Press Release
NHTSA Announces Demonstration Areas for High-Tech Highways
10/28/96
Secretary Pena Selects Four Metropolitan Areas for Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Demonstrations; Presents First Award, $7.5 Million to Phoenix PHOENIX, Oct. 24 -- To help meet the transportation challenges of the 21st century, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena today announced the selection of four metropolitan areas for demonstrations of intelligent transportation system infrastructure (ITI) and presented the first grant of $7.5 million to Phoenix for the AZTech project. "President Clinton challenged us to make strategic investments in technology to help meet the transportation challenges of the 21st century," Secretary Pena said. "New technology will make transportation safer and more efficient and ease traffic congestion. The use of smarter technologies on highways and for mass transit will make travel better for commuters and tourists alike." In addition to Phoenix, the sites selected and funding are: San Antonio ($7.1 million), Seattle ($13.7 million), and the New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut metropolitan area ($10.4 million). The total to be allocated for the four projects is approximately $38.7 million. The Department of Transportation received a total of 23 applications in response to a notice published in the Feb. 26, 1996 Federal Register seeking offers from the public and private sectors to form partnerships and participate in the intelligent transportation systems (ITS) model deployment initiative. The intelligent transportation systems technologies funded by the department last summer for the Olympics served as a forerunner to the model projects selected today. The technologies used there included traffic management, transit management, and traveler information and were well received and effective in the management of transportation and incidents during the Games. Other examples of ITI projects include systems for electronic fare payment and toll collection, traffic signals, freeway transit management, rail-highway grade-crossings and emergency management. The models at these four selected sites will provide additional showcase demonstrations where the traveling public and local officials can see and experience the benefits of a high-tech transportation system in a real-life setting. These programs are designed to cut the daily travel time of people living in congested metropolitan areas by 15 percent over the next 10 years, Pena added. State-of-the-art technology, can keep the flow of people and goods moving more smoothly, safely and with less impact on the environment. Pena noted that these projects are public/private partnerships, with the non-federal partners providing 50 percent or more of the total cost of the project. Selection of the ITI model areas is another step toward achieving the goals of the "Operation Timesaver" initiative announced by Secretary Pena in January, at which time he said that he looked forward to 75 of our largest metropolitan areas having a complete intelligent transportation infrastructure in 10 years. Descriptions of the ITI model projects, which are expected to be in operation within the next 18 months, and the public and private sector partners for each project, follow. An electronic version of this document can be obtained via the World Wide Web at: http://www.dot.gov/affairs/index.html. Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Models Phoenix: The AZTech project features an integrated transportation management system that coordinates the freeway and traffic signal systems across jurisdictional boundaries. Etak Inc., a private company that specializes in map databases for ITI applications, and Metro Networks, a radio and television traffic information service, will manage the traveler information component and will promote business development of fee-paying clients. Partners in the AZTech project include the Arizona Department of Transportation; Maricopa and Pima counties; the cities of Phoenix, Tucson, Chandler, Glendale, Mesa, Scottsdale, and Tempe; Regional Public Transit Authority; Phoenix Transit Department; Maricopa Association of Governments; Pima Association of Governments; Arizona State University; Sky Harbor International Airport; TRW Transportation Systems; Scientific Atlanta, Inc.; CUE Paging Corp.; Differential Corrections Inc.; SEIKO Communications Inc.; SkyTel; Hewlett Packard; Fastline; Clarion; Delco Electronics; Volvo; IT Network; and AT&T. San Antonio: The Texas Department of Transportation, the city traffic operations department, and dispatch services for transit, police traffic, and police and fire emergencies will be co-located in the new TransGuide Operations Center. Through the normal vehicle registration process, more than 400,000 vehicles will be equipped with Intelligent Vehicle Registration Tags, which will allow the equipped vehicles to serve as roving "traffic probes," reporting on current travel times throughout the metropolitan area. Partners in the project include the Texas Department of Transportation; VIA Metropolitan Transit Authority; City of San Antonio Department of Public Works; City of San Antonio Police Department; City of San Antonio Fire Department; Rockwell Automotive Electronics; Transportation Management Solutions; Alpine Electronics Research of America; Apogee Research, Inc.; Amtech Systems Corporation; and Southwest Research Institute. Seattle: The TimeSaver project will provide intermodal transportation management and integrated, real-time highway and transit information services for the entire Seattle metropolitan area. The North Seattle Advanced Traffic Management System will link the traffic signal systems of 15 jurisdictions, including nine cities, two counties and three transit agencies. Etak and Metro Traffic Control are leading a team of private sector firms that will deliver traveler information through a variety of devices. Other partners in the TimeSaver project include the state of Washington Department of Transportation; Arenel International, Inc.; Battelle Pacific Northwest Laboratories; Boeing Company; City of Bellevue Transportation Department; David Evans and Associates, Inc.; Etak Inc.; Fastline; IBI Group; Infrastructure Consulting Corporation; King County Department of Transportation; Metro Traffic Control, Inc.; Microsoft, Inc.; Overlake Transportation Management Association; Pacific Rim Resources, Inc.; PB/Farradyne Inc.; Rockwell International Corporation; Seiko Communications Systems, Inc.; TCI Telephony Services, Inc.; Puget Sound Regional Council; TRAC-UW; Transportation Division Seattle Engineering Department; US WEST Communications; University of Washington; Washington State Department of Information Services; Willows Corridor Transportation Partnership; and XYPOINT Corporation. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut: In the New York City metropolitan region, current information on traffic conditions will be available to millions of local commuters, commercial vehicle operators and other travelers. TRANSCOM, the lead organization, is a consortium of 14 transportation and public safety agencies. The widely dispersed public agencies will deploy a regional transportation management system that connects member agencies via a "virtual" transportation management center. SmartRoutes systems, a radio and television traffic information service, will provide personalized information to the public for a fee. It is expected that the service will eventually become self-supporting. Other partners include Lockheed Martin Federal Systems; PB Farradyne; JHK & Associates; Metro Vision of North America; Walcoff & Associates; Sam Schwartz Company; Shadow Broadcasting,;MetroCommute Options Group; Navigation Technologies; and CALSPAN.