by Becky Andrus | Aug 1, 2022 | Transportation
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With $110 million to access, Michigan submits an EV charging plan
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden in late 2021, among many things, established a National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program (“NEVI Formula”) to provide funding to states to strategically deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.
In order to access those federal funds, in Michigan’s case, $110 million, states are required to submit a plan to the federal government. MDOT submitted the plan on Thursday, July 28, but the development involved several state agencies and other partners.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/11048860-with-110-million-to-access-michigan-submits-an-ev-charging-plan
This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast features a conversation with two of the people who worked on the plan:
- Niles Annelin is a policy section manager at MDOT and spearheaded the department’s efforts on the plan.
- And Judd Herzer, director of strategic policy at the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity (LEO) and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
Among the most vital themes emphasized in the plan is equity. Annelin talks about the extensive efforts the team took to ensure to maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities. Herzer explains how a work force development initiative serves that goal.
Specifically, the plan says the state will seek to “maximize benefits to disadvantaged communities, as well as rural and underserved communities, in alignment with the Justice40 Initiative” and will “foster a diverse pipeline of workers in EV-related careers” and “equity-driven workforce training.”
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Other highlights from the Michigan NEVI Plan include:
- A strategic vision for how Michigan will use its $110M NEVI funds to “develop a safe, equitable, reliable, convenient, and interconnected transportation electrification network that enables the efficient movement of people, improves quality of life, spurs economic growth, protects Michigan’s environment, and facilitates data collection.”
- Strategic goals to “reduce GHG emissions economy-wide by 28% below 2005 levels by 2025, en route to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050; and build the safe, convenient, affordable, reliable, and equitable infrastructure necessary to support two million EVs on Michigan roads by 2030.” A goal which supports the governor’s MI Healthy Climate Plan
- That the Plan was developed with the input of over 200 stakeholder entities, 10 state agencies, and the general public.
That the State will utilize its existing programmatic infrastructure through Charge Up Michigan (EGLE) to administer NEVI funds for Alternative Fuel Corridor buildout of a safe, reliable, accessible, and commercially viable charging network.
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Podcast photo: A vehicle being charged.
First portrait: Niles Annelin, MDOT policy section manager.
Second portrait: Judd Herzer, director of strategic policy at the Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Opportunity and the Office of Future Mobility and Electrification.
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by Becky Andrus | Jul 25, 2022 | Transportation
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How legislation would protect Mackinac Bridge, other structures
This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, first, a conversation with the chief sponsor of House Bill 5315, State Rep. John Damoose. Later, Patrick “Shorty” Gleason, chairman of the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA), explains why the MBA took the rare step of adopting a resolution in support of the legislation.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/11011251-how-legislation-would-protect-mackinac-bridge-other-structures?
In the wake of some troubling incidents on the Mackinac Bridge (involving people climbing a tower or otherwise accessing the bridge to take photos and another involving a bomb threat that closed the bridge on a busy weekend and disrupted travel for hours), the Michigan House of Representatives passed a bill, 99 to 6, classifying the Mackinac Bridge and other vital structures as “key facilities.” The designation means trespassing on the structures is a felony offense.
This week on the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, first, a conversation with the chief sponsor of House Bill 5315, State Rep. John Damoose. Later, Patrick “Shorty” Gleason, chairman of the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA), explains why the MBA took the rare step of adopting a resolution in support of the legislation.
HB 5315 would add the Mackinac Bridge to the list of key facilities, as well as any movable bridge in the state: the Zilwaukee Bridge, the Rouge River Bridge, the MacArthur Bridge, and all international crossings, including the Ambassador Bridge, the Blue Water Bridge, the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, the Gordie Howe International Bridge, and the International Bridge.
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Gleason also talks about a separate motion adopted by the Authority in opposition to Senate bills 1014 and 1078 concerning the transport of farm equipment across the bridge on I-75.
The motion reads:
“I move that the Board agree that the MBA’s Bridge Director and this Board’s Special Committee acted in good faith by thoroughly evaluating whether the proposed bills regarding farm implements could be modified to become bills that this Board could support. In the end, these individuals determined that the proposed bills and variations of them, if signed into law, would compromise the structural integrity and operations of the Mackinac Bridge and the safety of motorists who travel on the Bridge. They accordingly recommend, for these reasons, that the Board oppose the proposed bills or variations of them. I so move for the Board’s agreement and support.”
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by Becky Andrus | Jul 18, 2022 | Transportation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 18, 2022
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MEDIA CONTACT
Michael Frezell
517-281-6519 [email protected] |
MDOT public open houses July 26 and 28 to discuss the New Center Intermodal Facility (NCIF) in Detroit
Detroit, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is hosting a virtual and in-person open house on the upcoming New Center Intermodal Facility (NCIF) in Detroit. NCIF is a proposed project that would combine an intercity bus station with the existing Amtrak train station at M-1 (Woodward Avenue) and Baltimore Street in the New Center neighborhood of Detroit.
Who:
Interested residents
Community leaders
Local businesses
MDOT staff and consultants
Virtual open house:
Tuesday, July 26, 2022
5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Click here to join the Zoom virtual open house
Join by phone
312-626-6799
Meeting ID: 849 6980 0747
Passcode: 174900
In-person open houses:
Thursday, July 28, 2022
8 – 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Fisher Building
3011 W Grand Blvd.
Detroit, MI 48202
Please note that I-94 will be closed, impacting access routes to the Fisher Building.
Accessibility:
Accommodations can be made for persons who require mobility, visual, hearing, written, or other assistance for participation. Large print materials, auxiliary aids or the services of interpreters, signers, or readers are available upon request. Please contact Orlando Curry at 517-241-7462 or complete Form 2658 for American Sign Language (ASL) located on the Title VI webpage: https://www.Michigan.gov/MDOT/Programs/Title-VI. Requests should be made at least five days prior to the meeting date. Reasonable efforts will be made to provide the requested accommodation or an effective alternative, but accommodations may not be guaranteed.
Project information:
The current Amtrak train station and Howard Street intercity bus station have become expensive to maintain due to their age and are not up to standards for accessibility and safety. The NCIF will establish a regional transportation hub providing multimodal access and convenient connectivity with a focus on meeting the needs of disadvantaged communities. It will provide high-quality passenger amenities and public space improvements to enhance the customer and pedestrian experience in the project area.
Public input:
MDOT is currently seeking public input to discuss how the NCIF best serve the community. The virtual open house will be recorded and posted on the project website along with an online survey to provide feedback. Comments can be submitted via an online comment form, e-mail, phone, and in person at the public meeting.
Monica Monsma
MDOT Environmental Services Section
425 West Ottawa St.
P.O. Box 30050
Lansing, MI 48909
517-335-4381
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by Becky Andrus | Jul 8, 2022 | Transportation
A second Flex Route takes shape in Michigan, easing daily commutes for thousands
On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation with Brian Travis, Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) project manager on the I-96 Flex Route in western Oakland County.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/10922972-a-second-flex-route-takes-shape-in-michigan-easing-daily-commutes-for-thousands
The $269 million project, allowing for the use of shoulders as travel lanes during peak travel times, is MDOT’s second use of the traffic innovation. In 2016 and 2017, contractors built the first phase of a Flex Route, a $125 million investment on US-23 north of Ann Arbor.
A project is in design now for a second phase, at an estimated cost of $146 million, to extend the Flex Route from north of 8 Mile Road to I-96.
Travis says the Oakland County project is on schedule and talks about the three-year timeline. He also touts the safety and efficiency benefits the added capacity during peak travel hours will provide.
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 improves the condition of the state’s infrastructure.
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by Becky Andrus | Jun 27, 2022 | Transportation
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Extreme speeds during the pandemic captures police attention
In response to a dramatic increase in speeding drivers beginning with the pandemic stay-at-home advisories in 2020 and continuing now, traffic safety experts and law enforcement officials are working to understand the behavior.
On this week’s edition of the Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, Carol Flannagan, director of the Center for Management of Information for Safe and Sustainable Transportation (CMISST) at the University of Michigan (UM) and research professor at UM’s Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI), talks about her research and theories about the epidemic of speeding and other risky behavior.
Listen now: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1374205/10830605-extreme-speeds-during-the-pandemic-captures-police-attention
This comes as the Michigan Office of Highway Safety Planning (OHSP) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are once again partnering on a regional traffic safety campaign. As noted in their news release: “As part of the ‘Great Lakes, High Stakes’ campaign, dozens of municipal, county and Michigan State Police (MSP) law enforcement agencies across Michigan will focus on speeding drivers between June 18 and 26.”
Among other topics, Flannagan talks about the challenging decisions for auto manufacturers in rolling out automated vehicle (AV) technology. She acknowledges that it’s much easier for AVs to communicate and predict what other vehicles will do rather than what humans will do.
She also discusses:
- Effectiveness of high-visibility enforcement and impacts on driver behavior.
- Crash stats. From 2011 to 2019, fatalities were flat, but in July 2020 the rate of speeding-related fatalities spiked.
- Frontal automatic emergency braking is effective, reducing frontal crashes by 50 percent.
- Manufacturers have been shifting from warning systems for drivers to automatic systems, which is much more effective.
Also discussed, the resistance and challenges to acceptance of Advance Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) and projections for broad adoption. Just this week, the NHTSA released data on the topic, but there are concerns about context.
And a reference to a supercut video of Elon Musk predicting the timeframe for broad deployment of AV technology.
Podcast photo: Carol A. Flannagan, Ph.D., Research Professor, University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI).
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by Becky Andrus | Jun 16, 2022 | Transportation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT
June 15, 2022 James Lake
906-250-0993
[email protected]
200 millionth vehicle crosses the Mackinac Bridge
Fast facts:
– At 6:18 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, 2022, the Dalman family of Tawas City drove the 200 millionth vehicle across the Mackinac Bridge since its opening on Nov. 1, 1957.
– On Sept. 6, 2009, Richard Snyder of Clare, Michigan, drove the 150 millionth vehicle across the bridge.
ST. IGNACE, Mich. – It was a chance occurrence, but it still makes for a cool story.
After driving the 200 millionth vehicle across the Mackinac Bridge at 6:18 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, the Dalman family of Tawas City now has the bragging rights and the sole claim to this milestone. Kurt Dalman was driving, with passengers Anna Dalman, and their children, Seth and Teresa.
“We’re headed to Pictured Rocks. This will be the kids’ first big hike,” Anna Dalman said. “We were very surprised. We had no idea (this milestone was coming up).”
Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) Chairman Patrick “Shorty” Gleason, member Caroline Cheeseman, and MBA staff met the Dalmans outside on the toll plaza after they drove their 2021 Toyota Corolla hybrid through the booths, paying $4 cash in the northbound direction. They presented the family a framed print of the Mackinac Bridge, while Amy Millard, executive director of the Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce, and Lora Brown, executive director of the St. Ignace Visitors Bureau, gave them a gift basket full of local items.
“It’s our customers who pay the tolls that support the ongoing operation and maintenance of the Mackinac Bridge, so it’s only right that we recognize this milestone in the bridge’s 65-year history,” Gleason said on the occasion. “The bridge has been a critical connection for our state for more than six decades now, but it’s remarkable to know that so many vehicles, and countless more people, have crossed in that time.”
On Sept. 6, 2009, Richard Snyder of Clare, Michigan, drove the 150 millionth vehicle across the bridge.
Construction on the Mackinac Bridge began in May 1954 and the completed structure was opened to traffic on Nov. 1, 1957. The MBA’s sole source of funding is from tolls and fees collected, with all revenue used to maintain, operate and protect the bridge. More information about the bridge can be found at www.MackinacBridge.org.
Photo caption information:
Mackinac Bridge 200 millionth vehicle.jpg – The Dalman family of Tawas City, far right, received a local gift basket and a framed print of the Mackinac Bridge after they drove the 200 millionth vehicle across the bridge. Left to right: MBA Chief Bridge Engineer Julie Neph; Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Amy Millard; St. Ignace Visitors Bureau Executive Director Lora Brown; MBA Member Caroline Cheeseman; MBA Chairman Patrick “Shorty” Gleason; Seth Dalman; Anna Dalman; Teresa Dalman; and Kurt Dalman.
