Utah leads project for V2X deployment spanning Western states of Utah, Colorado, Wyoming

FHWA 20a-24
Contact: FHWA.PressOffice@dot.gov
Tel.: (202) 366-0660

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced that it is awarding $20 million in grants to Utah under the Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment program to advance connected and interoperable vehicle technologies. The Utah Department of Transportation will receive the grant for the Connected West Project that spans three states and that will serve as a national model to accelerate and spur new deployments of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies. The Utah grant was awarded as part of a $60 million grant package awarded to three states: Arizona, Texas and Utah.

“As this Department explores every measure that can help reduce roadway fatalities, connected vehicle technology—like V2X—has potential to make roads safer and save lives,” said U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. “The grants we’re announcing today are helping accelerate the development and adoption of potentially life-saving V2X technology nationwide.”

The Utah DOT will use the funding toward V2X deployment sites in three states – Utah, Colorado and Wyoming -- each representing a broad variety of population densities, demographics, jurisdictions, topography, and transportation facilities. The project covers all of Utah, I-80 through the entire length of Wyoming, and major portions of Colorado, including the Denver Metro Area, I-70 from Denver to the Utah border, and I-25 through Colorado. The applications focus on safety, mobility, and environment, and support the ability to demonstrate measurable impact and address critical needs including connected intersection, weather impact, curve speed warning, traveler information and vulnerable road user and other safety alert technologies.

“Utah is a leader in promoting and deploying V2X technologies to explore the potential to save lives on our nation’s highways,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “The funding provided today will help accelerate the technology so that we can deploy it on a national scale and provide new tools to combat fatalities on our nation’s highways.”

“We see this as a potential inflection point in transportation, especially for safety,” UDOT Executive Director Carlos Braceras said. “With this technology, we will be able to save more lives sooner. We look forward to working with our partners as we expand this connected network beyond the borders of our state.”

The Saving Lives with Connectivity: Accelerating V2X Deployment initiative is focused on road safety, mobility, and efficiency through technology that enables vehicles and wireless devices to communicate with each other and with roadside infrastructure and provide warnings. V2X can contribute to the Safe System Approach adopted by the USDOT’s National Roadway Safety Strategy, a comprehensive approach launched in January 2022 to address the crisis of roadway deaths.

The grants announced today will promote the deployment of V2X technologies with the goal of advancing the full lifesaving potential of V2X communication, while ensuring connected technologies communicate securely and without harmful interference across a variety of devices and platforms.

More information on the V2X grants is available here: FHWA Operations - Improving Day-to-Day Operations

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