Talking Michigan Transportation

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Michael Townley, engineer of research at the Michigan Department of Transportation. (MDOT).
Townley explains the safety and economic benefits of partnering with Michigan universities on research and why it’s important to MDOT.
One specific project discussed examined the value of financing infrastructure improvements through bonding versus a program of pay-go improvements.

By now, you may have seen a photo taken high above the Detroit River of two iron workers, one from Canada and one from the United States, shaking hands to mark the completion of the deck on the Gordie Howe International Bridge.
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with those iron workers, Jason Huggett of Canada and Casey Whitson of Michigan.
 
 Both are second-generation iron workers. Jason’s father helped build the twin span of the Blue Water Bridge linking Port Huron, Michigan, with Sarnia, Ontario. Casey’s father worked on the Renaissance Center in Detroit as well as Joe Louis Arena.
 
 They talk about what working on this once-in-a-lifetime project means to both of them and how honored each of them was to participate in the handshake.
 
 They each spoke about it to the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority after the handshake:
 
 Said Huggett: “I said it was about time we got to shake hands after seeing each other from a distance for almost two years, it was really something special. That handshake means a lot to my family, my two sons and my father, who helped build the twin span for the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia.”  
 
 And Whitson: “We would see each other, but we were far, across the river, apart for all these months working. To actually get to be able to meet each other and shake hands and say hello is really cool. It’s the biggest moment in my career and I now share something with my father, who helped build the Renaissance Center in Detroit.”

The Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITSA) convenes its annual conference in Detroit next week, so John Peracchio, a member of the Michigan Transportation Commission and a long-time participant in the ITSA, returns to the podcast to talk about what to expect.
In its mission statement, the organization “is a leading nonprofit uniting government, industry and academia to champion policies and investments that make our transportation systems safer, more innovative and more efficient. We work with agencies and industry leaders to advance technology-driven solutions that improve how people and goods move - enhancing quality of life, supporting a thriving economy and maintaining America’s global competitiveness.”
Peracchio talks about what that means and how ITSA's work can ultimately reduce crashes.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Susan Howard, director of government relations and policy for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), talks about the highlights of the latest federal surface transportation bill making its way through the legislative process. 
Leaders of the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee this week formally introduced the BUILD America 250 Act, a bipartisan, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that invests in America’s roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation, and highway and motor carrier safety programs.
With a dollar figure of $580 billion for five years, the bill preserves the core federal-aid formula program structure, puts emphasis on project delivery and streamlining, makes major increases in bridge investments and restructures some climate and equity programs.

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation highlights proposed legislation to include driving through work zones as a focus of driver’s training curriculums.
House Bill 5767 would amend the Driver Education Provider and Instructor Act to provide, beginning Jan. 1, 2027, that all participants in a driver education course must complete a work zone safety education course, developed in conjunction with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and approved by the Department of State (DOS).
First, Brian Sarkella, chapter president for the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA), talks about his advocacy for the legislation and testimony he provided to a Michigan House committee on Tuesday, May 12.
Later, Tom Robins of Work Zone Safe talks about his work to adopt legislation in work zone driver’s training in Oklahoma and how it has informed efforts in other states.