Between Two Shovels with Derek Minnema

Derek Minnema
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  • Education
  • Biweekly

Between Two Shovels is an executive-level transportation podcast on turning policy and funding into reality hosted by the Capital SouthEast Connector JPA in California. Senior guests include DOTs, counties, cities, contractors, engineering firms, trucking, and supply chains—including Illinois RTBA, Texas DOT, and Caltrans. California contractors, union laborers, supply chain advisors, and the California Trucking Association share candid lessons. Expect practical, accountable insight on cost, schedule, risk, and delivery that safeguards public dollars and improves mobility.

  1. 4d ago

    Between Two Shovels Ep.34: Sabrina Drago - Winning Grants, Express Lanes & Pay-Per-Mile

    Drago Vantage’s first grant application won $103 million for the Yolo 80 managed lanes project. At the time of recording, tolls on those lanes were planned to move with traffic, from $0.75 up to $10. Carpools of three or more would ride free. Sabrina Drago, founder of Drago Vantage and former executive director of the Sacramento Transportation Authority, joined me on Between Two Shovels to talk about what wins discretionary grants, how express lanes work, and whether Californians should pay by the mile. Thank you, Sabrina, for comparing notes on what it is like to come from the private sector into the top job at a small public agency. When your agency writes a grant application, how much of it is about the people the project will serve? Chapters: 0:00 How to Win Transportation Grants and Fund Infrastructure 4:17 Stakeholder vs Public Engagement: How to Reach People Who Never Go to Public Meetings 14:51 Why Local Transportation Sales Tax Measures Fail, and What It Will Take to Pass One 22:05 Why Widening Freeways Won’t Fix Traffic: How Managed Lanes Free Up the Road 30:33 Rural Roads vs Big City Freeways: Who Gets Transportation Funding? 33:55 Should Californians Pay Per Mile Driven? The Case for a Road User Charge 40:25 How to Win Transportation Grants: Make It About People, Not Pavement  Guest: Sabrina Drago, CEO & President, Drago Vantage Hear from government and public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision makers, development managers, and more who are shaping our industry. Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovels Title: Between Two Shovels Ep.34: Sabrina Drago - Winning Grants, Express Lanes & Pay-Per-Mile

  2. 4d ago

    Recycling Wastewater for Sacramento County Farms

    Harvest Water’s state funding comes with a contract to deliver ecological benefits to the Sacramento region for 84 years. At the time of recording, the $597 million project had close to $420 million in outside funding lined up, most of it from the state. Water is set to start flowing in program year 2027. Jofil Borja, Environmental Legislative & Regulatory Affairs | Harvest Water APMO, Sacramento Area Sewer District, joined me on Between Two Shovels to talk about how recycled water can help refill local groundwater, how the project’s funding came together, and what it takes to compete for state dollars. Thank you, Jofil, for the details all the way down to the connection assemblies that will tie the new pipes into growers’ irrigation equipment. How many funding sources did your last project need before construction could start? Chapters:  0:00 Trailer  1:32 Intro  4:18 What Is Harvest Water?  6:11 How the Project Started  8:26 Is Recycled Water Safe? 14:19 How It’s Funded  16:38 Pipeline and Roads  20:14 Managing Six Projects at Once  23:10 Ecological Benefits  28:02 Impact on Ratepayers  30:02 Winning State Funding  35:05 Final Thoughts Guest: Jofil Borja, Environmental Legislative & Regulatory Affairs | Harvest Water APMO, Sacramento Area Sewer District Hear from government and public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision makers, development managers, and more who are shaping our industry. Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovels Title: Recycling Wastewater for Sacramento County Farms #BetweenTwoShovels #HarvestWater #RecycledWater #WaterInfrastructure #SacramentoCounty

  3. Sep 27

    A Civil Engineer on 50 Years of Sacramento Growth, CEQA, and the Capital SouthEast Connector

    A subdivision in the region once got approved in a single night. Today, Folsom's development south of Highway 50 went from planning in 2005 to a groundbreaking in 2017. By Jim's estimate, something like 250,000 more housing units are in the regional pipeline. Jim Ray, a civil engineer in his 50th year with MacKay & Somps Civil Engineers, joined me on Between Two Shovels to talk about how the California Environmental Quality Act changed development, the seven-year Water Forum negotiation over American River water, and where the region's growth is headed next. Thank you, Jim, for bringing 50 years of perspective, going back to when the Capital SouthEast Connector was still a bypass idea called the Beltway. How long did your last project take to get from planning to shovels in the ground? Chapters: 00:00 Introduction and fifty years in the industry 01:42 Growing up with a father who shaped Sacramento's transportation system 06:20 What goes into master planning a large development 08:39 How CEQA changed development timelines and costs 10:56 The regional habitat conservation plan and Folsom's south of 50 project 17:38 Decades of leadership with the Building Industry Association 18:09 The seven year negotiation behind the Water Forum agreement 27:56 250,000 housing units and where they are concentrated 30:03 Why infrastructure often comes after development, not before 31:42 The challenge of infill development in the urban core 35:57 A project that did not survive neighborhood opposition 43:51 Advice for young engineers entering the profession Guest: Jim Ray, Former Principal and President, MacKay & Somps Civil Engineers, Inc. Hear from government and public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision makers, development managers, and more who are shaping our industry. Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovels Between Two Shovels is produced by the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority and explores transportation policy, engineering, and project delivery through conversations with industry leaders. Title: A Civil Engineer on 50 Years of Sacramento Growth, CEQA, and the Capital SouthEast Connector #BetweenTwoShovels #CivilEngineering #LandDevelopment #SacramentoRegion #CapitalSouthEastConnector

  4. Sep 25

    Between Two Shovels Ep.30: Mariah Ray - On-Demand Autonomous Vehicles on Dedicated Guideway

    Mariah Ray, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Glydways, breaks down Automated Transit Networks and how on-demand, autonomous public transit is getting built, regulated, and paid for. The conversation covers the Glydcar and its dedicated guideway, the 50-year-old Morgantown PRT system it builds on, project procurement across the San José Airport Connector and a 28-mile East Contra Costa network, and per-mile construction costs that run a fraction of traditional heavy rail. Timestamps:  0:00 - Meet Mariah Ray and Glydways  0:27 - What an Automated Transit Network Actually Is  2:06 - Origin Story and the Morgantown PRT Roots  3:29 - Inside the Glydcar: Purpose-Built, Battery Electric, Autonomous  5:24 - Offline Stations and Hailing a Ride Point to Point  6:32 - Test Tracks in Concord and Richmond  7:58 - Who Buys This? How Transit Systems Get Procured  8:36 - Three Projects and the Unit Economics Problem in Transit  12:08 - VTA Roots and the Bay Area's Transit Gaps  12:43 - Regulatory Navigation: GDOT, FTA Oversight, and the CPUC  14:28 - Cost to the Rider and Cost to Build, Per Mile  17:35 - Why Point to Point Beats Moving People in Big Batches  19:02 - ADA Access, Level Boarding, and Riding With Dignity  21:13 - A Tool in the Toolkit: Rethinking How Transit Gets Funded Glydways is deploying its first public system in South Metro Atlanta, with California projects underway in San José and East Contra Costa County. The pitch is not to replace heavy rail but to fill the gap between bus and train, using smaller autonomous vehicles on narrow guideway at a cost per mile that puts stalled corridors back in play. Hear from government and public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision makers, development managers, and more who are shaping our industry. Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovels Between Two Shovels is produced by the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority and explores transportation policy, engineering, and project delivery through conversations with industry leaders. #PublicTransit #AutomatedTransitNetwork #Glydways #TransportationInfrastructure #TransitFunding #AutonomousVehicles

  5. Sep 25

    Why Construction Materials Cost So Much in California

    Prices go up. Then the same policymakers who drove those costs go on television promising to bring them down. This conversation traces the price of rock, sand, gravel, asphalt, and concrete back to a mix of energy costs, regulation, and local opposition that pushes production out of the state entirely. When California's largest cement plant in the north shut down, the market lost a major local supplier and had to start importing instead, which drove costs up for the entire region. Import the material and the state gets to claim cleaner air on paper, even while increasing the overall carbon footprint by shipping it in on diesel barges. Distance plays its own role too. Add 25 miles to a project's transport route and the cost of the material itself can nearly double, even though the raw rock is not expensive on its own. The bigger point here is about balance. Materials, mobility, and land use decisions all connect, and when short term policy wins take priority over long term planning, the cost eventually lands on the next generation trying to build in this state. Link below. Guest: Robert Duggan, President and CEO of the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association Hear from government and public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision makers, development managers, and more who are shaping our industry. Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovels Between Two Shovels is produced by the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority and explores transportation policy, engineering, and project delivery through conversations with industry leaders. Title: Why Construction Materials Cost So Much in California #ConstructionMaterials #California #Infrastructure #SupplyChain #BetweenTwoShovels

  6. Aug 31

    Between Two Shovels Ep.29: Joe Cruz - SB 1, High-Speed Rail, and the Funding Cliff

    This episode goes deep with Joe Cruz, Vice Chair of the California Transportation Commission and Executive Director of the California State Council of Laborers. From his start on the campaign trail to representing 75,000 workers statewide, Joe shares the real story behind SB1, the political battle over Prop 6, and how high speed rail almost never made it onto the ballot. Joe also opens up about the mentors who shaped his career, the advice he'd give to young professionals trying to break into the industry, and why funding infrastructure in California keeps getting harder every year. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome and introduction 01:19 Growing up in Sacramento and getting his start in politics 04:43 How he landed a seat on the California Transportation Commission 08:42 The real story behind SB1, Prop 6, and the fight to pass a gas tax 12:36 Running an organization of 75,000 workers and creating paths to the middle class 15:24 Funding challenges facing the California Transportation Commission 17:57 What California needs from the next federal infrastructure bill 20:02 The mentors behind his career, including Willie Brown 22:44 His advice for young professionals coming up in the industry 25:03 The untold story of how high speed rail almost didn't happen 28:39 Final thoughts and who to invite on next Watch the full conversation to hear how California's infrastructure gets built, funded, and fought for behind the scenes. Hear from government/public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision-makers, development managers, & more that are shaping our industry. Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and Subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at : https://www.connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovels Between Two Shovels is produced by the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority and explores transportation policy, engineering, and project delivery through conversations with industry leaders.

  7. Aug 4

    Between Two Shovels Ep.28: Kiana Valentine - California's $200 Billion Transportation Funding Crisis

    Kiana Valentine is Executive Director of Transportation California, a labor and management coalition founded in the 1990s that brings together building trades organizations, heavy civil contractors, equipment providers, and material suppliers around one mission: securing sustainable funding for the state's multimodal transportation system. She has spent more than twenty years in transportation policy, starting in the California State Legislature on environmental policy, then at the California State Association of Counties working land use and transportation on behalf of all 58 counties. Her organization commissioned the independent study that narrowed more than thirty gas tax replacement options down to three viable paths.In this episode of Between Two Shovels, we sit down with Kiana for a direct conversation about how California pays for its roads and why that model is running out. The shortfall exceeding $200 billion over the next ten years. Why SB1 generated $54 billion and still did not close the gap. How improved fuel efficiency became a funding problem without becoming a policy failure. Why zero emission vehicles paying a fraction into the system is a fairness question rather than an argument against them. The three paths forward, and why the one that sounded simplest turned out to be the hardest to implement. What suspending the gas tax would actually save a driver. How SB 743 made the Golden 1 Center possible. Why State Route 99 still drops from three lanes to two roughly eight times across the corridor. And how a Southern California managed lane project ended up with a mitigation bill larger than the project itself, without adding an inch of new pavement.Chapters : 00:00 Introduction 00:47 Transportation California: a labor and management coalition 02:00 Environmental policy, land use, and how the two connect 04:00 The shortfall, and how California got here 04:45 SB1 and the question of what it actually solved 06:52 Better mileage, smaller funding base 08:28 Electric vehicle adoption and the fairness question 13:00 Thirty options narrowed to seven 15:02 Taxing electricity and hydrogen 15:52 Replacing the gas tax with a road user charge 16:30 The mixed model 18:00 Why a kilowatt hour tax is harder than it sounds 20:32 Suspending the gas tax, and what drivers would actually save 22:49 Jobs, projects, and deferred maintenance 24:13 Vehicle miles traveled 25:32 SB 743, CEQA, and the Golden 1 Center 28:00 State Route 99 and the lane drops 29:16 When mitigation costs more than the project 32:30 What California has to get right nextHear from government/public sector leaders, transportation executives, funding decision-makers, development managers, & more that are shaping our industry.Watch more of the Between Two Shovels show and Subscribe to our Connector JPA project updates email list at : https://www.connectorjpa.com/between-two-shovelsBetween Two Shovels is produced by the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority and explores transportation policy, engineering, and project delivery through conversations with industry leaders.

  8. Jul 21

    Between Two Shovels Ep.27: Clifton Taylor - The Real Economics of Land Development

    Clifton Taylor is President of Taylor Builders, a company he and his wife founded eight and a half years ago. Since then they have delivered over 10,000 housing units across Northern California and built roughly $750 million in infrastructure improvements. He is also past chair of the North State Building Industry Association and co-owner of the Lincoln Potters, a collegiate wood bat baseball team in downtown Lincoln. In this episode of Between Two Shovels, we sit down with Clifton for an honest conversation about what land development actually looks like in Northern California right now. The real math behind housing affordability. Why public pensions are demanding the highest returns in real estate. How rural roads in Placer County became de facto regional highways. Why specialty infrastructure timelines have stretched to 24 months. What is taking shape at Placer One. And why Sacramento, Placer, and Yolo need to start thinking about transportation funding as a regional problem, not a county-by-county one. Chapters: 0:00 Placer County Growth: Housing, Rural Roads, Public Pensions & NorCal's First Surf Lagoon 10:30 Placer County's Rural Roads Are Becoming Highways: Threatening Safety and Housing Growth 13:45 Why Specialized Infrastructure Projects Now Take 24 Months to Build in California 15:30 Is Sacramento Losing to the Bay Area? A Homebuilder's Honest Answer 19:30 Why Transportation Infrastructure and Land Use Planning Are Critical to Placer One's Growth 27:00 Placer County Development Boom: Placer One Homes, Sac State Campus & Surf Lagoon 29:00 Why Sacramento, Placer and Yolo Need a Regional Transportation Funding Strategy Guest: Clifton Taylor, President at Taylor Builders Between Two Shovels is produced by the Capital SouthEast Connector Joint Powers Authority and explores transportation policy, engineering, and project delivery through conversations with industry leaders. Title: Between Two Shovels Ep.27: Clifton Taylor - The Real Economics of Land Development

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Between Two Shovels is an executive-level transportation podcast on turning policy and funding into reality hosted by the Capital SouthEast Connector JPA in California. Senior guests include DOTs, counties, cities, contractors, engineering firms, trucking, and supply chains—including Illinois RTBA, Texas DOT, and Caltrans. California contractors, union laborers, supply chain advisors, and the California Trucking Association share candid lessons. Expect practical, accountable insight on cost, schedule, risk, and delivery that safeguards public dollars and improves mobility.

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