FHWA Releases Implementation Plan for Highway Connectivity Technology

Any implementation of vehicle-to-everything communication in the U.S. will require input and coordination from multiple stakeholders.

Graphic courtesy FHWA

In a move to use advanced technology to improve highway safety, the Federal Highway Administration has released a extensive blueprint for implementing the use of vehicle-to-everything, or V2X, connectivity through 2036.

Construction-related elements of the plan, released on Aug. 16, include roadside infrastructure and applications that center on on making highway work zones safer for workers and motorists.

In a briefing on the plan at the U.S. Dept. of Transportation’s headquarters, Robert Hampshire, DOT assistant secretary for research and technology, said, “We believe that by integrating advanced technologies, we can make our roads safer for everyone who uses them.”

Advocates of the plan see it as an important next step for an important technology. FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt said, “This is not about pilot programs.” Bhatt added, “This is proven technology that works."

Bhatt said that the infusion of highway funding in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has benefited V2X.

FHWA Grants

In June, FHWA awarded three grants, totaling $58.8 million, to advance V2X.

Among the grantees, Maricopa County DOT in Arizona received $19.6 million, to link 750 physical roadside units and virtual units to 400 onboard units in transit, emergency and freight fleets.

The Texas A&M Transportation Institute received $19.2 million for a plan that addresses needs of several groups, including workers in highway construction zones.

The Utah DOT received $20 million for a project spanning all of the state, as well as Interstate-80's entire length in Wyoming and large stretches of Colorado. The applications include weather impact, warnings about high speed curves and other safety-alert technologies.

Other V2X deployments are in California, Michigan and Virginia.

Cathy McGhee, Virginia DOT chief deputy commissioner, said the department "jumped in with both feet" with connected and automated vehicles, deployed roadside units and formed partnerships with auto companies and universities.

For example, VDOT has a long-standing joint effort with the Virginia Tech Institute to develop applications aimed at work zone safety. But she said, "Taking the next step, to full deployment, will require funding."

McGhee said legislators "want more data" to quantify V2X before committing additional funds.

Asked about the needs for roadside units, Bhatt said that the technology keeps evolving. "The roadside unit of today could be replaced by a cellular 5G signal in the future." he said. And keeping up with the changes "is going to take a significant investment by the public sector," Bhatt added.

But Bhatt underscored the importance of the investment, "I am unaware of a more significant technology deployment that we can do other than V2X right now that can help save lives and make people's lives better."

Multiyear Goals

Among non-funding needs, Laura Chace, president and CEO of industry group ITS America, said advocates of the technology are awaiting the Federal Communications Commission's final regulation for the 5.9 gigahertz spectrum, so that V2X can be deployed "imminently."

In the plan, DOT sets short-, medium- and long-term goals in multiyear intervals from 2024 through 2036 for infrastructure deployments, spectrum and interoperability.

For example, short-term goals include having V2X deployed on 20% of the National Highway System by 2028. Medium-term goals include having V2X in place on 50% of the National Highway System by 2031 and long-term goals include having V2X in place on 75% the National Highway System by 2036.

The NHS includes the Interstate system as well as major arterials.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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