Transportation Archives - Page 18 of 43

Michigan infrastructure still needs help

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.

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.

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.

Let’s talk about sunflowers, bees, and roadways

by orionontv | Apr 20, 2023 | Transportation

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.

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.

Listen now at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205.

Stay connected by subscribing to Talking Michigan Transportation e-mail updates.

MDOT roadside parks reopening April 28

by orionontv | Apr 20, 2023 | Transportation

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.

Bills would allow for work zone speed cameras

by orionontv | Apr 17, 2023 | Transportation

Bills would allow for work zone speed cameras, HOV lanes, other changes

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a look at transportation-related legislation being debated.

Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/12665025-bills-would-allow-for-work-zone-speed-cameras-hov-lanes-other-changes

Aarne Frobom, senior policy analyst at the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), and Troy Hagon, MDOT director of government affairs, break down the proposals.

Among those discussed:

House bills 4132 and 4133. These bills, resurrected after very nearly making it to the governor’s desk in 2022, would allow the use of cameras to enforce speed limit violations in state trunkline work zones. As discussed on a previous podcast, the cameras have had a positive impact in other states.
Senate bill 43. This legislation, also debated and nearly adopted in the previous legislature, would:
- Require the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) to use concrete barriers or equivalent crashworthy temporary traffic barriers when closing a freeway or a portion of freeway for construction, improvement, or repair.
- Specify that the requirement would not apply if the freeway or portion of freeway were closed for not more than three days for an emergency repair, utility crossing, maintenance, or other short-duration operation.
- Allow MDOT to exercise its engineering judgement in designing and placing concrete barriers or equivalent crashworthy temporary traffic barriers and associated traffic control devices for each closure of a freeway or portion of freeway.
House bills 4352 and 4353 would allow for MDOT to restrict highway lanes to high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes and allow road agencies to open a HOV lane to other classes of vehicles (trucks or automated vehicles). The legislation also allows enforcement of I-75 HOV lanes and Detroit and Grand Rapids bus lanes.

Listen now at https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205.

Stay connected by subscribing to Talking Michigan Transportation e-mail updates.

Year’s first Adopt-A-Highway pickup starts Saturday

by orionontv | Apr 17, 2023 | Transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT
April 17, 2023 Dan Weingarten
906-250-4809
[email protected]

Year’s first Adopt-A-Highway pickup starts Saturday

Fast facts:

The first Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Adopt-A-Highway pickup of the year is April 22-30 for the Lower Peninsula.
Pickups for the Upper Peninsula will be from May 6-
Sections of highway are still available to adopt. Go to Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway for more information.

LANSING, Mich. – In an annual rite of spring, volunteers will fan out across lower Michigan to give state highway roadsides their first cleaning, beginning Saturday as groups in the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) Adopt-A-Highway (AAH) program pick up litter from April 22-30.

The first AAH pickup for the Upper Peninsula will be later, from May 6 to 14, when spring has had more time to set in for the northern part of the state.

“Our thousands of Adopt-A-Highway volunteers are dedicated to keeping roadsides in their communities clean,” said MDOT Acting Director Brad Wieferich. “They make a huge difference every year. Let’s help them stay safe while they’re out there – keep an eye out for the volunteers and drive cautiously during the pickup periods.”

The AAH program began in Michigan in 1990. Today, around 2,900 groups have adopted more than 6,000 miles of state highway. In a typical year, these volunteers collect 60,000 to 70,000 bags of trash annually, an estimated $5 million value for the state.

Volunteers pick up litter three times each year. Statewide, there will be a summer pickup from July 15 to 23 and a fall pickup from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1.

AAH groups wear high-visibility, yellow-green safety vests required by federal regulations when working within a highway right of way. MDOT provides free vests and trash bags, and arranges to haul away the trash. Volunteers include members of various civic groups, businesses and families. Crew members have to be at least 12 years old, and each group must number at least three people.

Sections of highway are still available for adoption. Groups are asked to adopt a section for at least two years. AAH signs bearing a group’s name are posted along the stretch of adopted highway. There is no fee to participate. Go to www.Michigan.gov/AdoptAHighway for more information.

Several landfills in southwestern Michigan do their part to help the AAH program. Westside Landfill in St. Joseph County, C&C Landfill in Calhoun County, Orchard Hill Landfill in Berrien County, Southeast Berrien County Landfill near Niles, and Republic Services Gembrit Circle Transfer Station in Kalamazoo have all agreed to accept trash generated by the three annual AAH pickups at no charge. In exchange, these businesses receive a sign recognizing their support.

You play a role in work zone safety

by orionontv | Apr 12, 2023 | Transportation

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2023

MEDIA CONTACT
John Richard
616-262-1565
[email protected]

You play a role in work zone safety.
Work with us!

Fast facts:

National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW) is April 17-21.
Three workers and thirteen motorists were killed in Michigan work zones in 2022.
Play your part and drive with focus navigating through work zones.

LANSING, Mich. - In 2022, sixteen people lost their lives in Michigan work zones. With clearheaded, focused driving, these heartbreaks could have been avoided. Everyone has a vital role when driving. Every road worker has a vital role fixing our roads and bridges. Next week is National Work Zone Awareness Week (NWZAW), and this year’s theme is, “You play a role in work zone safety. Work with us!” NWZAW has been observed for more than 20 years and was launched as a public awareness campaign to help everyone understand they play a key role in keeping motorists and road workers safe.

“Every day, our transportation professionals work hard to fix roads and bridges in communities across Michigan,” said Lt. Governor Garlin Gilchrist II. “But everyone plays a role when it comes to keeping work zones safe. I encourage every Michigander to do your part during National Work Zone Awareness Week and help everyone get to their destination safely.”

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and every other Michigan road agency are working hard to fix our aging infrastructure, so stay alert and be vigilant when you’re behind the wheel. In 2022, preliminary work zone crash information shows that there were:

16 fatalities,
54 serious injuries, and
4,393 total crashes.

“Every hard hat, every high-vis vest, the thousands of motorists; We’re all on the same team,” said MDOT’s Work Zone Technical Specialist, Chuck Bergmann. “Driving safely and workers making safety a priority between the cones will help get everyone home.”

A media event will be held next Tuesday, April 18, with speakers from the Michigan State Police, MDOT, and other safety officials throughout Michigan. In addition, special guest, Emily Hause, will speak about losing her father, Barry Hause, in a work zone crash in September 2019 and how that has impacted her life. She will also talk about how the American Traffic Safety Services Foundation’s Roadway Worker Memorial Scholarship has helped her with higher education cost and her academic dreams.

With Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s $3.5 billion Rebuilding Michigan program, there are numerous projects all throughout the state, and they all require your undivided attention.

Road and bridges need work, but there are also work zones above and below the roads to address fiberoptic, water, sanitation, natural gas, and electricity.

To create awareness and show your support for each work zone crew, wear orange on Wednesday, April 19. We can all make it home safely if we work together, so “Go Orange” at home or in the field and share a photo on social media of you or your team wearing orange using hashtags #Orange4Safety and #NWZAW.

MDOT reminds everyone to know before you go. Check www.Michigan.gov/Drive for active work zones on state roads (I, M and US routes) before heading out.

Since 2000, NWZAW is part of the Toward Zero Deaths (TZD) national safety campaign, a vision of eliminating fatalities on our nation’s roads.

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