more commonly known as drones. This effort involves studying the feasibility of a commercial drone skyway in three proposed areas, including an international connection between Michigan and Ontario, southeast Michigan, and any other suitable location in the state. The effort is a partnership between MDOT, Michigan’s Office of Future Mobility and Electrification, and Ontario government agencies. Calling it a “highway in the sky,” Budds talks about myriad opportunities to explore the future of drone technology and what it could mean to commerce and the delivery of goods. He also discusses the challenging questions facing regulators as they work to balance privacy, security, safety, and innovation. Budds also talks about how this initiative follows on other cross-border collaboration between the governments of Michigan and Ontario for demonstrations involving automated vehicles. Other relevant links: http://www.ontario.ca/page/connecting-southwest-draft-transportation-plan-southwestern-ontario https://www.faa.gov/uas/  https://www.theregreview.org/2021/10/23/saturday-seminar-regulating-domestic-drone-use Podcast image is NASA's new concept image for Advanced Air Mobility. Image courtesy of NASA and can be found at https://www.nasa.gov/centers/armstrong/multimedia/imagegallery/advanced-air-mobility/new-concept-image.html.

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 highlighted in this video.The video details the additional billion dollars invested in 2021 as well as the 10,000 jobs supported across the state. Some local officials and business leaders share their thoughts on the benefits of the investments.Director Ajegba underscores the value of Gov. Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan bonding program and how it allows for longer-term investments as opposed to the lesser fixes affordable during decades of road funding challenges in Michigan. The governor discussed the plan on the podcast shortly after unveiling it in her 2020 State of the State address.Also in 2021, Director Ajegba joined the governor at the Mackinac Policy Conference to announce a nation-leading wireless charging plan for electric vehicles. The director talks about the progress.Reflecting on the major work in 2021, the director talks about addressing many challenges including the pandemic, climate change-induced deluges and flooding that overwhelmed drainage system on Southeast Michigan freeways and addressing crashes on roads under construction, a more acute problem as vehicle speeds have increased during the pandemic.

Preliminary numbers show fatal crashes increased again in 2021 over 2020, up by about 10 percent, continuing a disturbing trend reflected in national data. Earlier this year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a report detailing factors contributing to the higher death count, including speeding and a decline in seat belt use. This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features a conversation with Peter Savolainen, a Michigan State University foundation professor in the department of civil and environmental engineering, who has conducted extensive research on driver behavior.Savolainen talks about the most recent Michigan numbers that found that 1,067 people died on Michigan roads this year. As of Dec. 7, compared to a year ago, there are 101 more fatalities and 369 more serious injuries.While travel was down nationally anywhere from 20 to 30 percent on average over calendar year 2020, Savolainen observes that most crashes were down by similar proportions, except for the most severe. He says there were pronounced increases in the number of fatal traffic crashes.“We've been trying to understand exactly what's been driving that, and there's been a lot of discussion nationally that speed is playing a role in that to some degree,” says Savolainen.He also talks about the troubling increase in pedestrian deaths and the possibility that, for a time, more people were walking instead of using public transit because of the pandemic. The Governors Highway Safety Association reports that drivers struck and killed an estimated 6,721 people on foot last year, and “a shocking and unprecedented” 21 percent increase in the pedestrian fatality rate from 2019 to 2020 was the largest-ever annual increase as a result of traffic crashes since the government’s tracking system was established in 1975.Among other related topics, Savolainen discusses automated enforcement technology. He says data shows conclusively that awareness of the enforcement brings down speeds.