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.

This week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features conversations with two people instrumental in a project to restore the rapids to the Grand River in Grand Rapids.

First, Matt Chapman, executive director of Grand Rapids Whitewater, talks about the history of the river (Michigan’s longest at 252 miles), why dams were installed and the why the rapids were cleared in the first place. He also talks about the unique opportunity to provide benefits to the environment, wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities in a river that falls 18 feet within the city of Grand Rapids. 

Later, former Grand Rapids Mayor Rosalynn Bliss, long a champion of the project, shares her recollections of 18 years of work to move the project forward and why it was so important to her. She touts the economic benefits as well as the river’s role as a connector rather than a divider in the city.  

Bliss also talks about the spiritual significance of the Owashtanong to the first inhabitants of the city. 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has declared this week, Sept. 21-25, as National Roundabouts Week. The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has installed roundabouts at various intersections, when appropriate, for several years.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with MDOT Engineer of Traffic Safety Garrett Dawe about the life-saving benefits of roundabouts.

According to the FHWA, roundabouts reduce intersection crashes resulting in death or injury by an average of 82 percent. They also reduce traffic delays by 62 to 74 percent while often costing less than traditional signalized intersections over their lifespan due to lower maintenance and operational requirements.

Several cities across Michigan and in several other states have been aggressive about installing roundabouts. One in Indiana, in particular, is considered the roundabout capital of the United States.

Just as crews began repairing sections of M-119 (also known as The Tunnel of Trees) damaged by April flooding, heavy rains in June wreaked havoc on more sections of the popular tourist route in Michigan's northern Lower Peninsula.

Following completion of a $300,000 project to stabilize the slope beneath a section of M-119 near West Stutsmanville Road damaged in the spring flooding, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) announced in early September that it has reopened M-119 between West Stutsmanville Road and Terpening Road.

This map shows current status and detour routes.

On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation, an update from MDOT North Region Engineer Bill Wahl on work that’s been completed on M-119 and what long-term challenges remain for the corridor. He also talks about some of the other roads in MDOT's North Region damaged in the spring flooding.

Finally, Wahl offers details on construction of a diverging diamond interchange (DDI) at the I-75/M-32 intersection in Gaylord. The first such interchange to be built in northern lower Michigan, a DDI is an alternative interchange that improves safety, increases traffic flow and can reduce construction costs.

As fall approaches, and on the heels of last week’s discussion about creating safe crossings to prevent deadly and costly vehicle-wildlife crashes, we are reprising an episode from 2024 featuring a discussion with Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Public Information Officer Ed Golder. 

Golder talked about the decline in deer harvests being reported by hunters and an innovative program, now called Hunters Feeding Michigan, a name change from what was mentioned in the original podcast.

Since then, Golder says the MDNR is doing more than ever to help farmers get deer off their land. I hope you enjoy this encore presentation.

The podcast covers themes featured in a Detroit Free Press story detailing other creative efforts by the MDNR to stem the proliferation of deer in the state’s southern regions.

Golder explained the challenges and how wildlife officials are tackling them.

Podcast image courtesy of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

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   

Podcast Photo by Da-shika on Unsplash