Grant Awardees Lead the Way in Deploying Potentially Lifesaving Vehicle-to-Everything Technologies: A Message from Brian Cronin

As you may have heard, on Thursday, June 20, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Federal Highway Administration announced that it is awarding $60 million in grants under the Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment program to advance connected and interoperable vehicle technologies. The grants to recipients in Arizona, Texas, and Utah will serve as national models to accelerate and spur new deployments of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies.

The Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment initiative is focused 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.

The grants will promote the deployment of V2X technologies with the goal of advancing the full lifesaving potential of V2X communication, while ensuring connected technologies communicate securely and without harmful interference across a variety of devices and platforms.

Photo: USDOT

The awardees are:

Arizona: The Maricopa County DOT will receive $19.6 million to lead a large-scale 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 onboard 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, and Avondale and in unincorporated Maricopa County, as well as along the Arizona DOT’s U.S. 60.

Brian Cronin, ITS JPO Director, interviewed as part of the Maricopa County NOFO awardee announcement.
Photo: Courtesy of Maricopa County

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 metropolitan cities. The project serves to holistically enhance safety, efficiency, and overall mobility for vulnerable road users situated at signalized intersections, emergency responders navigating through varying traffic scenarios, transit operators seeking efficient routes, workers operating within construction zones, and everyday motorists.

Utah: The 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 metropolitan 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, traveler information, and vulnerable road user and other safety alert technologies.

Brian Cronin, ITS JPO Director, Egan Smith, ITS JPO Managing Director, and Blaine Leonard, Transportation Technology Engineer Utah DOT,
at the Utah DOT NOFO awardee announcement event. Photo: USDOT

I was thrilled to attend the press events in Utah and Arizona to launch the V2X Accelerator Grants, and look forward to a press event in Houston, Texas in the coming weeks.

Congratulations to all three awardees, who are helping to accelerate the development and adoption of potentially lifesaving V2X technology nationwide. I look forward to seeing the results of their efforts and hope that many others will follow their example.

Brian Cronin, Director, ITS JPO

Posted 7/2/24