Reprise: Focusing on the work force as we enter a new road construction season

As road agencies across the state prepare for the 2026 road and bridge construction season, this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast is a reprise of an August 2025 episode that focused on jobs tied to road and bridge building.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter Aug. 7, 2025, to the directors of the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity (LEO), calling on them to compile and publicly release data on the impact of the state’s road funding cliff and federal funding rollbacks and policies on Michigan’s economy and employment.

First, Heath Salisbury, financial secretary and training director for Operating Engineers 324, talked about what investments in infrastructure mean to people in the skilled trades and the thousands of jobs involved.

Salisbury offers his own perspective as a veteran of the industry, working in the trenches, then later in training workers and developing a work force capable of building in a modern environment where technology is evolving rapidly.

Later, Karen Faussett, who manages MDOT’s statewide and urban travel analysis section, talked about how her team tracks the economic benefits of investment in transportation infrastructure.