The Federal Highway Administration issued $43.3 million in Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment or ATCMTD grants to 10 states for “forward-looking technology” projects that use feature real-time traveler information, vehicle communications technologies, artificial intelligence, and bicycle-pedestrian safety systems.
[Above photo by the Ohio DOT.]
Established by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act, the FHWA noted in a statement that the ATCMTD program has funded more than 35 projects worth $207 million guided by state departments of transportation, local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations and other eligible entities.
The projects receiving funds via this round of ATCMTD grants include $4.4 million to help fund the I-70 Truck Automation Corridor, which is involves DriveOhio – an initiative of the Ohio Department of Transportation – the Indiana Department of Transportation and the Ohio-based Transportation Research Center. That project involved deploying partially-automated freight trucks in daily revenue service operations along I-70 between Columbus and Indianapolis.
“Once again, collaboration [is] the key to success [as this] project team features state DOTs, technology providers, and the men and women of the freight industry,” explained Jack Marchbanks, director of the Ohio DOT, in a statement.
“We have something special here,” added Patrick Smith, interim executive director for DriveOhio.
“As self-driving technology matures it is important that everyone has a seat at the table,” he added. “With the coalition of public, private and research institutions that we have built, we’re confident this project will provide valuable insights to the U.S. Department of Transportation and industry as we develop smart logistics policies, procedures and technology standards that will be shared across the nation.”
“Connected and autonomous driving technology is revolutionizing how we move people and products across our country,” noted Indiana DOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness in a separate statement.
“Indiana and Ohio are proud to partner with USDOT to lead in the deployment of technology in a multistate highway corridor that will guide the future of automated driving and freight movement,” he added.
Other state DOTs receiving funds via this round of ATCMTD grants include the Michigan Department of Transportation, which is getting $5.5 million to support its Intelligent Woodward Corridor Project and the Hawaii Department of Transportation, which will receive $6.85 million to implement intelligent transportation systems technologies statewide, specifically with vehicle-to-everything or V2X capabilities for connected vehicle and traffic infrastructure.