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| Smart cars and smart roads! Metro Detroit home
to more than $70 million federal investment
Contact:
Greg Krueger, MDOT Statewide ITS Program Manager, 517-373-9479
Agency:
Transportation
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May 16, 2007 -- The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) today announced that the United States Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) is making a significant investment in Metro Detroit to help reduce congestion and promote safety through the VII (Vehicle Infrastructure Integration) initiative. The VII program uses communications technologies that allow vehicles to communicate with each other and roadside devices.
"The objective of this program is to save lives, time and money for all our customers," said Greg Krueger, MDOT Statewide Intelligent Transportation Systems program manager. "Our goal is for every citizen to arrive safely at his or her destination , while spending less time on the road and more time at home."
The U.S. DOT and the VII Consortium of automobile manufacturers, in cooperation with MDOT and the Road Commission for Oakland County (RCOC), have begun the deployment and testing of a prototype system by linking vehicle-based information systems along roads in Oakland County. This testing will evaluate a variety of technologies and solutions developed by companies and organizations throughout the country.
The VII program is funded by the U.S. DOT. The federal government has allocated $45 million to develop and construct a test bed facility in Novi, Michigan, with an additional $25 million to develop and test the in-vehicle interface between the vehicle and the driver, which is being performed by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI). A separate $30 million has been allotted on a nationwide basis for research associated with intersection avoidance, performed by Collision Avoidance Metrics Partnership (CAMP).
MDOT, in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation's 21st Century Jobs Fund, has invested approximately $9 million in infrastructure and development programs. The Center for Automotive Research (CAR) has estimated more than 20,000 jobs will be created in the coming years in the field of vehicle electronics. Michigan's continued leadership in VII is geared towards attracting associated jobs and employers to the state.
Protect Michigan families: Where Workers Present Drive 45!
-A message from MDOT and Michigan's Give 'em a Brake Safety Coalition
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