As lawmakers complete a Fiscal Year 2026 budget agreement, one component involves removing the sales tax on fuel and adding a commensurate amount to the fuel tax and putting it toward transportation.

This week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast revisits a 2024 conversation with a veteran Michigan pollster about his survey then showing an overwhelming number of voters want the taxes they pay at the pump to fix roads and bridges.

Michigan is among states with a sales tax on motor fuels. That tax, 6 percent, does not go to roads and bridges. By law, the proceeds support the school aid fund, revenue sharing for local municipalities and a minor portion helps fund local transit services.

Bernie Porn, president of the polling firm EPIC-MRA, explained that all survey respondents were asked, “Do you think that all of the taxes that you pay at the gas pump should or should not go toward funding improvements to Michigan’s roads and bridges?”

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, news that a federal grant will allow for the study of wildlife crossings to protect motorists and animals alike.

Amanda Novak, a resource specialist at the Michigan Department of Transportation who helped lead the effort to secure the grant, returns to explain the benefits.

The grant award comes at a good time as State Farm released an annual report this week that shows Michigan ranked fourth among states for vehicle collisions with animals.

As reported previously, these crashes pose tremendous risk and costs to drivers. For example, white-tailed deer alone account for more than 55,000 collisions and a $130 million cost to drivers per year.

Novak talks about what she’s learned from other government agencies, which have studied the problem and implemented mitigation efforts.

A previous episode of the podcast featured a conversation with a connectivity specialist with the Yellowstone to Yukon (Y2Y) Conservation Initiative about creative and successful solutions implemented on the Trans-Canada Highway in Banff National Park.

Podcast photo: An animal-crossing sign for tortoises. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith on Noun Project.

On this week’s Talking Michigan Transportation podcast, a conversation about the Michigan State Police (MSP) deploying added enforcement in freeway work zones.

MC Lt. Jason Zylstra of MSP’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division (CVED) explains why they launched special enforcement in segments with major work like the heavily traveled I-96 in Ionia County.

MSP observes that 97 percent of at-fault crashes involving large trucks and buses are caused by driver behavior.

Zylstra also discusses:

• The need for trucks to maintain a proper distance to other vehicles.
• The dangers of trucks blocking lanes in zipper-merge zones and why law enforcement issues citations for that behavior.
• Special inspections for tires, equipment and other components of commercial vehicles.