The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced more than $52 million in grants for eight states from the Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program.
The grants will fund technology-based solutions that improve the travel experience for millions of Americans who use our highway and transit systems, with expanded eligibility for projects in communities that have previously lacked investments, including rural areas and areas of persistent poverty.
"Your zip code shouldn't determine whether you have access to safe, affordable transportation," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "With President Biden's investments in innovative technology, we're helping communities make transportation safer and more efficient, particularly in places that haven't received enough resources in the past."
The program promotes advanced technologies to improve safety and reduce travel times for drivers and transit riders that can serve as national examples of innovation to improve access to transportation for all communities.
"These grants will help deliver a more leading-edge transportation system designed to reach everyone and to work for everyone, especially those in communities that have lacked access to efficient transportation," said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. "Whether we're addressing climate change, or making roads safer, President Biden's Investing in America agenda is bringing critical solutions to the communities we serve."
The eight selected projects will help advance intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies that improve mobility and safety. The projects include the extension of real-time traffic information and signal timing systems, including for transit, along with other advanced technologies.
The program was first established in the FAST Act as the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Program. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law amended the ATCMTD Program and renamed it the Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovative Mobility Deployment Program, or ATTAIN.
Michigan Awarded Almost $10 Million for Connected Vehicle Research
An ATTAIN grant of $9.85 million was awarded to University of Michigan in Ann Arbor to conduct connected vehicle technology research.
The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute will use the funding to ready the infrastructure for vehicle manufacturing collaborators to test and deploy new technologies under the Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined project. The project will use cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology.
Bhatt added: "Connected vehicle technologies are a key tool for getting to zero deaths on America’s roadways. In Michigan, the University of Michigan will help explore vehicle technologies of the future to help us meet this goal."
