Robert C. Hampshire, the U.S. Department of Transportation's chief scientist and deputy assistant secretary for research and technology, said the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grant will pay for the first phase of the project.
"This technology enables vehicles, pedestrians and infrastructure to talk to one another, particularly for the purpose of safety," he said, adding that these projects are supported by a host of public and private agencies.
The connected-vehicle plan would create a system that could broadcast safety alerts to drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcyclists with equipment to receive the messages. Sensors at intersections would detect other vehicles as well as pedestrians, motorcyclists and bicyclists that aren't connected to the infrastructure.
The technology could, for example, turn a green light yellow to protect a pedestrian or send a signal to drivers to alert them. The system can also help driverless cars better navigate intersections, where most crashes occur.
The 5-year, $500 million SMART investment in transportation technology to improve safety and efficiency is funded by the bipartisan Infrastructure Act. There were 59 grants made across the U.S. for everything from drones for infrastructure inspections in Alaska to sensors to detect flooding and congestion in Kentucky to developing renewable energy, storage and electricity for a Maine transit agency.
Only six grants are for the connected-vehicle program, ranging from $1 million to $2 million. The Oakland County road commission received $2 million followed by $1.9 million to the transportation departments in Texas and Delaware; $1.8 million for Utah; $1.7 million to the Arizona Commerce Authority; $1.5 to North Carolina's Department of Transportation, and $1.05 million to Gwinnett County, GA.
Grants to other Michigan agencies include $2 million to the City of Detroit to enhance its traffic camera network with artificial intelligence software, which is designed to predict and prevent traffic accidents.
Michigan's Department of Transportation received two grants — $1.3 million to make real-time public transit information accessible in rural Michigan, and $1.8 million for a smart freight system on the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron.
Hampshire said meetings have already started among the six connected-vehicle program grantees to ensure they will be able to share information and innovation as each proceeds with the first phase of the program.
The grant will help the road commission take the "next leap forward to improve transportation technology and transportation safety," said Gary Piotrowicz, the road commission's deputy managing director and county highway engineer. The new project will move the county from a passive safety system dedicated to limiting the impact of a crash with guard rails, safety belts and airbags to one dedicated to preventing crashes by alerting drivers to pedestrians, bicyclists, motorcyclists and other vulnerable travelers.
In 2021, more than 43,000 people died in traffic accidents across the U.S., a rate that has been consistent for nearly 30 years, he said.
"This is simply unacceptable," he said, adding that Oakland County has a crash fatality rate that is 50% lower than state and national figures — saving at least 60 lives every year, he said.
The county will work with P3Mobility, the company that led the University of Michigan's SMART intersection project in Ann Arbor, which started in 2021.
Erin Milligan, P3's founder and CEO, is based in Ann Arbor; her company has representatives and offices in the U.S. and Canada.
She said technology not only saves lives, it can reduce injuries that have life-changing consequences. She experienced this after one of her three sons suffered a severe concussion in an accident that cost him a year of college and has caused debilitating headaches since.
"When my son was hit, I didn't know there was a technology that could have prevented that crash," she said. "But today I do. I know that there is nothing that should get in the way of deploying that technology."
She said the technology will be deployed at about five intersections to start in Oakland County "so people can get a feel for what this technology means and how it works."
Next, she said, will be a campaign to educate the community and work with people in the transportation industry to eliminate obstacles to a wider deployment.
The next step will be a full rollout, which she called "a big lift" that involves bringing together public and private interests as well as addressing implementation costs.
According to a P3 Mobility promotional video, the system can also be used as a moneymaker for freight traffic, fleet intelligence and road-use charges, such as congestion pricing.
Andrea LaLonde, who chairs Oakland County's road commission, said data collected and transmitted would not be stored.
"I'm very privacy driven ... I'm not willing to hand my privacy away," she said. "If it's something you have to opt into then it is your choice whether you want to allow that information. If other things remain anonymous, I don't have an issue with that kind of data transfer."
The U.S. DOT hosted its third annual Saving Lives With Connectivity summit on Thursday, Oct. 26, in Ann Arbor. To learn more, visit https://www.its.dot.gov/research_areas/emerging_tech/htm/ITS_V2X_CommunicationSummit.htm.
For updates on the county road commission's plan, visit www.rcocweb.org.
© 2023 The Oakland Press, Sterling Heights, Mich. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
