Funds to aid North Carolina transportation safety, efficiency initiative

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The Federal Highway Administration (FHA) has awarded the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) a $2.1 million FAST Act grant to address transportation safety and efficiency.

NCDOT officials indicated the agency would use the funding allotment to partner with North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the City of Raleigh regarding a pilot program evaluating the impact of connected vehicles on driver and pedestrian safety.

The FAST Act was passed in 2015 and provides $305 billion between the 2016 and 2020 fiscal years for highways, motor vehicle safety, public transportation and research, technology, and assistance programs.

“As technology continues to evolve and change, so too must our methods of keeping people safe,” North Carolina Transportation Secretary Eric Boyette said. “This program will give us the tools to do just that and prepare for a future in transportation that will be autonomous, connected, and electric.”

The Multimodal Connected Vehicle Pilot’s work scope includes creating a mobile application designed to send safety notifications to its users – pedestrians, cyclists, transit riders and operators, and motorists.

The app seeks to reduce risks to pedestrians by alerting them when they have priority to cross the street and managing their wait time expectations. Additionally, the app will be accessible to visually impaired students at the Governor Morehead School near NCSU’s campus.

Motorists will be alerted through the app when pedestrians are in the intersection, speed limit thresholds are exceeded, red-light violations have occurred, or there is work zone activity.