by orionontv | May 24, 2023 | Transportation
Chief advocate for driverless vehicles explains their lifesaving potential
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Jeff Farrah, executive director of the Autonomous Vehicle Industry Association (AVIA).
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/12902175-chief-advocate-for-driverless-vehicles-explains-their-lifesaving-potential
As discussed in previous installments, U.S. traffic deaths jumped 10.5 percent in 2021 to 42,915, marking the highest number killed on American roads in a single year since 2005.
Farrah talks about the safety benefits of autonomous vehicles, both in terms of passenger vehicles and commercial trucks.
He observes that many vehicles on the road today have driver assistance technologies, which help to save lives. The evolution of the technology will only enhance those safety benefits.
On next week’s edition, the focus on safety continues as Jake Nelson, director of traffic safety advocacy and research for AAA, joins the podcast to talk about the troubling crash data and what can be done.
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by orionontv | May 18, 2023 | Transportation
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Bans on hand-held phone use by drivers: Do they work?
Michigan is poised to become the 26th state to implement a ban on the use of hand-held phones while driving. The new laws, passed as House bills 4250, 4251 and 4252, are headed to Gov. Whitmer’s desk for her signature and are expected to take effect on June 30.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/12866497-bans-on-hand-held-phone-use-by-drivers-do-they-work
This follows adoption of similar legislation in Ohio in April. An early analysis of data tracking the use of hand-held mobile devices in vehicles indicates distracted driving may have dropped as much as 9 percent during the first weeks of implementation there.
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Ryan McMahon, senior vice president for strategy at Cambridge Mobile Telematics, explains how his firm gathers the data and why it’s important.
McMahon said the media coverage and attention to the legislation in Ohio and other states with similar laws contributes to the reduction in distracted driving crashes, which the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says accounted for more than 3,500 crash deaths in 2021.
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by orionontv | May 15, 2023 | Transportation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT
May 15, 2023 Diane Cross
[email protected]
Resurfacing project begins on I-75 from M-15 (Ortonville Road) to Oakland/Genesee county line
VILLAGE OF CLARKSTON, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Transportation is investing approximately $160 million to resurface and repair I-75 from M-15 (Ortonville Road) to the Oakland/Genesee county line. This project includes resurfacing I-75, repairing 11 bridges, drainage improvements, culvert replacements, signs, and guardrail. Various work will be performed in different locations with different schedules throughout the 15 miles over four years.
Beginning 7 a.m. Monday, May 22, Belford Road, Davisburg Road, and Holcomb Road will all be closed over I-75 for bridge repairs through late July. I-75 will remain open under these roads although there may be lane closures, as needed, for the bridge work above.
Beginning Tuesday, May 30, through late fall, temporary crossovers will be built along with bridge work and pavement repairs on northbound and southbound I-75 between M-15 (Ortonville Road) to the county line. The schedule for daytime and nighttime work will be announced closer to the start date. The current plan is to leave two lanes open, unless absolutely necessary for isolated work.
In 2024, work will include milling and resurfacing northbound I-75 from M-15 to the county line. There will be two lanes of northbound and southbound traffic sharing the existing southbound roadway.
In 2025, milling and resurfacing will occur on southbound I-75 from the county line to M-15. Traffic will share the existing northbound roadway.
In 2026, work will include removal of the temporary crossovers and remaining miscellaneous activity.
Funding for this project is made possible by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Rebuilding Michigan program to rebuild the state highways and bridges that are critical to the state’s economy and carry the most traffic. The investment strategy is aimed at fixes that result in longer useful lives and improve the condition of the state’s infrastructure.
Based on economic modeling, this investment is expected to directly and indirectly support 1,936 jobs.
by orionontv | May 11, 2023 | Transportation
The grades are in and Michigan infrastructure still needs help
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released their infrastructure report card for Michigan at a May 8 news conference and gave the state a cumulative grade of C-, which counts as improvement since the previous grade was D+.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/12829012-the-grades-are-in-and-michigan-infrastructure-still-needs-help
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, two people who participated in the news conference talk about the roads component of the report card.
First, Ron Brenke, executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Michigan and the Michigan section of ASCE, talks about how decades of underinvestment in transportation infrastructure put Michigan where it is.
Later, Amy O’Leary, executive director of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG), explains the vital transportation needs of the communities served by her organization.
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Michigan’s grade for roads showed slight improvement, largely because of investments in state trunklines, the heaviest-traveled roads, from the MDOT’s Rebuilding Michigan program.
From the report:
Traffic volumes have returned from pandemic-era lows. Vehicle miles traveled in 2021 were 97 billion, 95 percent of the 2019 number. Fortunately, the condition of roads Michiganders are driving on are improving, thanks in part to a 2017 funding package. Of Michigan’s 120,000 miles of paved federal aid-eligible roads, 25 percent are in good condition, up from 20 percent good in 2017. Forty-two percent of the roads are rated as fair, and 33 percent are in poor condition. Gov. Whitmer’s 2020 “Rebuilding Michigan Program” included $3.5 billion of one-time bond financing, accelerating major highway projects on state trunklines. To erase decades of underinvestment and meet future needs, decision-makers should increase dedicated funding for roads, re-tool fee models, prioritize traffic safety, and improve resilience to worsening environmental threats.
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First portrait: Ron Brenke, executive director of the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Michigan. Photo courtesy of ACEC.
Second portrait: Amy O’Leary, executive director of the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG). Photo courtesy of SEMCOG.
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by orionontv | Apr 20, 2023 | Transportation
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For Earth Day 2023, let’s talk about sunflowers, bees, and roadways
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the success of efforts by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to attract pollinators with roadside sunflowers and other vegetation.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/12689097-for-earth-day-2023-let-s-talk-about-sunflowers-bees-and-roadways
Amanda Novak, a resource specialist in MDOT’s Bay Region, talks about the origins and successes of MDOT’s pollinator program and how the experience of other state departments of transportation (DOT), including North Carolina, inspired the program.
Novak talks about MDOT’s efforts planting sunflowers, dubbed pollinator superheroes, along state highways.
From a 2015 issue of “The Scenic Route,” a publication of the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at the University of Texas:
The alarming loss of habitat over the past two decades has left untold millions of bees, butterflies, and other wild pollinators hungry and homeless. The small creatures on which we depend for a significant portion of our food supply have hardly been without their champions; public support for monarch butterflies alone has been estimated in the billions of dollars. Still, the pollinator prognosis remained dire. But over the past 18 months, support for pollinators has undergone a seismic shift, led by President Obama, who called for a national Pollinator Task Force in the spring of 2014. Less than a year later, in a book-length “Strategy to Protect the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators,” the federal government set ambitious goals that include the restoration or enhancement of 7 million acres of land for pollinator habitat over the next five years. Roadsides will comprise a significant portion of that acreage.
Novak also talks about “Show Stopper” wildflowers to be planted at the Port Huron and Coldwater welcome centers.
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A second segment reprises a 2021 conversation with Margaret Barondess, manager of MDOT’s Environmental Section, explaining the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and how it informs Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and DOT decision making.
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by orionontv | Apr 20, 2023 | Transportation
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT
April 20, 2023 Dan Weingarten
906-250-4809
[email protected]
MDOT roadside parks reopening April 28
LANSING, Mich. – Roadside parks operated by the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will reopen for the season Friday, April 28.
MDOT maintains 85 roadside parks around the state. Some parks operate seasonally, usually closing in late October and reopening in the spring.
While parks are scheduled to be open April 28, motorists should not expect drinking water at all parks to be turned on until sometime later in May, after annual testing and treatment of the park water systems is completed.
A map showing the status of MDOT roadside parks is available on the MDOT website. |
