Talking Michigan Transportation

Research indicates as many as 2 million vehicles collide with large wildlife in the United States each year, resulting in as many as 200 human deaths, more than 26,000 injuries and billions of dollars in property damage.
Officials in Michigan hope to join other states in finding creative ways to address the problem.
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Amanda Novak, a resource specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation, talks about her work in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to study these collisions and ways to create safer crossings.
Environment America reports that a survey of Americans about their views on wildlife crossings found that nearly 90 percent of them support the concept. 
Other relevant links:
https://www.pew.org/en/trust/archive/summer-2026/states-act-to-reduce-wildlife-collisions 
https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/wildlife-crossings

As this year’s road construction season draws to a close, this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast focuses on some of the major Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) projects nearing completion on state trunklines.
Gregg Brunner, MDOT chief operations officer, joins the conversation to recap the work completed in the past year. He also talks about trends in construction costs and what it will mean in coming years as MDOT’s Rebuilding Michigan program draws to a close.

Just before the U.S. Senate recessed at the end of September, leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and the Energy and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee introduced what is being called the most comprehensive permitting bill to date, the Bipartisan American Affordability and Jobs Act (BAAJA). The committee chairs and ranking members held a joint news conference announcing the long-awaited deal.
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Zach Rable, federal policy specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation, speaks to the highlights and challenges in the legislation and the expected difficulty of reconciling it with House priorities.
BAAJA makes procedural changes to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act, and regulations around electricity transmission, which reflect significant increased demands on the grid. That provision mentions data centers, including those used for artificial intelligence, which are adding large new demands to the grid. 
Proponents say the bill aims to keep other customers from paying for the grid infrastructure upgrades they require. This section shares some principles found in the bipartisan, bicameral Ratepayer Protection Act that passed the House (H.R. 9340).
Analysts at the Natural Resource Defense Council (NRDC) have outlined what they see as BAAJA’s positives and negatives.

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast is an encore of a previous discussion about the vital need for driver attention in work zones following the death of a county worker last week in Eaton County.
Police pointed to this incident as part of a rising, preventable trend of distracted driving and speeding where road crews are working. Michigan State Police Lt. Rene Gonzalez told media outlets, "This was no mistake; it was a preventable crash," urging all motorists to remain entirely focused, reduce their speed and give crews the safe clearance they need to do their jobs.
While authorities continue to emphasize driver responsibility and the need for extra vigilance when driving where work is going on, the reprised podcast with Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Chief Operations Officer Gregg Brunner also touches on advancements in technology to protect workers and drivers.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a look at the regulatory challenges presented by an increasing number of electric bikes (e-bikes) on roads, sidewalks and trails. Several bills have been introduced recently to further regulate the bikes.
Tim Gates, a professor in civil and environmental engineering at Michigan State University who has researched the topic, offers his insights.
Federal law defines e-bikes as bicycles if they have a motor less than 750 watts and a speed limit of 20 mph. However, state laws vary, with some requiring registration, helmets or restricted usage in specific areas.
Under Michigan law (MCL 257.13e), an e-bike has:
A seat or saddle
Fully operable pedals
An electric motor of 750 watts or less
An e-bike that meets these standards is treated like a bicycle. You don’t need a license, registration or insurance to ride one.
Michigan’s 2017 e-bike law sorts e-bikes into three classes, which set the top assisted speed and whether the bike can use a throttle.
Class 1: The motor helps only while you pedal, up to 20 mph.
Class 2: The motor can also run on a throttle, up to 20 mph.
Class 3: The motor helps only while you pedal, up to 28 mph.
Additionally, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) has approved class 1 and class 2 (for mobility only) e-bikes on select DNR-managed trails. That expansion followed months of collaborative research and discussion with trail users and organizations.