Skip to main content

Virginia Automated Corridors unveiled

The Virginia Automated Corridors, a new initiative that its developers claim will revolutionise the development and deployment of automated vehicles, has been unveiled on more than 70 miles of interstates and arterial roads in the Northern Virginia region. The Corridors were established by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation; the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles; Transurban; and Here, Nokia’s mapping business in support of the tran
June 3, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
The Virginia Automated Corridors, a new initiative that its developers claim will revolutionise the development and deployment of automated vehicles, has been unveiled on more than 70 miles of interstates and arterial roads in the Northern Virginia region.

The Corridors were established by the 5593 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in partnership with the 1747 Virginia Department of Transportation; the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles; 600 Transurban; and 7643 Here, 183 Nokia’s mapping business in support of the transportation institute’s automated vehicle research.

The corridors include Interstates 66, 495, and 95, as well as state routes 29 and 50, roads which compose one of the most congested corridors in the US, with multiple transportation challenges that could be mitigated through the use of automation, including congestion. The corridors also include two test-track environments: the Virginia Smart Road, located on-site at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute; and the Virginia International Raceway.

The Virginia Automated Corridors integrate a range of resources, including access to dedicated high-occupancy toll lanes managed by Transurban along Interstates 495 and 95; high-definition mapping capabilities, real-time traffic and incidents, intelligent routing, and location cloud technology supported by Here, which has worked with major automakers on previous automated-vehicle projects; pavement markings maintained by the Virginia Department of Transportation for completeness and retro-reflectivity; accurate localisation via high-precision global navigation satellite systems; connected-vehicle capabilities enabled by dedicated short-range communications and cellular technology; access to sophisticated, unobtrusive data acquisition systems; and operations at higher speeds along a test track that features complex curves.

The corridors will help facilitate the use of state roads and test facilities for automated-vehicle testing, certification, and migration towards deployment.

“Next-generation vehicle technologies can help transform our transportation system, from enhancing safety to supporting driver convenience,” said Tom Dingus, director of the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute. “Our goal with the Virginia Automated Corridors is to ensure automated-vehicle developers and suppliers have access to both a robust roadway environment and significant research support to create, test, and deploy systems that are beneficial to users.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Peachtree offers mobility research vehicle 
    February 16, 2021
    Test vehicle utilises VaaS cameras and intelligent traffic signals
  • Here launches Digital Transportation Infrastructure platform
    October 6, 2015
    Here, a leader in navigation, mapping and location experiences, is launching a new platform called Digital Transportation Infrastructure that provides cost-effective, interoperable analytical software and E2E integration services for Cooperative Intelligent Transportation (C-ITS). That new platform is a main showcase for the company here at the ITS World Congress.
  • Google joins Ford in Detroit mobility hub
    February 10, 2022
    Latest development in industrial city's Corktown district will be a 'transport innovation zone'
  • Improving the positional accuracy of GNSS road user charging
    July 23, 2012
    The European GINA project is intended to address and overcome many of the institutional, technical and public acceptance hurdles currently faced by satellite-based road user charging schemes. Dave Tindall and Denis Naberezhnykh, TRL, and Laure Dezes, ERF, write. Pay-as-you-drive Road User Charging (RUC), whereby demand (or congestion) is managed by applying appropriate tariffs in order to encourage drivers to make their journeys at less busy times, on less congested routes or even on different modes, could