Washington, D.C. – Today, in Salt Lake City, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) unveiled its highly anticipated V2X Accelerator Awardees at a press event and panel discussion. Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America) President and CEO Laura Chace joined powerhouse speakers for the pair of events that included a press conference with Shailen Bhatt, Federal Highway Administrator; Dr. Robert Hampshire, USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer; Carlos Braceras, Executive Director of the Utah Department of Transportation; Mayor Erin Mendenhall of Salt Lake City; and Jay Fox, Director of the Utah Transit Authority. Following the press conference, a panel discussion including leaders from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, 5G Automotive Association, and the Institute for Transportation Engineers was held. The V2X Accelerator Grants were created in 2023 and are vital to empowering the safer and smarter transportation infrastructure of the future.

In total, three V2X Accelerator grants were announced in Salt Lake City today. ITS America members were selected for each grant, additionally ITS America itself is a proud partner on each of these projects. Those receiving grants include: the Utah Department of Transportation, Maricopa County, Arizona; and Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) at Texas A&M.

ITS America President & CEO Laura Chace participated in both the above-mentioned panel and a press conference with those leaders while in Salt Lake City, speaking with the media alongside USDOT leaders to highlight the future of V2X deployment, the grants awarded today, and the impact this investment will have on America’s transportation system.

“I am excited to join USDOT as we make significant investments in V2X technology that will help ensure people can safely travel on our roadways. We can save lives and provide better mobility for people by accelerating our investment in communications technologies that let us know who and what is around us before they may come into view,” said Chace. “I want to thank Administrator Bhatt, Deputy Assistant Secretary Hampshire, and Director Cronin for including me in the discussions this week. We must continue to share the benefits of this technology and how its deployment will help all Americans travel safer and smarter. We stand ready to support all our partners in the winning grants.”

These projects will bring new technologies into the next stage of development, enhancing safety and mobility in each community.

Utah DOT and its partners were awarded a grant for the “Connecting the West” project, which was submitted in partnership with Colorado DOT, Wyoming DOT, and the City and County of Denver. This project will enhance collaboration among these authorities, who all have mature and proven V2X systems, to create a cohesive, interoperable network.

In Maricopa County, the grant will be put to work utilizing innovative solutions to improve mobility and safety throughout the region. Working with private and public agency partners, the County will lead a large-scale deployment of V2X technologies relying on 5.9 GHz communications to connect 750 physical and virtual roadside units with an estimated 400 onboard units targeting transit, emergency, and freight fleets. The 750 intersection upgrades would represent 25% of all intersections in the county.

The TTI project will build momentum for V2X by implementing signal phase and timing expansion, flood warning integration, VRU identification, and rail crossing integration, among other uses. The outcome will be a cutting-edge, interconnected network that not only enhances safety and mobility but also serves as a reference implementation for the future of connected transportation. This deployment will create a multi-regional operations environment across a population area of more than five million people and hundreds of thousands of daily trips on 300 miles of the National Highway System utilizing the communications spectrum and companion technologies to dramatically expand current outreach mechanisms.

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The Intelligent Transportation Society of America advances the research and deployment of intelligent transportation technologies to save lives, improve mobility, promote sustainability, and increase efficiency and productivity. Our vision is a better future transformed by transportation technology and innovation: Safer, Greener, Smarter. For All. For more information, please visit www.itsa.org.