Federal Highway Administration: Biden Administration Awards $9.85 Million Advanced Technology Grant to Michigan for Connected Vehicle Research

WASHINGTON, May 26 -- The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration issued the following news release:

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) awarded Michigan a $9.85 million Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program grant to conduct connected vehicle technology research. The University of Michigan in Ann Arbor will receive the grant for its Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined project as part of a $52.78 million investment package under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. ATTAIN program awards will go to eight projects around the country that bring innovative technology-based solutions to improve the travel experience for the millions of Americans using 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 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 technology.

"We're helping deliver a leading-edge transportation system designed to reach everyone and to work for everyone, especially those in communities who have lacked access to efficient transportation," said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. "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."

The ATTAIN program promotes advanced technologies to improve safety and reduce travel times for drivers and transit riders that can serve as national examples. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expanded the program and added new emphasis to climate change and environmental justice impacts. The eight selected projects will help advance intelligent transportation systems 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.

More information on the awards is available here: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Key Programs under the Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations (https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/index.htm)

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Original text here: https://highways.dot.gov/newsroom/biden-administration-awards-985-million-advanced-technology-grant-michigan-connected