WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is awarding $60 million in grants to three states under the Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment program in an effort to advance vehicle safety technologies.
Deployments utilizing V2X technologies have demonstrated the safety benefits on a smaller scale, federal officials note.
The Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment initiative is focused on road safety, mobility and efficiency through technology that enables vehicles and wireless devices to communicate with each other and with roadside infrastructure and provide warnings, a news release states.
This means cars and big rigs will be able to effectively communicate with traffic devices and the roadside.
“These grants are leading the way in promoting and deploying V2X technologies to explore the potential to save lives on our nation’s highways,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “The funding provided today will help accelerate the technology so that we can deploy it on a national scale and provide new tools to reduce deaths on our nation’s roads and highways.”
Arizona
The Maricopa County Department of Transportation will receive $19.6 million to lead a largescale deployment of V2X technologies, relying primarily on 5.9 GHz communications, to connect 750 physical roadside units and virtual roadside units to an estimated 400 vehicle onboard units targeting transit, emergency and freight fleets. The project will deploy Emergency Vehicle Preemption, Vulnerable Road User detection, Transit Signal Priority and Freight Signal Priority applications in the cities of Phoenix, Tolleson, Avondale and unincorporated Maricopa County, as well as along Arizona Department of Transportation’s U.S. 60.
Texas
Texas A&M Transportation Institute will receive $19.2 million to deploy V2X technology in the Greater Houston area, the City of College Station, including near the campus of Texas A&M University and the corridors connecting these two metropolitan cities. The project serves to holistically enhance safety, efficiency, and overall mobility for vulnerable road users situated at signalized intersections, emergency responders navigating through varying traffic scenarios, transit operators seeking efficient routes, workers operating within construction zones and everyday motorists.
Utah
The Utah Department of Transportation will receive $20 million toward V2X deployment sites in three states — Utah, Colorado and Wyoming — each representing a broad variety of population densities, demographics, jurisdictions, topography and transportation facilities. The project covers all of Utah, I-80 through the entire length of Wyoming and major portions of Colorado, including the Denver Metro Area, Interstate 70 from Denver to the Utah border and Interstate 25 through Colorado. The applications focus on safety, mobility and environment, and support the ability to demonstrate measurable impact and address critical needs including connected intersection, weather impact, curve speed warning, traveler information and vulnerable road user and other safety alert technologies.
Born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, and raised in East Texas, John Worthen returned to his home state to attend college in 1998 and decided to make his life in The Natural State. Worthen is a 20-year veteran of the journalism industry and has covered just about every topic there is. He has a passion for writing and telling stories. He has worked as a beat reporter and bureau chief for a statewide newspaper and as managing editor of a regional newspaper in Arkansas. Additionally, Worthen has been a prolific freelance journalist for two decades, and has been published in several travel magazines and on travel websites.
