US Department of Transportation (USDoT)’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is awarding $60 million in grants to help three states - Arizona, Texas and Utah - roll out Vehicle to Everything (V2X) technology.
The money is given out under the Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment programme, which focuses 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.
“As this Department explores every measure that can help reduce roadway fatalities, connected vehicle technology—like V2X—has potential to make roads safer and save lives,” said US secretary of transportation Pete Buttigieg.
“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 "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".
The grants go to:
Arizona
Maricopa County DoT 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 on-board 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 in Maricopa County, as well as along Arizona DoT’s US 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 cities. The project serves to enhance safety, efficiency and mobility for vulnerable road users at signalised intersections, emergency responders navigating through varying traffic scenarios, transit operators seeking efficient routes, workers operating within construction zones and everyday motorists.
Utah
Utah DoT 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, I-70 from Denver to the Utah border, and I-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, traveller information and vulnerable road user and other safety alert technologies.
More information on the V2X grants is available here
