The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced it had awarded nearly $50 million in Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) grants Thursday.
The grants will fund 10 projects that use advanced intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies to improve mobility and safety, as well as support vehicle connectivity.
“This $49.6 million in grant funding will support innovative solutions to improve connectivity and help prepare America’s transportation systems for the future,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
The grants fund early deployments of “forward-looking technologies that can serve as national models,” the department said.
Included in the projects were those that operate with connected and automated technologies.
“The program selections this year look to the future to help ensure that our nation’s highway network can accommodate the many advanced technologies on the horizon,” said Federal Highway Administrator Nicole R. Nason.
Among the grants were $4 million for the city of Dallas to fund the S.M. Wright Smart Corridor, $3,206,809 for the Georgia Department of Transportation for the “Emergency Vehicle Pre-emption Using Connected Vehicle Technology” project, and $9,950,098 for the University of Michigan for the “Smart Intersections: Paving the Way for a National CAV Deployment” program.
The department said it had chosen the projects out of more than 45 applications that requested more than $205 million. Established under the FAST Act, the ATCMTD has provided more than $256 million over the past five years to more than 45 projects implemented by state departments of transportation, local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations, and other entities.