Building the Foundation for a Connected Transportation System
The transportation system now depends as much on transportation digital infrastructure (TDI) as it does on pavement and concrete, but its deployment remains fragmented across jurisdictions, agencies, and sectors. The Digital Corridors Initiative (DCI) Coalition was created to help bridge these gaps, bringing together public and private sector stakeholders to collaborate, share information, and align around a common vision for connected, interoperable transportation systems.
Convened by the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) the Coalition serves as a national forum where public and private sector stakeholders can work together to accelerate deployment of scalable transportation digital infrastructure solutions.
The Vision
The Digital Corridor Coalition will be the nation’s fast lane for scalable digital infrastructure, bringing jurisdictions and modes together through the sharing of reliable, timely information and actionable insights that advance safety, security, efficiency, resiliency, economic growth, and opportunity across the US transportation system. The purpose of this Coalition is to promote alignment across the public and private sectors to accelerate deployment, ensure interoperability, and advance commercially viable and scalable solutions.
Why it Matters
Transportation digital infrastructure has the potential to improve safety, efficiency, mobility, resiliency, and economic competitiveness. However, without coordination, TDI deployments may result in further fragmentation due to incompatible standards and vendor lock-in, leading to a patchwork of solutions that are not integrable, sustainable, or nationally scalable.
The DCI Coalition helps address these challenges by:
- Promoting interoperability across systems, agencies, and regions.
- Supporting information sharing and dissemination of best practices.
- Encouraging alignment among public and private stakeholders.
- Accelerating deployment of scalable, commercially viable solutions.
- Creating opportunities for collaboration across transportation modes and jurisdictions.
By fostering a more coordinated approach, the Coalition seeks to help move transportation technology beyond isolated pilots and toward a connected national ecosystem.
What the Coalition Focuses On
The Coalition’s initial focus is to bring stakeholders together around high-priority transportation digital infrastructure use cases, including work zones, lane closures, freight operations, and other connected corridor applications. These use cases provide a foundation for developing a scalable, sustainable blueprint for deployments that can be expanded across the broader transportation system.
The Coalition’s broader goal is to advance connected corridors by enabling a consistent, scalable national approach to transportation digital infrastructure deployment.
How the Coalition Works
The DCI Coalition brings together transportation leaders, practitioners, researchers, technology providers, infrastructure owner/operators (IOOs), and other stakeholders to share knowledge, identify common challenges, and advance solutions that can be deployed at scale.
Through ongoing collaboration, the Coalition:
- Facilitates peer exchange and cross-sector dialogue.
- Shares lessons learned, best practices, and deployment insights..
- Helps identify opportunities for alignment across related initiatives.
- Provides a venue for developing and sharing resources that support implementation and interoperability.
The Coalition is designed as a “big tent” effort that welcomes diverse perspectives and expertise from across the transportation ecosystem.
Coalition Structure
The Coalition is structured around three components:
- A Leadership Forum composed of representatives from State DOTs, the private sector, and the convening organizations (ITS America and AASHTO) that helps guide the Coalition’s strategic priorities and identify areas where greater coordination is needed.
- Working Groups and Task Forces that bring together subject matter experts to address specific challenges and opportunities related to transportation digital infrastructure deployment, interoperability, and scaling connected corridor solutions.
- General Membership, which is open to any organization or individual with an interest in advancing transportation digital infrastructure. General members can participate in Coalition activities, contribute expertise, share experiences, and stay informed on emerging initiatives and opportunities for collaboration.
Current Working Groups
- Data Collection, Quality, and Validation – This workstream is intended to address issues related to establishing ground truth and ensuring usability of data, including: data collection methodologies; the accuracy, reliability, and timeliness of data; means of validating data within and across organizations; and measures of confidence in or trustworthiness of data.
- Data Governance and Interoperability – This workstream is intended to address issues of data governance and interoperability to streamline data sharing across jurisdictions and modes, including: system architecture; data sharing agreements; data licensing, ownership, and access; trust domains; and PII protections.
Who Should Participate:
The Coalition is open to organizations and individuals with an interest in advancing transportation digital infrastructure and connected corridor deployment. Participation spans the public, private, academic, and nonprofit sectors, including:
- State and local transportation agencies
- Transportation technology providers
- Automotive and freight stakeholders
- Telecommunications and mapping organizations
- Researchers and universities
- Professional associations and industry groups
- Infrastructure owners and operators
- Public safety organizations and other transportation stakeholders
Whether you are deploying infrastructure, developing technology, conducting research, or helping shape transportation policy, the Coalition provides an opportunity to contribute expertise and collaborate with peers across the country.
Get Involved
The success of connected and interoperable transportation systems depends on broad participation across the transportation community. The DCI Coalition invites organizations and individuals with relevant expertise to join the conversation, share insights, and help shape the future of transportation digital infrastructure.
Interested in participating? Join the DCI Coalition community to receive updates, learn about upcoming engagement opportunities, and contribute to advancing connected, interoperable transportation infrastructure nationwide.
